My civilian AME was telling me that some pilot applicants can get around this hurdle if they lobby their local congressperson. (I'm not sure if he was just being a little senile, but he's a former Air Force flight surgeon himself, so I guess he should know).
If I have to write a thousand letters, I'll do it. I'm not gonna settle for a career as a navigator, no way.
My PCSM score is very high, so this is really the only thing that's holding me back.
Hey, it worked for George W. Bush, didn't it? (he got a pilot slot in the Air National Guard despite scoring the minimum passing score on his pilot aptitude test).
I suppose all rules are meant to be broken...
2007-02-08 00:35:01 · 5 answers · asked by Student 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Well, before you do anything drastic I know that usually you can get a waiver if you get PRK but DON'T GET LASIK and DON'T HAVE A CIVILIAN DOCTOR DO IT!!!!
First of all you have to become an officer to be a pilot in the NAVY, USMC, CG and AF. Once you join just request to get PRK done at a MTF (it's like a military training facility for doctors or something like that).
Now it's never a guarantee that you'll get the waiver but they sometimes grant it.
You can write your congressman or whatever but that won't help. They can't do anything about it and plus the regs since Bush have changed. Pilot requirements have been in place for years and years. Shot I got my eyes fixed by a civilian doctor and because of it I can't get a waiver. It's the RULES! Everybody goes through NAVY flight training and if they say you vision isn't good or they don't give you a waiver they DON'T CARE! They have THOUSANDS of officers that want to become pilots, they don't need to let you in if they don't want to. Flight school is COMPETITIVE, if they have a HUGE pool of applicants that are fully qualified with no vision problems then why do they want to make an exception for you!
Sorry the truth is harsh, I learned it the hard way.
2007-02-08 11:42:17 · answer #1 · answered by angeliquedesjardins 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I failed my Royal Air Force medical when I was in College. The reason why I failed despite passing the Air Interview Board was because of my eyesight and there was absolutely no way around it. I appealed the decision but the rules are enforced to the letter of the law in the UK. It may be different in the States but consider when the Air Force has so many applicants for so few posts that it is inevitable that they will pounce on any weakness whether it be physical or psychological in order to whittle the field down and get the cream of the crop. I explored the option of having LASEK or LASIK surgery but the RAF still wouldn't accept that. They wanted perfectly pure 20/20 vision. Sometimes no matter how hard you try doors just won't open for you and you have no option but to take a cold hard reality check and look for new opportunities. I wish you every luck and hope you succeed where so many before you have failed.
2007-02-08 02:33:38 · answer #2 · answered by Golf Alpha Nine-seven 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I know the Navy allows PRK, I've heard the AF doesn't allow anything, but it would shock me if they didn't allow PRK Anyway, the idea is that Academics/Leadership separate pilots from the rest, not vision
2016-05-24 06:19:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do flight surgeons allow LASEK surgery?
I know that NASA considers it a disqualifier,
but the military may not.
2007-02-08 00:39:08 · answer #4 · answered by Elana 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go for lasec eye surgery and your good as new
2007-02-08 00:43:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋