color vision deficiency

futnavdad

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My son is applying to USNA and had to take a remedial Farnsworth Lantern test of his color vision at the AFA clinic. Basically he failed all the combinations except the Red/Green and the passed the Red green simple test. So apparently he has a color vision deficiency, but not color blindness. In your experience will the academy grant a waiver for this condition? He has indicated he is interested in major in mechanical engineering and the submarine service. Will the academy consider these in a waiver decision or suggest other areas of the Navy he may qualify for? Is there anything else we can or need to do?

I am concerned we will wait until March for an answer he won't like and has no control over. in the meantime he has already been accepted at another excellent engineering school and he is waiting to accept and be considered for scholarships because he really wants to attend and serve at the USNA. thanks for your advice.
 
The USNA grants very few color vision waivers (average of 5 per year), and most of those are for applicants who desire to be commissioned USMC. In the past those waivers were reviewed by the Supe, and did not go out until around April.

Your son could speak with his admissions officer to get a feel of where he might fall in there.
 
The USNA grants very few color vision waivers (average of 5 per year), and most of those are for applicants who desire to be commissioned USMC. In the past those waivers were reviewed by the Supe, and did not go out until around April.

Your son could speak with his admissions officer to get a feel of where he might fall in there.

We received the official DQ letter today :frown: . And also a nomination from Senator Allard :thumb:

I do some work in astronomy and remote sensing and filter or enhance color spectral ranges all the time to bring out selected features visually. I wondered if something like that could be applied to CVD. In doing some on-line 'research' on color vision deficiency I found there are some specialized optomotrists that offer some filter corrective lenses that can partially correct or modify the color vision to pass the Ishi test. Do you know if DoDMERB accepts these corrective methods or will re-test the individual with the corrective lenses - same as if they normally wear corrective lenses for myopia etc.?

http://www.colormax.org/1062180.html?gclid=CJeJ7uPAtpACFShsGgodWGyrMQ

FAA apparently does not accept them for pilots but he is not pursuing that career line. Is it better to partially correct the condition if possible than grant a waiver for it? Is this worth pursuing? thanks again for your advice.

ttp://www.aviationmedicine.com/articles/index.cfm?fuseaction=displayArticle&articleID=31
 
Congrats on the nomination!!

DoDMERB will not accept filter lenses, nor will any of the services. So from that standpoint I don't believe it would be worth it to pursue.
 
jp@89, I don't know why you have deleted 3 posts, but if you have questions please feel free to post them!! There are no dumb questions here.
 
I deleted them because first I accidentally double posted then I wasn't sure if I should ask or just wait it out. I will go ahead and ask. There may be others wondering the same thing.

I'm a Mom who's son has received a LOA from USNA that is dependant upon a color vision deficiency waiver. He has a national nomination, not presidential. I understand, according to admissions, that only 1% are given each year. I realize that an LOA is a good sign but does it influence a waiver at all? Will the fact that he has a national nomination speed up the process? I have read that admissions decisions and medical are seperate but if the Supe has the final decision on the waiver then is it really seperate? Who is the "waiver authority" DoDMERB, Admissions or another medical departmet within the military?
 
Who is the "waiver authority" DoDMERB, Admissions or another medical departmet within the military?

I'll start here first. The waiver authorities are a separate entity from the academies/ROTC programs. They may be housed in the same building as admissions or they may be in a completely separate location. For USNA/NROTC the waiver authority is the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) located in DC.

I realize that an LOA is a good sign but does it influence a waiver at all? Will the fact that he has a national nomination speed up the process?

LOA's will help to speed up the waiver process, but as far as influencing the waiver process, I haven't seen that. If an applicant has a medical condition that precludes military service just because he//she has an LOA does not mean they will get a waiver.

I have read that admissions decisions and medical are seperate but if the Supe has the final decision on the waiver then is it really seperate?

This is USNA specific: In the past, and I do not know how it is done currently, the only waivers the supe was involved with were the color vision waivers. All other medical waivers were left up to BUMED. Also in the past, and again it may have changed in the past 2 years, all color vision waivers were reviewed at one time, usually in March/April time frame. for the most recent information regarding this I would contact the admissions office.
 
"This is USNA specific: In the past, and I do not know how it is done currently, the only waivers the supe was involved with were the color vision waivers. All other medical waivers were left up to BUMED. Also in the past, and again it may have changed in the past 2 years, all color vision waivers were reviewed at one time, usually in March/April time frame. for the most recent information regarding this I would contact the admissions office."

The candidate I contacted -see earlier post - got a CVD waiver in a little more than a month or so, which might suggest they do something different now. But he was/is being recruited for wrestling, so maybe that makes a difference in individual v. group waiver reviews. My son emailed his BGO about it but has not received any sort of reply.
 
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