Will the Navy or Marines pay for your laser eye surgery before entering aviation school?
Question by Josh: Will the Navy or Marines spend for your laser eye medical procedures before entering aviation university?
I am at present a senior in higher college and will most probably be entering NROTC subsequent yr (ideally on scholarship), if I do not get into the Naval Academy. I am nonetheless debating regardless of whether to go into the Navy or Marines nevertheless, either way I want to be a helicopter pilot. The only issue is that I have twenty/25 uncorrected eyesight, and I know that you need to have 20/twenty to fly. The military will pay for your laser eye surgical procedure, but I will not know if they will pay for it prior to you enter flight school. Would I have to work awhile at an additional career or something prior to I could get the surgical treatment? Also, is it achievable to acquire a marine flight agreement with my eyesight as it is? Thank You.
Very best solution:
Response by wise_gentleman
You much better get it in creating about finding laser surgery. Never ever heard of that a single. I could not be a pilot due to also several fillings, and they would not do something about it.
Know better? Leave your personal answer in the comments!
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:56 pm
The military is not going to pay for it up front. They have plenty of fully qualified applicants that do not need surgery before they can start.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:46 pm
nope. for flight consideration (aviator training) you must have 20-20 UNCORRECTED vision to apply. what really doesn’t make sense – is that if you had 20-20 uncorrected, were accepted to the program, andthen 6 months in needed glasses – that is OK. messed up, or what?
one thought – but this is at your own risk and conscience – get Lasiks or PRK done NOW, and just not say anything. the recovery time is fast, and by the time you get to applying for a flight position (or gt selected for the academy), it will be healed, and there is no way (from what others have told me) to where anyone can tell you even had the procedure done. of course, under this ‘plan’ – you have to pay for it (about $ 1500 an eye) – but it leaves the door open for you. otherwise, go in as a regular officer (if you can) upon graduation, let the military pay for the procedure (they will) and then maybe the rules will change and you can be an aviator or something
good luck
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:58 pm
A naval aviator has to have uncorrected vision better than 20/40 correctable with glasses or contacts to 20/20. 20/25 is fine and any difference from 20/20 is barely noticeable. It would be absurd to risk laser surgery to try and correct 20/20 vision to 20/25 and then end up with dry eyes or compromised night vision. That makes no sense at all.
VISION / MED
- 20/40 max uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 (waivers NOT considered).7
- Color vision req’d. Depth perception req’d.
- PRK only eye surgery waiverable.5
http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/noru/orojt3/generalofficer.htm#3
The Marines offer a contact lens waiver for vision worse than 20/40 but better than 20/400.
AVIATION APPLICANTS
Applicants who desire to apply for a guaranteed position in aviation must pass two additional requirements, a cycloplegic eye exam and the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB). Aviators (pilots) must have 20/40 or better vision in each eye. However, as of 1 June 2005, applicants outside those requirements may apply for a contact lens waiver. Applicants must have uncorrected vision better than 20/400 and be correctable to 20/20 with soft contacts. In addition, they must be able to show theyve worn soft contacts for at least six months without any type of problems. Naval Flight Officers (co-pilots/navigators) must simply have vision correctable to 20/20.
Applicants who have had their vision surgically corrected should be aware that only vision correction through the PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) procedure is eligible for aviation. Applicants who has had their vision corrected through the LASIK (Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) procedure are disqualified for aviation, but may apply for the ground or law program.
See page 2:
http://www.und.edu/org/mao/MarineProgams.pdf
The Nrotc Marine Option Scholarships are not readily transferable to Navy Option because the Navy Option for the last three years have been awarded in Tiers with 85% going to Engineering, Math and certain Science majors while the Marine Option are not awarded to certain planned programs of study. The Marine Option Scholarships require a first class Marine PFT, 225+, like all Marine Officer Programs. Make sure you have wisely selected the battalions listed on the Scholarship Application, the major listed and have a good chance of being admitted to the colleges associated with those battalions.
Good Luck!
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:54 pm
In May 24, 2007, the US Air Force announced that they would allow their pilots to undergo Lasik eye surgery and to allow Lasik patients to serve as pilots and aircrewmembers. The change also removes the altitude and high-performance aircraft restrictions for people who have had Lasik eye surgery.
Due to stresses placed on the eyes during flight combined with the active lifestyle of military members, the recommended refractive surgeries are Custom & Wavefront-Guided Photo Refractive Keratectomy (WFG-PRK) and WaveFront-Guided Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis (WFG-LASIK), using the femtosecond laser. The eyes are more trauma resistant after surgery using one of these methods compared to other forms of refractive surgeries.
Individuals must still meet the standards prescribed in AFI 48-123 , Medical Examination and Standard s, for entrance into the US Air Force and aviation and special-duty positions.
Recently, the US Air Force has gone a step forward in its new support for LASIK surgery. The Department of Defense initiated the Joint Warfighter Refractive Surgery Center in Texas at Lackland Air Force Base. Every year, the US Air Force has spent billions of dollars to improve the skills of our weapon systems. The new center provides outpatient surgical laser latest state-of-the-art technology.
more info:
US Air Force Laser Eye Surgery Policy 2010
http://www.lasikreviews.co.uk/laser-eye-surgery-us-military-air-force.htm