Color Blind DoDMERB?

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Sep 23, 2018
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22
I'm a junior in high school so this will not effect me much right now but I was wondering if mild colorblindness will cause you to need a medical waiver to get into the academies. I have mild deuteranomaly (red-green colorblindness).
 
I see your screen name includes Navy, and you’re here in the USNA forum. The Navy, along with Coast Guard, is particularly strict about color blindness, because of aids to navigation and other reasons.

USNA issues a tiny number of waivers for color blindness, and those midshipmen have limited career paths - no pilot, etc.

It’s a process. Part of the application is the DODMERB medical exams and review. Anything they DQ per the link below, it’s up to the individual SA to decide on a waiver or not.

Different services waive different things - different missions, gear, operational environment.

http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/613003p.pdf?ver=2018-05-04-113917-883

https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/_files/documents/MedicalAppendix1.pdf


Junior year is the perfect time to research the primary sources for the SAs. Read every page, dropdown and link on USNA.edu. Same for other SAs.
 
If you truly have red/green colorblindness as determined by the testing you will get as part of your DODMERB physical, it will be very difficult to be accepted to USNA and, if you are, your options upon commissioning are very limited. Each year, USNA takes about 10 folks with red/green colorblindness. You could be one of those 10, but you can see the number is very small.

Upon graduation, you will not be able to select SWO, subs, pilot or NFO. Thus, your options would be USMC ground or a restricted line/staff corps job in the USN.

Know that the Army and Air Force are not as strict about colorblindness, so that could be a better option for you.
 
I'm not sure on DoDMERB standards but as a mild deutan, you may be more qualified than you think from the service perspective.

The requirements for Naval aviation these days are 55/100 on each color using the cone contrast test (CCT) and 65/100 for USAF aviation. I am a mild deutan and consistently score 65-70 in green on the CCT (95-100 on red and blue). If I was in the pipeline today, I would be qualified despite being a mild deutan (I was disqualified in 2013-2017 when the USAF standard was 75/100). So, if you are a MILD deutan (rather than moderate or severe), then you should be qualified so long as you clear DoDMERB. If you are truly a mild deutan, you should be able to pass the Ishihara/(PIP) test.

Good luck!
 
Let me encourage you to consider West Point. Color blindness is not an issue for the Army. My son is colorblind (I watched him take this particular test and I can state that he is definitely color blind) and this was not an issue at all in his application. No waiver was required (at one time, Army required a waiver for color blindness, but evidently they no longer do require this).
 
@navyhopeful2020

After this string of advice, step back, do your research on what Service calls to you, after doing the work to look at the career paths available. If it’s Navy you want, go after it and don’t stop if and until you are told no. If you are open to another Service (do same homework), pursue that too, with your best effort. Don’t rule anything out until you are ready to let it go.
 
@navyhopeful2020

After this string of advice, step back, do your research on what Service calls to you, after doing the work to look at the career paths available. If it’s Navy you want, go after it and don’t stop if and until you are told no. If you are open to another Service (do same homework), pursue that too, with your best effort. Don’t rule anything out until you are ready to let it go.
Thank you so much for your response. I did a little bit of research and I realized that I might be able to pass the FALANT (Navy color blind test) even if I fail the Isihara (Circle dot color blind test) due to the mildness of my color-blindness. I will still definitely apply and hope that the one thing out of my control doesn't disqualify me!
 
Let me encourage you to consider West Point. Color blindness is not an issue for the Army. My son is colorblind (I watched him take this particular test and I can state that he is definitely color blind) and this was not an issue at all in his application. No waiver was required (at one time, Army required a waiver for color blindness, but evidently they no longer do require this).
Thanks for the info! I live in New York City so I've been to West Point quite a few times, and I will definitely apply, but I just didn't feel the same connection I felt with the Naval Academy.
 
Thank you so much for your response. I did a little bit of research and I realized that I might be able to pass the FALANT (Navy color blind test) even if I fail the Isihara (Circle dot color blind test) due to the mildness of my color-blindness. I will still definitely apply and hope that the one thing out of my control doesn't disqualify me!

Caveat on that test, supposedly the navy is getting rid of the falant eventually so they may start phasing it out. I’m mild deutan. I couldn’t pass the plate test so I took the falant. No waiver required at the academy. However, I DID have to get a waiver for aviation. Wasn’t an issue because I can pass the falant and was grandfathered into that test. Since Dec 2016, there’s a new test I couldn’t pass, but I’m fine by the old standards.
 
Caveat on that test, supposedly the navy is getting rid of the falant eventually so they may start phasing it out. I’m mild deutan. I couldn’t pass the plate test so I took the falant. No waiver required at the academy. However, I DID have to get a waiver for aviation. Wasn’t an issue because I can pass the falant and was grandfathered into that test. Since Dec 2016, there’s a new test I couldn’t pass, but I’m fine by the old standards.

I know this has come up in the last year or so here on SAF, the phase-out of the falant.

See this link.

https://www.med.navy.mil/directives/Pub/MANMED CHANGE 152.pdf
 
I'm a junior in high school so this will not effect me much right now but I was wondering if mild colorblindness will cause you to need a medical waiver to get into the academies. I have mild deuteranomaly (red-green colorblindness).
If you are still on this message board, I'm curious about how your journey ended regarding the Naval Academy? My son is in a similar situation applying for the class of 2027.
 
If you are still on this message board, I'm curious about how your journey ended regarding the Naval Academy? My son is in a similar situation applying for the class of 2027.
OP hasn’t posted in 3 years.

My son is currently a firstie at USNA - he is colorblind and got a waiver. He knows most of the colorblind midshipmen in his class.

I can probably answer most questions you have.
 
OP hasn’t posted in 3 years.

My son is currently a firstie at USNA - he is colorblind and got a waiver. He knows most of the colorblind midshipmen in his class.

I can probably answer most questions you have.
Thank you. My son's every other box is now checked. Scheduling DoDMerb now. He has red/green colorblindness, not sure how severe.

How long does does the process take to establish the restriction, ask for a waiver, and get a waiver? How many color blindness waivers are there now in your son's class? I read an older post where it mentioned 10 color blindness waivers. Are there any notable changes in the trends?

Most importantly, is he happy at USNA now, after his plebe summer, knowing that his path may be "different" or more restricted than his fellow midshipmen, and how does he see his career path unfolding with a color blindness waiver?
 
Thank you. My son's every other box is now checked. Scheduling DoDMerb now. He has red/green colorblindness, not sure how severe.

How long does does the process take to establish the restriction, ask for a waiver, and get a waiver? How many color blindness waivers are there now in your son's class? I read an older post where it mentioned 10 color blindness waivers. Are there any notable changes in the trends?

Most importantly, is he happy at USNA now, after his plebe summer, knowing that his path may be "different" or more restricted than his fellow midshipmen, and how does he see his career path unfolding with a color blindness waiver?
Any discussion is anecdotal. While data points help satisfy curiosity, it doesn’t necessarily apply in all cases.

My son had an loa (thank God we didn’t know what an loa was before he got it) and a nomination before he scheduled his medical exam late. He was dq’d when they got his results in late December. Waiver process started right away. He got his waiver end of January. The waiver took about one month. The colorblind waiver has to be signed off by superintendent.

There were 15 colorblind waivers for his class. My son remarked to me that the other colorblind midshipmen were all very smart.

He has been happy his whole time at USNA.

He signed an agreement that he would accept where they put him, including marines.

He was a chemistry major his plebe year, but switched before his second year to aerospace engineering (switching majors before your third semester is complete needs approval). He sought out the communities he could select, including intelligence, amdo, seabees, supply, and marines.

He was recently told he would he was going seabees, but right now we aren’t sure if that will be where he ends up going.

There are great opportunities outside the unrestricted line. You have four years and incredible resources and billets to find your passion. He found his. And he looks forward to his career in the navy.
 
Any discussion is anecdotal. While data points help satisfy curiosity, it doesn’t necessarily apply in all cases.

My son had an loa (thank God we didn’t know what an loa was before he got it) and a nomination before he scheduled his medical exam late. He was dq’d when they got his results in late December. Waiver process started right away. He got his waiver end of January. The waiver took about one month. The colorblind waiver has to be signed off by superintendent.

There were 15 colorblind waivers for his class. My son remarked to me that the other colorblind midshipmen were all very smart.

He has been happy his whole time at USNA.

He signed an agreement that he would accept where they put him, including marines.

He was a chemistry major his plebe year, but switched before his second year to aerospace engineering (switching majors before your third semester is complete needs approval). He sought out the communities he could select, including intelligence, amdo, seabees, supply, and marines.

He was recently told he would he was going seabees, but right now we aren’t sure if that will be where he ends up going.

There are great opportunities outside the unrestricted line. You have four years and incredible resources and billets to find your passion. He found his. And he looks forward to his career in the navy.
This is awesome. Thank you so much. Only curious about one comment: why do you say thank God you didn't know what an LOA was before you got it? Motivating? Demotivating? Misleading?
 
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