the ever-present vision questions...

[LaneyLou]

Hi everyone,

I'm finishing up my master's degree and planning on going to OCS once that's done, and I've had some pretty bad experiences with a recruiter. I was hoping someone would be able to clear a few things up for me, please. My buddy (Marine infantry officer) told me that I can go fly with a contact lens waiver. Here's the link:

http://www.nomi.med.navy.mil/Nami/WaiverGuideTopics/pdfs/Waiver Guide - Ophthalmology.pdf

The bottom two tabs are about PRK and the Student Naval Aviator Contact Lens policy. From the way that I am reading this, with my 20/100 correctible to 20/20 with soft contact lens eyes, I don't need to have PRK prior to applying to OCS. Is this true, or only applicable if your vision degrades in flight school? If I can get a contact waiver, should I get the surgery pre-OCS anyway, or just wait and let the Navy pick up the tab? The reason I'm hesitant to get PRK is because I ultimately want to apply to the astronaut program, and I think ANY eye surgery is disqualifying. Is there truth to that?

Thanks!
Laine

 

[BrandonJ1780]

Laine, search like a banshee on here...http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=56
It's all-u-can-eat PRK info. Good luck.

 

[LaneyLou]

Wow, it is really sad when we have to come up with even more creative ways to tell people to do a search

My apologies if this sounds sarcastic, but if I had found the answer to my specific question in there, I wouldn't have asked... thanks anyway.

 

[Mustang83]

Here's my two cents:
I just had PRK 3 months ago and have an SNFO contract through the Marines. I had the surgery after commissioning. As far as NASA not accepting surgery, they will by the time you can apply for the astronaut program. I had a professor in aerospace who qualified for the top 20 in the 2000 astronaut class but was cut for some medical reson he didn't divulge. He said they were starting to re-evaluate the astronaut physical and with the new CEV it is likley they will have much different standards than now.

Just a thought...

 

[wink]

For pilot must have 20/40 or better. Either PRK or SCL waiver, your choice, if you are not. PRK is not just for guys that have a deterioration in vision after getting in. In fact, you can wear glasses once you are in and your eyes get bad with age. All requirements of the waiver, PRK or SCL, must be complied with prior to getting the final select for OCS/SNA. The SCL waiver is new and not many guys have pursued it. Be patient with the recruiter and processor.

 

[EM1]

I was curious if anyone knew anything about congenital cataracts. I have small ones in each eye that I've had since birth. They have been waiverable for submarine duty and I was wondering if they could be waived for NFO. I looked an NOMI's website and it says cataracts are disqualifying, but it doesn't address congenital ones. Just wondering if anyone had any gouge. Thank you.