Waiver Question

[CCM1020AUS]

My son has a slight color deficiency and was "accepted" to USMMA based on the outcome of his medical. He failed the initial plate test, USMMA requested the test again, and through a multitude of testing, it was determined that he has a slight R/G deficiency. He's taken the plate test and the Waggoner computerized test. We received notice Friday afternoon that he is not a candidate due to the results of BUMED.

My question is two-fold. What/Who is BUMED? This is the first time I've heard of this entity. And two, is it DoDMERB, BUMED, or the academy that ultimately grants the waivers?

 

[Capt MJ]

My son has a slight color deficiency and was "accepted" to USMMA based on the outcome of his medical. He failed the initial plate test, USMMA requested the test again, and through a multitude of testing, it was determined that he has a slight R/G deficiency. He's taken the plate test and the Waggoner computerized test. We received notice Friday afternoon that he is not a candidate due to the results of BUMED.

My question is two-fold. What/Who is BUMED? This is the first time I've heard of this entity. And two, is it DoDMERB, BUMED, or the academy that ultimately grants the waivers?

First, it may be helpful to your son and you to go to the DoDMERB home page and plow through every item, including Contacts on the left-side menu. The process, FAQs, workflow diagrams, etc.

To sum up:
DoDMERB is the entity which determines candidates meet or do not meet DoD medical accession standards for the military, “Q/DQ.” The commissioning program (in this case USMMA) determines if it wishes to request a waiver from its designated medical waiver authority, which seems like it is BUMED. That is Big Navy’s Bureau of Medicine. They review each waiver request with regard to policy and precedent, and issue a decision. Sometimes they request AMI. DoDMERB serves as the info clearinghouse.

https://dodmerb.tricare.osd.mil/UserLogin.aspx

Waiver policies differ among the services, because missions, operating environments, gear and equipment differ. The sea services issue few to no waivers for color vision deficiency. Army, Marine Coros and Air Force seem to issue more.

 

[cmakin]

The problem with R/G deficiency is that so much, both deck and engine is dependent on the perception of both colors. On deck it is navigation lights, and down below, it is indicator lights on equipment. I had a classmate of mine, a "legacy" get into to KP. After passing the license exam we all had to take yet another physical for our license. He had issues with R/G perception and did not get his license. Can't recall if he got his commission, but I do believe that he was able to graduate with us.