Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/AF vision regs

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Question
I'm a TDSP candidate, with a projected graduation date of December 2008 (BS in Computer Engineering).  I have 20/200 vision corrected to 20/20, and want to get Lasik or PRK.  However, I don't want to lose my chances at a pilot/nav slot.  What steps should I take?

Answer
Hi Eric,

Currently, the Air Force does not allow aircrew applicants who have had Lasik or PRK. Under a test program, the Air Force is allowing *current* pilots and navigators to have (with approval) Lasik and PRK, but that program has not yet been extended to applicants.

In other words, under the current rules, if your get Lasik or PRK, you will be ineligible to apply for a pilot or nav slot. This may change in the future, but your guess is as good as mine, as to when this will change.

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information site at: http://usmilitary.about.com

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com

Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard

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Rod Powers

Expertise

Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.

Experience

Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.

Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).

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