Wednesday, December 12, 2012

What is the minimum service requirement for a military pilot?

Q. What about a helicopter pilot? Also, if you have had laser eye surgery and have a corrected 20/20 vision are you able to be a pilot? Or do you have to have good uncorrected vision?

A. For a helicopter pilot, you must be either a warrant officer or commisioned officer, eyesight correctible to 20 /40, a US citizen, a GT on the asvab of 110 or higher, and meet Army height / weight requirements.

You also must take the AFAST test and score 90 or higher.
For Warrant Officer school, these are the requirements. http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/
Just look through the website. I am assuming you are a civilian? If so, you can still do it. The requirements are there. If you are already in the military, you need to put together a packet.

All the information you need should be on that website. If you would like any more, I would be happy to answer you. Just say so =)

Unless you have a college degree already, the Warrant program is an excellent way to go.
And I can't remember which, but you can be a pilot with either PRK or Lasix, like I said, can't remember which.

EDIT
Just read through the info, this is a quote
"You cannot have had Radial Keratonomy eye surgery."
I'm assuming this is PRK.


Can I become an army helicopter pilot if I have lasik eye surgery?
Q. My uncorrected vision is very bad, over 20/200 I believe. I realize that the worst uncorrected vision you can have to become a helicopter pilot in the army is 20/50, but If I get lasik eye surgery which corrects it to 20/20 would I be eligible for flight school?

A. You are correct in that your uncorrected vision is too bad for you to be a helicopter pilot in the Army as is. However, you are also correct in that you can get LASIK surgery and still be eligible to apply if it corrects your vision to 20/20 or better.

The other poster is incorrect when he says that you have to have 20/20 uncorrected and that you cannot wear glasses at all to fly. You can and many people do. Once you finish flight school, your vision can get as worse as 20/400, but must still be correctable to 20/20. See AR 40-501, Standards of Medical Fitness which I have outlined and linked below:

Chapter 2
Physical Standards for Enlistment, Appointment, and Induction

2�12. Eyes

c. Cornea.

(1) Current or history of corneal dystrophy of any type (371.5), including but not limited to keratoconus (371.6) of any degree is disqualifying.

(2) History of refractive surgery including, but not limited to: Lamellar (P11.7) and/or penetrating keratoplasty (P11.6). Radial Keratotomy and Astigmatic Keratotomy is disqualifying. Refractive surgery performed with an Excimer Laser, including but not limited to, Photorefractive Keratectomy (commonly known as PRK), Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis (commonly known as LASEK), and Laser- Assisted in situ Keratomileusis (commonly known as LASIK) (P11.7) is disqualifying if any of the following conditions are met:

(a) Pre-surgical refractive error in either eye exceeds + 8.00 to - 8.00 diopters.

(b) At least 6 months recovery period has not occurred between last refractive surgery or augmenting procedure and accession medical examination.

(c) There have been complications, and/or medications or ophthalmic solutions are required.

(d) Post-surgical refraction in each eye is not stable as demonstrated by�

1. At least two separate refractions at least one month apart, the most recent of which demonstrates more than +/- 0.50 diopters difference for spherical vision and/or more than +/- 0.25 diopters for cylinder vision; and

2. At least 3 months recovery has not occurred between the last refractive surgery or augmenting procedure and one of the comparison refractions.


Requirements to become a commercial or private pilot?
Q. Do you need to have 20/20 or better vision?

If so can you wear contacts/glasses to correct it?

If not can you get laser eye surgery and qualify?

A. FAA: Need to be corrected to 20/20, wearing glasses or contact lenses.

JAA: There are prescription limitations and various other visual standards to meet.
Getting Lasik should not help, because they use your pre-operative refractions.
However things are changing very soon in JAA land, for the better.


Can you get laser eye surgery to fly for the Marine Corps?
Q. I have been doing some research and was not sure if you have bad vision that is corrected with contacts or glasses, if you get laser eye surgery to return your eyes to 20/20 vision, will that qualify you to fly for the Marine Corps or are you just out of luck if you have bad vision. Any help would be nice.

A. Yes, eye surgery is possible to qualify for flight training. See page 2....
http://www.und.edu/org/mao/MarineProgams.pdf
"AVIATION APPLICANTS
Applicants who desire to apply for a guaranteed position in aviation must pass two additional requirements, a cycloplegic eye exam and the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB). Aviators (pilots) must have 20/40 or better vision in each eye. However, as of 1 June 2005, applicants outside those requirements may apply for a contact lens waiver. Applicants must have uncorrected vision better than 20/400 and be correctable to 20/20 with soft contacts. In addition, they must be able to show they�ve worn soft contacts for at least six months without any type of problems. Naval Flight Officers (co-pilots/navigators) must simply have vision correctable to 20/20. Applicants who have had their vision surgically corrected should be aware that only vision correction through the PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) procedure is eligible for aviation. Applicants who has had their vision corrected through the LASIK (Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) procedure are disqualified for aviation, but may
apply for the ground or law program."
I am not sure if the contact lens waiver is still available. The link to the waiver guide on the NAMI website is broken or at least the waiver guide will not download on the computer I am currently using:
http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/nomi/nami/clinical/Pages/Ophthalmology.aspx
I believe Lasik is now approved. It is best not to get the surgery done on one's own without prior approval from the military. The military pays for eye surgery for Naval Academy Mids and Air Force Academy Cadets who want to fly. An OSO should be able to answer these questions.
http://openbah.com/marine-ocs-articles/marine-oso-city-list
http://www.dcmarineofficer.com/programs.html
http://officer.marines.com/marine/making_marine_officers/commissioning_programs
Good Luck!





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