Expert: David A. NewMyer - 5/28/2007

Question
Hi,
I'm not sure if you would know much in about being a pilot in the airforce. I just wanted to know if getting PRK will permanently disqualify you from being a pilot. I know LASIK will. The problem I have is that I want to be a fighter pilot for the airforce but I don't have perfect vision. I wanted to get this fixed so that I could be a top pilot. I want to fly jets etc. Is there any way I could do this with or without corrective eye surgery?

Thanks,
Shay

Answer
Hi,

No, I do not know a lot about this but I have heard that, IF you are contemplating corrective eye surgery, that the military wants to do it themselves or have it done by someone that they recommend.  You might want to call someone directly in the Air Force and ask them....check with a nearby or a local ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) office at a university to ask them about it.  This would be better than a local recruiter since the local recruiter might bother you later.  Also, the Air Force requires a degree for flying anyway, and, you might as well find out about ROTC and going to a university while you are at it.

The local ROTC office at the university where I work can be reached at: 618-453-2481

Best wishes,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siu.edu