Amblyopia

[Kentucky9]

Son is still under wider review. Have found hopeful eye treatment that the optometrist is confident is he can get son to 20/25 and overcome the refractive error. It is anything but cheap! Has anyone had any success getting a waiver for amblyopia/ not correctable to 20/20/ refractive error exceeding 3?

Son will reapply if need be, but who at Annapolis is there to meet with my son concerning his package….and his medical condition? If a waiver is not requested and he reapplies he will both seek and deserve real answers.

 

[justdoit19]

Is completing the treatment, dependent upon whether or not it’s something that’s waiverable? Or will he complete the treatment no matter what?

My thought process is this: his not being offered may not have anything to do with his medical, even if waiverable. He may not ‘win the slate’. I think sometimes, people assume that the “reason” they aren’t appointed is their medical. It could be, but also may not be. There is no guarantee (if waiverable) that a candidate would win the slate (or be selected for one of the discretionary noms available to a SA), regardless of medical.

I don’t think, outside of knowing whether a condition is waiverable or not, that you will receive a definitive answer or guarantee about next year, if that’s what you are looking for. Certainly an admissions rep can provide insight into ways for him to improve his package for another try. Additionally, there are posts here on the forum about ‘reapplying’. Those would be good to search.

I hope you receive the answers to the medical question you have.

 

[Kentucky9]

On his portal there’s still a big X related to medical. Assumptions he will eliminate as many of those as he can. Starting with real answers from his nomination source and the academy.

 

[Impulsive]

On his portal there’s still a big X related to medical. Assumptions he will eliminate as many of those as he can. Starting with real answers from his nomination source and the academy.

"Real answers" from the Academy and Congressman??? If it is a medical issue neither of those will be able to discuss solutions, only DoDMERB or if a waiver is requested the Waiver Authority. I don't mean to imply anything, but you seem to have the attitude that your son is "entitled" to answers from a sitting Congressman/Senator, and any academy admissions supervisors where he applied? That is IMHO being either a little pertentious or demanding, especially considering you are not the applicant.

Best of luck, but remember something like 10% or less of applicants get invitations to attend, and the other 90% do not get individual sit downs or meetings with staff or politicians as to how to get their appointment reviewed or reconsidered. The process is what it is, but to have the attitude of "deserving" anything seems a little demanding. Sure hope you are a Flag Officer in one of the services to be demanding action from people who are just doing their jobs, JMHO!

 

[Kentucky9]

"Real answers" from the Academy and Congressman??? If it is a medical issue neither of those will be able to discuss solutions, only DoDMERB or if a waiver is requested the Waiver Authority. I don't mean to imply anything, but you seem to have the attitude that your son is "entitled" to answers from a sitting Congressman/Senator, and any academy admissions supervisors where he applied? That is IMHO being either a little pertentious or demanding, especially considering you are not the applicant.

Best of luck, but remember something like 10% or less of applicants get invitations to attend, and the other 90% do not get individual sit downs or meetings with staff or politicians as to how to get their appointment reviewed or reconsidered. The process is what it is, but to have the attitude of "deserving" anything seems a little demanding. Sure hope you are a Flag Officer in one of the services to be demanding action from people who are just doing their jobs, JMHO!

Total misinterpretation. My post was essentially that he will self reflect, make inquiries, use logic and reason…. and proceed. For example not all congressman rank their noms, and he will hear from whatever source which will speak to it….can he overcome the obstacle of Dodmerb?

Entitled….you are definitely misinterpreting!

 

[Capt MJ]

If your son hasn’t already done this, it’s useful to go to the DoDMERB home page and review every left-side menu item: FAQs, the process, workflow diagrams, etc. One of the keys is after a DQ from DoDMERB, IF the SA deems the candidate competitive, a waiver will be automatically requested from the appropriate waiver authority. “Under waiver review” means the SA is reviewing the applicant’s file for whether to request a waiver.

Based on past posts I’ve seen from Mr. Mullen, the Deputy Director, DoDMERB, who openly posts here - he’s stepped away for a few months to deal with the DoDMERB website outage issue - I recall he advises neither DoDMERB nor the SA will get involved in recommendations for healthcare decisions. We miss him, because he was willing to get on the phone with applicants and give them a general, not specific to their case, feel for which DQs are rarely or ever waivered, which are frequently waivered, which might have caps (such as color blindness at USNA), which services seem to be easier on certain conditions, etc., based on his years of experience observing waiver decisions flow back through DoDMERB. It might be worthwhile to run a search on Mr. Mullen’s posts.

I don’t recall if amblyopia has been specifically addressed. Sometimes doing an external Google search of SAF produces better results than the SAF search tool, using a string such as:
Site:www.serviceacademyforums.com amblyopia waivers

DoD Website Consent

 

[usna1985]

Two important points to keep in mind.

First, USNA generally doesn’t even consider waivers less they are likely to offer an appointment. IOW, they can decide on a turndown for non-medical reasons and never get to the medical issues. I can’t speak to how other SAs approach waivers.

Second, be careful of corrective eye surgery with the expectation it will solve SA medical issues. It can be disqualifying in and of itself. For many years (and still may be the case - I don’t know), LASIK was disqualifying for USNA and wouldn’t be waived.

 

[Kentucky9]

Two important points to keep in mind.

First, USNA generally doesn’t even consider waivers less they are likely to offer an appointment. IOW, they can decide on a turndown for non-medical reasons and never get to the medical issues. I can’t speak to how other SAs approach waivers.

Second, be careful of corrective eye surgery with the expectation it will solve SA medical issues. It can be disqualifying in and of itself. For many years (and still may be the case - I don’t know), LASIK was disqualifying for USNA and wouldn’t be waived.

Corrective eye surgery will not cure what he was born with. It’s just a lazy eye…the only lazy part of him. He’s in eye treatment that should correct the diopters within range and dr says 20/25 is doable…but the young man is a grinder/overachiever

 

[cbasalt1]

If your son hasn’t already done this, it’s useful to go to the DoDMERB home page and review every left-side menu item: FAQs, the process, workflow diagrams, etc. One of the keys is after a DQ from DoDMERB, IF the SA deems the candidate competitive, a waiver will be automatically requested from the appropriate waiver authority. “Under waiver review” means the SA is reviewing the applicant’s file for whether to request a waiver.

Based on past posts I’ve seen from Mr. Mullen, the Deputy Director, DoDMERB, who openly posts here - he’s stepped away for a few months to deal with the DoDMERB website outage issue - I recall he advises neither DoDMERB nor the SA will get involved in recommendations for healthcare decisions. We miss him, because he was willing to get on the phone with applicants and give them a general, not specific to their case, feel for which DQs are rarely or ever waivered, which are frequently waivered, which might have caps (such as color blindness at USNA), which services seem to be easier on certain conditions, etc., based on his years of experience observing waiver decisions flow back through DoDMERB. It might be worthwhile to run a search on Mr. Mullen’s posts.

I don’t recall if amblyopia has been specifically addressed. Sometimes doing an external Google search of SAF produces better results than the SAF search tool, using a string such as:
Site:www.serviceacademyforums.com amblyopia waivers

DoD Website Consent

I will say in case anyone was wondering Mr. Mullen was recently accessible for me through his email. He is truly a gem. Wow. Just what a helpful and nice guy even though I was taking his time on a Saturday and he took the time to respond to several overzealous emails of mine and call me on the phone. Anyone who has the pleasure of getting to work with him is lucky.