The Doctor is in! Ask a Flight Surgeon!

[exNavyOffRec]

got it & thank you. I'm guessing the MEPS is sending them to contractors who they trust to get it right, and given the importance asthma has had on deployability these days, I am guessing that the MEPS are watching the quality of those tests very closely. I would have counted those studies in the "done by the military" bucket.

I can certainly understand that there would be more concern about accepting, without some verification, results from a civilian practitioner with no affiliation with the DOD. It's a straightforward test, but like most things it can be screwed up.

I agree, I have done multiple MCT and know how they can mess it up.

 

[BleedGreen]

The funny part is his initial MCT was done at a military facility (NMCSD) and OCS is referring him to a civilian hospital for the second MCT in Newport.

 

[jcj]

I am guessing that being in Newport they have the MCT for OCS candidates drill down to a science. If the MCT is done right it really is reproducible & shouldn't change so I have no idea why they would want it repeated. But there's no sense in fighting this one - you wont win. I guess it's the same logic why I get to demonstrate my normal color vision to the FAA on every single flight physical. I presume it's on every military flight physical as well (for those who don't know, color vision defects are genetic - you're either born with them or you're not - you don't acquire them in life).

Oddly enough, in civ-land if I fail the PIP - but I can demonstrate to an FAA Examiner that I can distinguish red, green and white on the airfield from the biscuit gun I get a letter called a SODA (statement of demonstrated ability) and I never have to take a color-blindness test for a civilian flight physical ever again. Of course, I don't have to do this because I'm color normal - since birth - and test so every single time - but I still have to take the test with every flight physical - I guess to see if I got a bionic eye & they screwed me by giving me the B & W model & not the color model. go figure.

 

[BleedGreen]

Well good news so far, the FS took another look at his MCT and didn't realize initially that it was from a military facility. He felt a little more confident after realizing that and agreed to moving forward with his flight physical. Hopefully NAMI feels the same way when they review his flight physical.
Again, thanks for the help jcj!

 

[jcj]

Well good news so far, the FS took another look at his MCT and didn't realize initially that it was from a military facility. He felt a little more confident after realizing that and agreed to moving forward with his flight physical. Hopefully NAMI feels the same way when they review his flight physical.
Again, thanks for the help jcj!

good for y'all

 

[Atreyu098]

I have a question for everybody who can answer this. I am a 1/c Mid, only a few months from commissioning. I was service selected as a SNA, which has been my dream since I was about 5 years old. It is all I have wanted to do was to be in the air as a pilot, flying a helo if I got lucky. I went to my pre-commissioning physical, and my left eye was just a fraction to weak (couldn't read 10 letters in a row on the chart at 40 feet, would consecutively get 1 wrong). I was then NPQ'd for SNA, but approved for SNFO. I did not accept my fate very well, it was hard to get this close to your dream and fall just short. I emailed my CDR and he was going to try and pull some strings and get one more try at the chart to see if I don't have to re designate. Is this a smart idea? If I get squeaked through my pre-commissioning eye exam, what happens if I fail when I get down to NAMI and they NPQ me all over again? Should I try for my dream or accept it and go SNFO and maybe somewhere down the line I try and lat transfer OR at that point I may never want to be a pilot for loving my life as a NFO. I am looking for a doctor's point of view here because I don't want to shoot myself in the foot here. Any help would be greatly appreciated, or any advice from anyone. Thank you!

 

[fisher411]

I'm headed to MEPS tomorrow and I have a bit of a problem. The week of Thanksgiving, I had a cold with a bad cough. It lasted for about two weeks. I had already sent in my request for physical and 2807-2. I run track in college and had my first meet coming up and was trying to get rid of the cough as soon as possible. The doc at my campus health center gave me a prescription for an albuterol inhaler to help relax my breathing pathways until the cold and symptoms subsided. I've never had to use an inhaler before in my life and I've never had any sort of lung or breathing issue before. I know at MEPS they'll ask if I have ever used an inhaler and the answer will not be the same as my submitted paperwork. I have documentation(obtained today) that shows that the inhaler was for an acute viral illness and I am no longer using it. I've notified my recruiter but have yet to hear back from her. Will this give me any major problems for my physical or am I worrying about nothing? Sorry for the long post.

 

[SpankenStein]

How do I get my Red Blood Cell count higher?

 

[TimeBomb]

SpankenStein,
Need more information. Feel free to PM me if you want.
R/

 

[AlphaLima29]

Question for the Dr: What's the likelihood of obtaining a waiver for OCS and will I be PQ for flight training if selected? I'm a hopeful SNFO and I'm meeting with an officer recruiter Thursday

General background:
4 years active duty service AF (2007-2011) as a medic with a 6-month deployment to Iraq/ honorable discharge
3.2 gpa hospital administration
not yet taken ASTB

Medical Background:
30% VA disabled "Service connection for anxiety disorder, not otherwise specified {claimed with insomnia}"

I was working inpatient care and after coming home from a deployment and less than 12 months before I separated from active duty (honorably) I was switched from days to nights and vice versa every month. At my separation physical 4 weeks prior to my final out in JAN 2011, I told the dr about some nightmares I've had, trouble sleeping, and worries about separation. He gave me a month trail of SSRI which I did not take and noted in my record that I had anxiety but could deploy/work/function normally and no depression.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Question for the Dr: What's the likelihood of obtaining a waiver for OCS and will I be PQ for flight training if selected? I'm a hopeful SNFO and I'm meeting with an officer recruiter Thursday

General background:
4 years active duty service AF (2007-2011) as a medic with a 6-month deployment to Iraq/ honorable discharge
3.2 gpa hospital administration
not yet taken ASTB

Medical Background:
30% VA disabled "Service connection for anxiety disorder, not otherwise specified {claimed with insomnia}"

I was working inpatient care and after coming home from a deployment and less than 12 months before I separated from active duty (honorably) I was switched from days to nights and vice versa every month. At my separation physical 4 weeks prior to my final out in JAN 2011, I told the dr about some nightmares I've had, trouble sleeping, and worries about separation. He gave me a month trail of SSRI which I did not take and noted in my record that I had anxiety but could deploy/work/function normally and no depression.

Generally recruiters are told not to bother with anyone that has a rating greater than 20%

 

[AlphaLima29]

Generally recruiters are told not to bother with anyone that has a rating greater than 20%

Is that always the case? I've read in various places online that 30% or less can be waivered, is this true?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Is that always the case? I've read in various places online that 30% or less can be waivered, is this true?

The way it was often phrased to us was "less than 30%" but the VA only gives ratings in whole numbers so that means 20% or less.

You would have to do a few things, waive the disability AND get doc's to say the condition no longer exist, of course that would negate the disability and is in no way guarantee you could get back in, so in the end you could end up with no disability and no commission. The good thing is you are still under the 8 year MSO which does make it a bit easier as your medical is not looked at as a "new accession"

 

[JHuff]

I'm currently an Army officer and I'm wanting to apply for transfer to Navy. I need to get a flight physical before I can even think about starting the process. Recruiters in my area say they can't send me to Newport for a flight physical, that they can only send guys to MEPS for regular physicals. My question is this: Can I go to West Point (live in NYC) and get an Army flight physical there, then make an appointment with a Navy flight surgeon to review? Thanks in advance.

 

[The_Pants]

I have searched the forum relentlessly and have viewed the medical waiver guide for SNA/SNFO (aviation physical standards class 1), but I am still confused about my eye sight at MEPS. I had PRK and my vision is better than 20/20 uncorrected. But when I put my right eye in that machine with the red blimp it said it was 20/25, left eye was 20/20. What does that indicate exactly? How can I see better than 20/20 viewing the eye chart, but when I use the machine it says 20/25? I asked the lady to retest me because the whole time the letters/numbers were blurry in the machine, (I don't think she knew exactly how to use it), but she said there was no time. Will I be NPQ'd because she wrote down 20/25 for my Right eye while using the machine? Clarification would be greatly appreciate, thank you.

I also have documents from two civilian optometrists within the last 30 days stating that my manifest refraction was 20/20 both eyes within the limits, hopefully those will suffice and be submitted to NAMI.

(1.6) All applicants for pilot training must meet Class I standards except as follows:
Visual Acuity, Distant and Near: Uncorrected visual acuity must not be less than 20/40 each eye, correctable to 20/20 each eye using a Goodlite eye chart. Vision testing procedures shall comply with those outlined on the Aerospace Reference and Waiver Guide Physical Exams section.