SNA/SNFO Pro-Rec with 20/25 correctable vision.

[deadweather]

I just got pro-rec'ed for SNA and SNFO. I went to MEPS and got disqualified due to 20/25 correctable vision. The waiver board sent me to an ophthalmologist to, I guess, check and see if I could get PRK done.

Well when I got the consult, they were able to correct my eyes with lenses, and didn't want to do any more tests on me. They sent me back with a letter from the Doctor saying I was correctable to 20/20. I am still waiting to see what the Navy wants to do with this. My liaison at MEPS said this should clear my need for any waivers, but I do not think she knew I was applying for Pilot.

What is going to happen? I kind of wish I could get PRK done because I straddle the 20/25 and 20/20 vision line (only my right eye, I missed 2 letters on the line). Even if I get PQ'ed, I do not want to get my hopes up at OCS and get NPQ'ed there. I just want to know now if my vision is good enough or not. I do not want to spend the next year counting on going to OCS and abandoning other career opportunities and then get sent back home.

Is there somehow, if I get PQ'ed, to get the OCS flight physical done before OCS? How often does it happen that someone gets NPQ'ed at OCS or API due to vision?

 

[croakerfish]

A lot of people have trouble with the OCS flight physical. It's a combination of the stresses of Indoc week and the crappy administration of the tests at Newport. If that happens to you, you'll have to be proactive to make sure you get any appropriate retests or shots at a waiver. The flight surgeon isn't really a people person, so you may have to take extreme measures if they try to shaft you. One guy I know of was barely within limits, but for some reason they tried to NPQ him anyway. He ended up declining his commission and going to Captain's Mast to have his case reviewed. He spent over two months in stash after OCS, but ultimately got his pilot slot back and just finished API.

 

[jbweldon04]

Everything they do at MEPS sucks. They stick your head into a machine that isn't anywhere near accurate.

Read this:
http://www.brooksidepress.org/Produ...erationalmed/Manuals/ManMed15/65Aviation.html

There is a section for SNA. If your doctor can correct you to 20/20, then any aerospace Optometrist can do the same. Hang your head up high Aggie, I think you have a good shot.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

A consult is not conducted at MEPS, it is/should be with an opthamologist as they have to comment on the eyes and what they see.

and yes the equipment at MEPS isn't the state of the art equipment you think it would be.

 

[deadweather]

Hang your head up high Aggie, I think you have a good shot.

Thanks for the encouragement! If I do not give this my best shot, then I will always ask a "what if?" the rest of my life. I'll take the risk.

A consult is not conducted at MEPS, it is/should be with an opthamologist as they have to comment on the eyes and what they see.

and yes the equipment at MEPS isn't the state of the art equipment you think it would be.

I actually got my consult with a civilian ophthalmologist and they were extremely helpful. I was originally DQ'ed by the results from the machine they had me look in at MEPS. The test before that, I was able to see 20/20 with my old prescription glasses.

 

[A$AP]

I took a civilian eye exam this past Tuesday and had 20/30 uncorrected in each eye, but correctable to 20/20. I told the doc that I was working on a Navy OCS packet and he told me to wear glasses at my discretion (I don't need them all the time). Therefore, when i asked about PRK he told me that it would pretty much be a waste of time because my vision was not bad enough to really merit it. I went through MEPS yesterday and looking at the sheet following my eye exam, I'm pretty sure it said 20/25 corrected. I'm now freaking out because I don't want to be DQ'ed from an NFO slot as well as Pilot. I'll have to pray that the waiver process will work in my favor.

Also, is it true that MEPS docs are a little more stingy than Navy docs? My OR told me not to stress the eye test prior to MEPS because the docs there are much harder to clear.

 

[deadweather]

I took a civilian eye exam this past Tuesday and had 20/30 uncorrected in each eye, but correctable to 20/20. I told the doc that I was working on a Navy OCS packet and he told me to wear glasses at my discretion (I don't need them all the time). Therefore, when i asked about PRK he told me that it would pretty much be a waste of time because my vision was not bad enough to really merit it. I went through MEPS yesterday and looking at the sheet following my eye exam, I'm pretty sure it said 20/25 corrected. I'm now freaking out because I don't want to be DQ'ed from an NFO slot as well as Pilot. I'll have to pray that the waiver process will work in my favor.

Also, is it true that MEPS docs are a little more stingy than Navy docs? My OR told me not to stress the eye test prior to MEPS because the docs there are much harder to clear.

Did you see if both eyes were not correctable to 20/20 or if it was just one? My vision was correctable to 20/20 with a civilian doctor as well until I got to MEPS. There my right eye wouldn't go over 20/25. They basically test the strength of each eye individually and that's how I ended up finding out I have a minor lazy eye in my right eye. Not enough to fail the depth perception test, but enough to get passed over by the Navy. Look over the report again and see if it was both eyes or a single eye that got the 20/25 corretable.

They may waive you if you get letter from a civilian doc saying you have 20/20, but it may need to be done through MEPS. I got a letter from an ophthalmologist stating I had 20/20 correctable both eyes but I missed 2 letters. For some reason, guys in Pensacola thought it was good enough for NFO but not Pilot.

 

[A$AP]

Did you see if both eyes were not correctable to 20/20 or if it was just one? My vision was correctable to 20/20 with a civilian doctor as well until I got to MEPS. There my right eye wouldn't go over 20/25. They basically test the strength of each eye individually and that's how I ended up finding out I have a minor lazy eye in my right eye. Not enough to fail the depth perception test, but enough to get passed over by the Navy. Look over the report again and see if it was both eyes or a single eye that got the 20/25 corretable.

They may waive you if you get letter from a civilian doc saying you have 20/20, but it may need to be done through MEPS. I got a letter from an ophthalmologist stating I had 20/20 correctable both eyes but I missed 2 letters. For some reason, guys in Pensacola thought it was good enough for NFO but not Pilot.

Yeah my civilian exam showed both eyes at 20/30 uncorrected but both corrected to 20/20. Three days later, At MEPS, from what I saw on the form, both corrected to 20/25. This is where I'm terrified.[/quote]

 

[AaronJB]

When referring to the MEPS physical eye exam, are the numbers written in the column between the distant visual acuity and near visual acuity the corrected numbers? If so I might be in the same boat here. I had one 20/20 and one 20/25 in the center column.

 

[A$AP]

I wish they had let us have copies of our exams at MEPS. Hopefully its something our recruiters can pull up when we meet with them. I'm stressing right out over what I "remember" seeing on the sheet but I don't have mine right in front of me to compare with the civilian report, which I DO have copies of. I'm praying for a waiver in my favor!

When referring to the MEPS physical eye exam, are the numbers written in the column between the distant visual acuity and near visual acuity the corrected numbers? If so I might be in the same boat here. I had one 20/20 and one 20/25 in the center column.