Expert: Matt - 10/5/2009

Question
Sir,

As a prior-enlisted Marine who got out and is finishing up school under the GI Bill, I am considering Marine OCS. I am currently deciding between an Air and Ground contract. I'm planning on getting PRK soon (I'll have 1+ years after surgery before going to OCS) in hopes of getting 20/20 vision.  My questions regarding which contranct to sign are:

Will PRK adversly affect my chances in flight school (I ideally would want to fly AH-1's)

What are the chances of getting an age waiver for flight school? I will be 28 at the time of commissioning if all goes well at OCS.

What happens if I wash-out of flight school?  Do I have any say in what MOS I get slotted for? I understand the needs of the Corps come first, but as I have some good civilian options on the table right now, I would hate to go through OCS and get stuck with something like Finance or Adjutant (nothing against those Marines of course, just not the track for me)

Respectfully,
S.


Answer
Hi Scott

PRK will not affect you negatively in any way, I actually called one of my buddies who just had eye surgery to double check on it. Especially with that year long wait to recover, youll be good. Just double check with your OSO. The age waiver is once again a murky situation. Since you are so close to the age req's for pilots the OSO will look at your individual case and then decide from there how to proceed. Your job is to make yourself as appealing as possible, run a very high PFT, get good grades, stay out of any trouble etc you know the drill. As for flight school, its all about hard work and dedication. Of the guys that washed out, Id say only 3-5 of them were really trying their best. The others just didnt wanna work hard. Most guys that make it that far have the brains to be there, they just dont have the balls/desire to follow through with it. If you wash out, your MOS will depend on the needs of the marine corps. Sometimes they needs Adjs and sometimes they need Infantrymen...its a crapshoot. The best way to stay away from that is just to kick ass in flight training.


PS - The AH-1W is the single greatest aircraft known to man and you will NOT regret all your hard work once you fly it for the first time. Semper Fi.