NPQ LASIK after PRO Y SNA

[MrFiveOh]

I recentenly got my pro rec SNA. Was waiting for FS letter but got call from recruiter saying I was NPQ for NA/NFO due to LASIK (unsure what the details were). Called a NAMI ophthalmologist, and found out that NPQ is automatically given until LASIK is waivered. I thought I was waivered before since I was PQ through MEPS even after consult with the local ophthalmologist.

Long story short, I think anyone who has had LASIK has to get approved by a NAMI flight doc or something close. So right now I am trying to coordinate with my recruiter and the NAMI eye docs in Pensacola to set up a consult for a waiver. The doc said that LASIK can be waiverable. I've checked the regs for the different eye measurements and bounced them off of my results from the civilian eye exam and I fall below the restrictions for "Sphere" and "Cyl" measurements.

My only hope is that the NPQ from headquarters can be bypassed with a waiver and still allow me to get a final select letter in time to ship to OCS by the end of this year.

Basically, can a green light from a NAMI doc be good enough to get my Final Select letter if all is done with haste?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

What was your pre op diopter readings?

 

[MrFiveOh]

I am currently waiting on another copy of my Pre Op information to find out that info. I sent the only copy I had off with my OCS packet and never saw it myself. I know I was nearsighted before the op but did not require a heavy prescription to get to 20/20 and the op was back in 2008. I'll put up the findings of that info as soon as I get it.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

PQ through MEPS doesn't matter.

I have had guys get LASIK and get cleared without issue, there is something else going on.

The issue I have seen is a person being outside limits pre surgery.

 

[MrFiveOh]

Yeah that is my fear but I feel that If I get that paper and see for myself and bring the whole package to Pensacola, I may have a fighting chance. Since the people that have LASIK tend to have bad eyesight before, there's got to be some kind of chance I can get passed this since I never had any weird seeing problems other than just being slightly nearsighted.

I honestly think it may be that the eye doc put some weird note that wasn't a DQ'er but just threw a red flag that needs explaining...

Just a life's dream thats worth fighting every inch for!

 

[exNavyOffRec]

The first thing I would do is get that pre op measurement from the doc that did the surgery, that will say quite a bit.

N3M is given guidlines from NAMI, if in the guidlines they will defer to NAMI, if not they will NPQ, either something is wrong in the paperwork, or you are outside the parameters somewhere.

 

[BleedGreen]

Were you seen by a navy optometrist prior to submitting your paperwork to MEPS or N3M? One of the requirements is that applicants must be seen at a designated military facility before submission. Once I have access to my personal computer I can send the form that outlines the requirements and it includes a list of the designated military facilities.
Having a physical with an naval aerospace optometrist's blessing might be what N3M wants to see.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Were you seen by a navy optometrist prior to submitting your paperwork to MEPS or N3M? One of the requirements is that applicants must be seen at a designated military facility before submission. Once I have access to my personal computer I can send the form that outlines the requirements and it includes a list of the designated military facilities.
Having a physical with an naval aerospace optometrist's blessing might be what N3M wants to see.

Not correct, they do not have to be seen before submission, a USN doc will clear them eventually but that is after going to OCS, that is why N3M has rough guidlines to go by.

 

[MrFiveOh]

I agree with you and I am just waiting now for that info. The doc that I spoke to from NAMI sounded real hopeful which gives me hope. They set the standard and I'll have the best chance for getting a waiver by going to the source. He asked if I had any complications Post Op, which I don't, and he sounded like it could potentially be an easy fix for my situation.

The info should be here hopefully by Friday or Next Monday by snail mail. I just hope that my NPQ can be resolved in time for OCS this year if the doc say i'm fit...

 

[MrFiveOh]

Were you seen by a navy optometrist prior to submitting your paperwork to MEPS or N3M? One of the requirements is that applicants must be seen at a designated military facility before submission. Once I have access to my personal computer I can send the form that outlines the requirements and it includes a list of the designated military facilities.
Having a physical with an naval aerospace optometrist's blessing might be what N3M wants to see.

No I didn't go to one of the specific eye docs listed on the NAMI site dealing with the LASIK waiver. The doc sounded like I was just another guy that got auto-flagged just because the word "LASIK" was in ink on those med forms without a NAMI waiver (that's my guess and my biggest hope).

 

[BleedGreen]

Not correct, they do not have to be seen before submission, a USN doc will clear them eventually but that is after going to OCS, that is why N3M has rough guidlines to go by.

What do the waiver guides mean when they reference applicant vs designated personnel?
"3. Applicant must have screening vision exam performed at one of 10 participating screening sites:
ƒ NH Bremerton
ƒ NH Camp Pendleton
ƒ NMC San Diego
ƒ NNMC (Bethesda)
ƒ NMC Portsmouth
ƒ NH Camp Lejeune,
ƒ NH Jacksonville
ƒ BMC Newport
ƒ BMC Annapolis
ƒ NAMI"

I was screened for LASIK prior to submitting my physical by the study coordinator and he was more than happy to help. He may have just thought I was trying to be ahead of the game though. There's so much gray area with the way N3M approves applicants for special programs, yet they don't seem like they follow NAMI's guidelines fully.

Anyways, apologize if that was bad gouge, I was just sharing what I learned by going through the process for LASIK.

 

[MrFiveOh]

What do the waiver guides mean when they reference applicant vs designated personnel?
"3. Applicant must have screening vision exam performed at one of 10 participating screening sites:
ƒ NH Bremerton
ƒ NH Camp Pendleton
ƒ NMC San Diego
ƒ NNMC (Bethesda)
ƒ NMC Portsmouth
ƒ NH Camp Lejeune,
ƒ NH Jacksonville
ƒ BMC Newport
ƒ BMC Annapolis
ƒ NAMI"

I was screened for LASIK prior to submitting my physical by the study coordinator and he was more than happy to help. He may have just thought I was trying to be ahead of the game though. There's so much gray area with the way N3M approves applicants for special programs, yet they don't seem like they follow NAMI's guidelines fully.

Anyways, apologize if that was bad gouge, I was just sharing what I learned by going through the process for LASIK.

Yeah that's the reason why I am fighting to get a one on one with a NAMI doc in Pensacola or a listed one from JAX. They sent me to a civilian for the MEPS consult and I dont think N3M accepted it just because of it being from a civilian.

 

[BleedGreen]

Yeah I think your on to something with the "auto red-flag" idea. I had a similar issue with N3M and had to fight for weeks just to get them to recognize their mistake. If you have multiple doctors saying you meet the requirements, just keep fighting it. In the end, I had to have a doctor from NAMI review my physical just for eligibility (not to be fully cleared) and then place a call to N3M to explain I didn't have any permanently disqualifying conditions.

 

[MrFiveOh]

Yeah I think your on to something with the "auto red-flag" idea. I had a similar issue with N3M and had to fight for weeks just to get them to recognize their mistake. If you have multiple doctors saying you meet the requirements, just keep fighting it. In the end, I had to have a doctor from NAMI review my physical just for eligibility (not to be fully cleared) and then place a call to N3M to explain I didn't have any permanently disqualifying conditions.

Just got word from my recruiter and he pretty said that phrase that flagged me, besides the term "LASIK", was "Would recommend monitoring while he is in the service with repeat topography in the future". The doc is referring to my "-0.25" and "-.50" CYL measurement which is less than the required "-1.0" CYL. Everything else is "0" with 20/15 in both eyes...

 

[BleedGreen]

Ah bummer, did he offer any solution or was he open to resubmitting your physical with additional information?