PRK and USMC aviation (truth not myth)

[dorliska]

alright everyone, here are the facts. If you have had PRK, you can get a waiver for flight. All other forms of eye surgery are not allowed for flight. If you join the Marine Corps as an NFO contract, they will NOT let you switch later after getting PRK, because they would never have anyone for NFO. The only way to get on the waiting list for PRK once you are active is if you are already a pilot whose eyes are slipping(they already spent money on you and they want to keep you flying), Naval Academy, or special ops. Anything else and you can expect to wait about 2 years like all the ground guys. Which means if you are an NFO, by the time you get the surgery, they will not spend the money to retrain you for front seat. Fact: my roomate as well as another friend of mine in my platoon here at TBS are pilot contracts with PRK waivers. Bottom line, in my opinion if you want to be pilot, have PRK done by a good doctor before you join, then get a waiver. If you wait to do it later, your chances get very slim. Any questions, email me.

USMC NFO contract about to graduate TBS

 

[sailorgloom]

Originally posted by dorliska
Bottom line, in my opinion if you want to be pilot, have PRK done by a good doctor before you join, then get a waiver. If you wait to do it later, your chances get very slim. Any questions, email me.

USMC NFO contract about to graduate TBS

This is directly opposite of what is posted on BUMED. http://navymedicine.med.navy.mil/PRK/refractive_surgery_information.htm has a chart that says you need PRK done by a Navy doctor in order to be in the waiver program. Civilian doctors may not perform PRK before getting into the aviation community.

Does your friend have any new official passdown?

-SG

 

[Curmudgeon]

SG, I think you need that surgery. Nobody else reads it that way. The point is, PRK is generally disqualifying, BUT ... there is a waiver possible if you are accepted into the "study".

 

[Integer]

No, sailorgloom is correct. Lasik and PRK are disqualifying, but you can get waivers.

However, for pilots, only PRK is allowed, and it must be done in the Navy's center.(*) That's because they are doing clinical, very limited studies on people with PRK. And another catch, right from the site:

DESIGNATED AVIATION PERSONNEL MAY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE SURGERY PERFORMED IN THE CIVILIAN SECTOR.

Check out #9 here: http://navymedicine.med.navy.mil/prk/refractive_surgery_questions_and.htm#Question%204

(*)Later on, #9 goes to say that there is a chance to take part in the study above, for people who already had PRK with a civilian doctor. One of the qualifications is that you have extensive records of your surgery before, during, and after your surgery. This doesn't mean you are a pilot, it just means you get to take part in the study mentioned above. By the way, I am not an expert. Also, these PRK restrictions do not apply to most other navy jobs.

 

[Curmudgeon]

"Presently, PRK is waiverable for accessions into all warfare communities, although waivers for aviation will be very limited and will require the service member to participate in ongoing clinical studies designed to evaluate PRK’s safety and efficacy (additional information regarding aviation requirements is addressed in section 9). LASIK is waiverable for all warfarecommunities with the exception of aviation, SPECWARFARE and diving. Appendix (2) contains tables that summarize PRK and LASIK policy for new accessions in both non-warfare and warfare communities"

#9 refers to current active duty aviation personnel; they can only have PRK done by navy.

My reading of that is that you can have prior (civilian) PRK, but you have to get the waiver, have detailed case notes, and participate in follow-up studies/tracking while serving (maybe detailed yearly eye exams?). What you CAN'T do is get civilian PRK after you are in aviation duty.