Medical Discharge

MarcoPolo!

5-Year Member
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Jun 29, 2010
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4
We enjoyed r-day and the ceremony as our swab was sworn in. This morning we packed up and began the journey home but received a phone call from the medical office before we were barely out of town. Our swab discovered a medical issue during his DoDMERB exam which he then took the remedial and passed that. When he took the test this morning he failed it.

It looks like he is going to have to be medically discharged. The few times we were able to talk to him he seemed like he was doing ok. I feel horrible for him because he was so excited about being a cadet at USCGA. Whatever ends up happening he will be fine and we are just as proud of him today as we were yesterday.

I'm sure that there is nothing to be done at this point, but we are open to any suggestions!

Congrats to all the swabs!

And PS, does the exchange take returns? We bought the store out!!!!
 
Sorry to hear about this issue....From previous years I can recall that depending on the type of problem your son maybe offer a chance to clear up issue and return for next years class.
exchange does take return
 
May we ask what kind of issue? Is it something correctable or is he stuck with it?
 
He has a color vision deficiency. It must be slight because he passed the remedial test before but failed the test yesterday. I talked to his Co Chief and she felt that he was a good swab and would definitely be a successful cadet however there isn't a waiver for this problem. It is heartbreaking because this has always been his dream and the road to the Academy was a hard one, as we all know.
 
MarcoPolo,

I'm so sorry to hear of this news. I know if you search trackandfield's posts, that she went through swab summer and injured herself before finishing. She then re-applied and is in the class of 2014. Just make sure you exhaust every possible way (contact Sup. Burhoe, CG medical staff, DoDMERB, etc.) to see why he would have passed earlier but not while at the academy.

Be so bold as to ask for a re-test and to chase down the first exam/examiner who gave the initial exam to find out what happened?

I really hope this works out for you. -officer
 
He has a color vision deficiency. It must be slight because he passed the remedial test before but failed the test yesterday. I talked to his Co Chief and she felt that he was a good swab and would definitely be a successful cadet however there isn't a waiver for this problem. It is heartbreaking because this has always been his dream and the road to the Academy was a hard one, as we all know.

USCGA and Naval Academy have very tight color vision standards. About 15% of males have some degree of color deficiency (usually red/green). He will need to pass the Farnsworth Lantern Test to be medically accepted. If he can not do that, may I suggest the Air Force Academy or West Point for next year? They do not have as strict a color standard as USCGA. Enroll in your local community college, take all the math classes you can and apply to Westpoint or Colorado Springs. (p.s. I am red/green color deficient too). :frown:
 
Thank you everyone for all your recommendations. I feel VERY strongly that every possible effort is being done on my son's part to keep him at the USCGA. EVERYONE I talk to is very kind and is handling the situation with such compassion. No matter how this turns out, we are USCGA fans for life (and we'll keep all the attire to prove it!). Our son will face this challenge and come out stronger and with a clearer idea of where he wants to go in life. And yes, the PLAN B is community college, job, triathlons and applying to the Air Force Academy class of 2015.
 
Unfortunately this seems to happen every year. In my son's class, I believe 9 kids were discharged on a account of being unable to pass the red/green test. Not sure why this isn't picked up earlier in the process. A damn shame if you pardon my french. Best of luck whatever he decides to do.
 
Was your son given only the "dots" (Ishihara Test or whatever it's called) test or both the "dots" and Farnsworth Lantern Test to determine medical discharge?
 
MarcoPolo- I will be praying for you guys! I hope that everything works out for your son. Is he still being allowed to participate until the final determination is made?
 
MarcoPolo!
I hope your son considers West Point. There is a cadet there I know who could not get a waiver from Navy but was not DQ's by West Point. He is a fantastic cadet and loving his West Point experience.
He did what your son will do - went to community college and applied to West Point for the next year.

Whatever happens, I wish him the best of luck. These are difficult days but he will get it figured out - it's important for him to know he can still have a military career if he so chooses.
 
Unfortunately this seems to happen every year. In my son's class, I believe 9 kids were discharged on a account of being unable to pass the red/green test. Not sure why this isn't picked up earlier in the process. A damn shame if you pardon my french. Best of luck whatever he decides to do.

As an Admissions Partner (and a person who IS red/green color deficient) when I conduct an interview with male applicants (the deficiency is carried by the female and expressed only in her male offspring) I always warn about the strict color vision requirements for USCGA. People have a tendency to minimize the degree of their color impairment. I have had moms say "Oh, boys just don't care about color like girls do" as if it were a fashion thing. I have had one applicant tell me "I can see red and green, I'm just a little weak with greens, so I'm not color blind." To be honest I made the same excuses about myself for many years as a young man.

I don't want to blame the applicant or their parents. I think the fault lies with the Dept. of Defense Medical Examination. These color deficiencies should be caught during the initial medical screening. Every time we loose a cadet on R-Day for color deficiency, we have wasted an admissions spot, and caused a great deal of hurt and anguish for the applicant and their family. I would hope USCGA follows-up with the medical examiner that did the initial color screening test to discover the break down in the system and correct the failure point.
 
I would also suggest looking at Kings Point. If your son's goal is to become an officer in the Coast Guard, USMMA can help him get that
 
Thank you everyone for all your encouragement. We still have not heard anything definitive. Our son did call last night and said that he was put back with his company yesterday. I'm not sure what that means but I'm trying not to analyze it too much. Maybe they just needed another swab to yell at : )
 
I would also suggest looking at Kings Point. If your son's goal is to become an officer in the Coast Guard, USMMA can help him get that

USMMA requires color vision as well. Color vision is not an Academy requirement it is a Service requirement. With this if you are found to be color blind you will not be commissioned in any of the sea services (granted there are always a few very, very rare exceptions)
 
I think the fault lies with the Dept. of Defense Medical Examination. These color deficiencies should be caught during the initial medical screening. Every time we loose a cadet on R-Day for color deficiency, we have wasted an admissions spot, and caused a great deal of hurt and anguish for the applicant and their family. I would hope USCGA follows-up with the medical examiner that did the initial color screening test to discover the break down in the system and correct the failure point.

No fault, no failure, and no breakdown in the system.

There are two different tests at issue here, the Farnsworth Lantern Test (Falant) and the Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plate test (PIP). The Falant is the definitive test for the sea going services and Army aviation. It is an expensive test which must be administered correctly and is not common in the civilian world. Since DoDMERB has commenced using contract medical for physicals, it is therefore generally not available. However, not sure if it is true in every case, but if a candidate cannot pass the DoDMERB PIP test, they are referred to a DOD facility to receive the Falant test, which is again the definitive benchmark. However, there is a certain percentage of the population which will pass the PIP but fail the Falant. Until the sea services change their requirements, since they feel the Falant represents the reds, whites, and greens common at sea and in the air, better than the PIP, unless we send all 50,000 or so candidates each year to a military facility, we will have to live with the issue. USNA allows them to remain but requires them to pursue a restricted line career (CEC, Intell, Supply, etc). USCGA probably knows the percentages down to one or two individuals and plan for them. Admittedly though, not a great way to treat a candidate.

Just to cloud the issue, the AF considers the PIP test the standard and the FAA only requires the Farnsworth if one fails the PIP test.
 
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Just to cloud the issue, the AF considers the PIP test the standard and the FAA only requires the Farnsworth if one fails the PIP test.

I agree that Farnsworth is the definitive test, however FAA does not require it for pilots.

I fail the PIP every time (mostly on the green side) and also the Farnsworth, however the FAA gave me a demonstrated waver by shooting a colored light signal gun at me from the control tower as I sat in my plane at the end of the runway, so there are a number of color deficient pilots (like me) out there who can not pass either test.

That said, I still think USCGA should look at the initial screening testing procedure to determine how candidates are getting to the academy before being detected as color deficient. I suspect (with nothing to back the opinion up) that a few medical technicians are skimping on the Ishihara book by only flipping to one page in the middle of the book and asking "what number do you see"? I've had that done to me for police entry medical exams. The problem with "low bid" civilian privatization of government medical screening. When they color tested me at Randolph AFB for my college ROTC flight physical they did an excellent job and caught the color loss at the very beginning of the testing.

If we keep track of the failed screening testing we might be able to discover a pattern and improve our screening rates.
 
That said, I still think USCGA should look at the initial screening testing procedure to determine how candidates are getting to the academy before being detected as color deficient.

From RetNavyHM, an old moderator, from a few years back:
Color vision issues for the sea services are a tricky issue. Obviously DoDMERB wants all the information it receives from the contractor and/or military treatment facilities (MTF) to be as accurate as possible. Unfortunately the color vision issues comes up every year, mainly for USNA, NROTC and USCGA.

There are 2 color vision tests that are used by DoDMERB. The first test is the pseudo-isochromatic plates (PIP) or the Ishihara test and the Farnsworth Lantern test (FALANT). The PIP test is used by most optometrists/ophthalmologists in the civilian world and is also the preferred test for the AF and Army. The FALANT was designed by the Navy, and is the preferred test for the sea services.

The PIP test is where you try to pick out the numbers is a circle of multi-colored dots. The FALANT is 3 colored lights (red/green/white) given in a series of 2 on a dark background. The FALANT is designed to simulate ship, channel markings or aircraft positioning lights at night.

Navy and AF aviation also used the FALANT as the mandatory color vision test for many years. The AF has gone away form the FALANT, but the Naval Aviation still uses the FALANT. As the FALANT was designed for military use, and it is very specialized, it is near impossible to find in the civilian community (I've also heard they have stopped producing it, but I'm not sure on that). When DoDMERB started using the civilian physical examination facilities they had to strike a balance with the sea services and color vision. So the PIP is the first color vision test done, and if an applicant for one of the sea services scores less than a certain number, they then must get a FALANT done at an MTF. Pass the FALANT and you are good, fail and you get a disqualification.

The past 2 years ('04/'05) I was involved in researching why applicants passed the PIP, or failed the PIP yet passed the FALANT, and then failed the FALANT once arriving at the SA or ROTC program. There was no definitive reason found. The best guess was that applicants that were borderline color deficient had either passed the PIP yet failed the FALANT once arriving at the SA or ROTC program, or, failed the PIP and passed a FALANT given by someone at an MTF that was not trained on the use of the equipment. Obviously there are those applicants who can learn the tests, but when the FALANT is given properly, the test is given in a random order and it is impossible to learn then. Obviously, the techs at the SA's are trained in the proper use of the equipment, yet for those MTF's where the equipment is used only for DoDMERB applicants, no guarantees can be given.

USNA and USCGA were given the option to do away with the FALANT and go with just the PIP test, but they both have politely declined. The option if having someone who may have a color deficiency is to much of a liability when trying to navigate a ship in a narrow shipping channel or busy shipping lanes at night, especially if there is a red/green color deficiency.

At USNA if an applicant is found to be color deficient they have a couple of options (USMC or Restricted Line), but at USCGA there are no options. I know that this is of little consolation to those that have been sent home.

I'm totally with RetNavyHM on this. No one who flunks a properly administered FALANT test has any business driving a ship or piloting an aircraft in the Navy or Coast Guard at-sea environment.

I know Naval Aviators who for their entire career every year during their annual flight physical who flunked the PIP and passed the FALANT. I actually know one who has been doing it for 30 years whose son is at USNA today with exactly the same issue so his was passed male-to-male.
 
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