Medically Qualified MWAUHAHAHA!!

K_Delrosario

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
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May 21, 2009
Messages
125
I am ecstatic of my medical qualification to the USNA class of 2014 mainly because my local medical examiner failed me on one part of the physical. Somehow, with the endless grace of God, I still am qualified!:biggrin:

I'll keep everybody posted :biggrin::thumb:
 
Yipee!! I know you are very focused on working towards an Appointment. Keep it up! We are all pulling for you.
 
Congrats!!! I just had both my physical and the eye appointment today. I'm definitely going to have to get a waiver for my eye sight, but I think I'll be okay otherwise. Anyway, congrats again, hope to see you next year.
 
No worries on those eyes. PRK is the greatest single thing the Navy ever gave me.
 
I have 20/20 vision but I just had a hard time discerning certain things because according to the optometrist I had my eyes were shaped like lemons.
 
Congrats!!! I just had both my physical and the eye appointment today. I'm definitely going to have to get a waiver for my eye sight, but I think I'll be okay otherwise. Anyway, congrats again, hope to see you next year.

They must give out a lot of eyesight waivers because I was stunned how many of the plebes wear glasses. I was just up there for the past I-day and it is obvious who wears glasses and who doesn't as plebes are not permitted to wear contacts during Plebe Summer. They all have these dorky, standard glasses on - that I discovered are referred to as "Birth Control Glasses" - funny!

Back in my day, there was a more limited number admitted who wore glasses - most likely because the Navy was very unforgiving with their flight program. You had to have 20/20 uncorrected vision - NO EXCEPTIONS. If you didn't have 20/20 uncorrected vision, being a Naval Aviator was not an option for service selection. There were a lot of very disappointed people for those who lost their perfect vision during their four years at the academy.

But, with the advent of Lasik surgery, that has all changed. I am not 100% sure of this, but I think the academy provides Lasik surgery for anybody who needs/wants it in order to go to flight school. Maybe somebody can verify that for me.

David Emerling '79
Alec '13 (6th company)
Eric '13 (27th company)
 
^^^

The academy provides PRK (not Lasik) to a select few of mids and you don't have to be service selecting aviation (at least you didn't when I went through). PRK is the ONLY authorized eye surgery for aviation folks. The difference b/w the two procedures is different only in the Lasik cuts a small flap on the eyeball, lasers the eye, then lays the flap back down, then your eye heals fairly quickly and seals the flap. PRK shaves a small layer of the eyeball, lasers the eye, then they put on a clear contact for about three days to protect the eye, and in about that time your eye growns a new "lense" and you are "good to go". With the amount of G's a pilot pulls and such it is unknown if the "flap" that is cut during a Lasik procedure would hold, which is why PRK is the only authorized eye surgery.

Well, worth it - I had it done. Walked out with about 20+ classmates of mine and had 20/25 the day of the procedure. Ended up w/ 20/10 and 20/15 and about 8-9yrs later I have 20/20.
 
In the fall of 06, if you told the eye doc you were thinking about anything other than aviation he would not screen you for PRK. At the time, I wasn't thinking about aviation but I said I was anyways.
 
youve already taken your dodmerb? i just got mail saying that im an official candidate yesterday. and I'm at the part where you write your personal statement.
 
some of us got our official candidate letters in early june bexcause we applied for summer seminar. once you fill out 5 thingd on the CIS theyll contact you for your exam
 
My son got his updated to qualified as well today and was very excited and relieved!

His entire packet is complete except for his Candidate Academic Profile or whatever it's called from his principal. The principal has submitted it twice, but somehow it can never get there via the internet! Today USNA (his contact there, a 2LT) called him and gave him the fax number for his principal (who printed out the whole thing this time) to send it to. We'll see! Glad Dodmerb is behind us for now!
 
Best of luck to your son, I've gotten all correspondences dealing with the academy done, also I'm medically qualified on top of that. Now all I have to do is get a nom.

I had to take it upon myself to finish much of my application asap because where I live, Maryland, it's gonna be really cut throat, and I have to use all my phalanxes to get a leg up on candidates here.
 
PRK is the ONLY authorized eye surgery for aviation folks.


Just to correct some misinformation. LASIK is now allowed for Naval Aviation. There are very strict limitations on how this is applied but currently LASIK is allowed for all naval aviators including service group 1 pilots.

This currently only applies to designated members, so don't go get LASIK if you are going to apply for aviation. PRK remains the only authorized eye surgery for applicants; however, this may change in the next few years.
 
yeah I was surprised to be already medically qualified without waivers, especially because I had asthma as a child, so I was very happy I did not have to go through more waivers
 
Just to correct some misinformation. LASIK is now allowed for Naval Aviation. There are very strict limitations on how this is applied but currently LASIK is allowed for all naval aviators including service group 1 pilots.

This currently only applies to designated members, so don't go get LASIK if you are going to apply for aviation. PRK remains the only authorized eye surgery for applicants; however, this may change in the next few years.

Any form of corrective eye surgery is an automatic DQ when applying for any of the academies though. I know you can get it while attending but even PRK will DQ you befor eyou enter the academy automatically.
 
K Delrosario-

I am also a candidate for USNA Class of 2014, and I have seen you a lot on this forum. Did you attend Summer Seminar?
 
^^^

Not only that but at USNA they told us that, if you get corrective surgery before applying, they will still take your vision results prior to surgery as your vision for determining whether you'll be admitted. Don't know if others follow that policy, but that what USNA is currently doing.
 
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