Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 3/18/2010

Question
My husband is suffering from a rare genetic eye disease and is losing his central vision. He always considered the military LONG before this was diagnosed. We are wondering if the military is an option now. Are there jobs in any branch for someone with limited vision? He is extremely fit, still hunts and goes to a shooting range frequently. Thanks for your time.

Answer
Jennifer,
I'm sorry to hear about his eye condition.  He would most likely not pass the medical exam to get in.  Something like that is a disqualifier for all Branches of military service.

Most eye problems are irreversible.  Which means he's stuck with it.  In the military, folks routinely work with multi-million dollar equipment and also some very large, dangerous, equipment.  So they're worried about the safety of himself and others.  I know it sounds unfair, but they deal with thousands of cases daily so they have to set some guidelines, or rules.  They way they look at it, your husband may cost them a lot of money down the road in medical care.

Has he considered Federal Civil Service?  They're in all the Services working right alongside military folks, even overseas, the only difference is they don't wear uniforms.  He won't have to pass a medical exam and you can't beat a steady government paycheck.  It may be worth his while to check into it at: http://www.usajobs.gov/
Best of luck in whatever you guys choose, and thank him for wanting to serve our country in uniform.
Colonel H