Vision Waiver

madmom36

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
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My son received an LOA from the USNA in February pending a medical waiver for his vision. We were told repeatedly that this was not a big deal and there would be no problem getting a waiver...his vision is 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 (correctable to 20/25) in the other eye. We received notification on Friday that his waiver was denied. Is there any hope at this point? This is all he wants to do! He met EVERY other qualification and had 2 nominations.
 
That seems odd... My vision's way worse than that, and I have an appointment to USMA. Granted, mine's correctable to 20/20 with glasses/contacts. Perhaps it has something to do with the correction? Are you sure it's only correctible to 20/25?

At any rate, I'm sure Larry Mullen will be able to help you out.
 
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Yeah, both eyes correctable to 20/20 is a seemingly un-waiverable requirement (granted I am far from an expert, you should probably talk to Larry Mullen) .

If being in the Military is all he wants to do, he still easily meets the enlistment requirements of ever branch (Including many Special Ops Units, which is kind of strange. Like a Logistics officer needs better eyesight than a SEAL?)
 
I think I also heard that some have been denied by a SA but managed to get into ROTC fine. Does your son have any interest in ROTC?

I've been thinking about this lately myself. Vision is the only problem I have that I know about, which is making me nervous.
 
Again, the only way to know for sure is to cut and pate your posting; provide full names and last 4 SSN; send to me at Larry.Mullen@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil. This way, I can assist YOU as the standards; your medical status; and the programs you have applied to will be specifically addresses as it pertains to YOU...not percentages...not what other people think....not hypotheticals....YOU:thumb:
 
I think I also heard that some have been denied by a SA but managed to get into ROTC fine. Does your son have any interest in ROTC?

I've been thinking about this lately myself. Vision is the only problem I have that I know about, which is making me nervous.

He is interested in NROTC or possibly ROTC for the Airforce. It is too late to apply this year though. My advice is go ahead and apply for both so you have backup. We really thought that LOA meant something and now we are scrambling! I guess you live and you learn!
 
Again, the only way to know for sure is to cut and pate your posting; provide full names and last 4 SSN; send to me at Larry.Mullen@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil. This way, I can assist YOU as the standards; your medical status; and the programs you have applied to will be specifically addresses as it pertains to YOU...not percentages...not what other people think....not hypotheticals....YOU:thumb:
 
Again, the only way to know for sure is to cut and pate your posting; provide full names and last 4 SSN; send to me at Larry.Mullen@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil. This way, I can assist YOU as the standards; your medical status; and the programs you have applied to will be specifically addresses as it pertains to YOU...not percentages...not what other people think....not hypotheticals....YOU:thumb:

I DID!!!!
 
FYI, my son had his vision tested by doctors assigned by Dodmerb (not a criticism of Dodmerb). The doctor found his vision 20/20 in one eye, 20/40 the other, not correctible to 20/20. We followed up with a visit to a new optometrist, who found he was indeed correctible to 20/20, and actually, to 20/15. We submitted all the documentation from that optometrist to Dodmerb and my son was cleared. The optometrist we spoke to (and a number of others) that said the facility where the testing takes place can make a difference. The bulbs on the machines they use can be not as bright as others (perhaps needing to be changed), essentially affecting the results. They mentioned other things, but I can't remember them now (this was months ago). Also, the testing optometrist found a different prescription than my son's original optometrist (and a very similar prescription was found by the new one). This most likely resulted in the Dodmerb doc's result (inability to correct to 20/20--can't do so with the wrong prescription). All I know is always get a second opinion when it comes to your and your children's health--especially if his/her college career depends on it.
 
FYI, my son had his vision tested by doctors assigned by Dodmerb (not a criticism of Dodmerb). The doctor found his vision 20/20 in one eye, 20/40 the other, not correctible to 20/20. We followed up with a visit to a new optometrist, who found he was indeed correctible to 20/20, and actually, to 20/15. We submitted all the documentation from that optometrist to Dodmerb and my son was cleared. The optometrist we spoke to (and a number of others) that said the facility where the testing takes place can make a difference. The bulbs on the machines they use can be not as bright as others (perhaps needing to be changed), essentially affecting the results. They mentioned other things, but I can't remember them now (this was months ago). Also, the testing optometrist found a different prescription than my son's original optometrist (and a very similar prescription was found by the new one). This most likely resulted in the Dodmerb doc's result (inability to correct to 20/20--can't do so with the wrong prescription). All I know is always get a second opinion when it comes to your and your children's health--especially if his/her college career depends on it.

We went that route...there optometrist told us he was basically blind! This is a child who has never had any real problems seeing. The second one we took him to originally said it was correctable to 20/20 and then marked it out and put 20/25! We are taking him somewhere else and going to appeal it but I just hope it is not too late at this point!
 
We have no made off-line contact with you and hopefully will be able to provide you with some positive guidance:thumb:
 
An obvious reminder . . . an LOA is contingent on being triple Q'ed. I can't tell you how many candidates (or their parents) say, "he/she is perfectly healthy; never had anything wrong in his/her life" only to get an initial medical rejection.

The good news is that most of them (many with help from Larry) are able to get a waiver and go on to appointments.

However, you should ALWAYS, ALWAYS have a Plan B. It should remain in effect until your appointment letter is in your hands and even then, many keep it alive until they raise their hand I-Day.
 
An obvious reminder . . . an LOA is contingent on being triple Q'ed. I can't tell you how many candidates (or their parents) say, "he/she is perfectly healthy; never had anything wrong in his/her life" only to get an initial medical rejection.

The good news is that most of them (many with help from Larry) are able to get a waiver and go on to appointments.

However, you should ALWAYS, ALWAYS have a Plan B. It should remain in effect until your appointment letter is in your hands and even then, many keep it alive until they raise their hand I-Day.

Obviously....we were just naive enough to listen to the "this will not be a problem" like 200 times! We always knew he didn't have perfect vision....He also received a nomination to the Merchant Marine Academy but did not apply there, I guess he should have....lol. Like I said, you live and you learn. I hope this works out but if it does not it will not be the end all. He will go to college and said he will sign up for the Navy after college if that is what it takes.
 
^^^^

My post was not meant to criticize you. Rather, for people applying next year and in the years beyond, nothing is certain. Even if you're triple Q'ed, you can have an accident, injury, etc. after receiving your appointment and having a Plan B is always a good idea. Once you're sworn in on I-Day, you become the military's problem. Prior to that, it's your problem.
 
Just as a general comment....(Madmom36 has a good handle on their situation...) when I speak at an Academy Day...I generally say soemthing along the lines of " If this is something YOU want to do...not your parents... after coonducting YOUR research...not your parent...then I recommend you apply to a few Service Academies...a few ROTC programs...and a few civilian schools. The dilema a senior wants to find themselve in...is it's March of their sernior year...they applied to 9 programs AND have just recevied 9 acceptances! U don't want to say in March of your senior year, "should I go to college?":thumb:
 
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