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Old 07-20-2017, 09:00 PM
 
1 posts, read 14,990 times
Reputation: 15

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Hi, my daughter was asked to go back to MEPS 3 times for her vision. 1st time the MEPS eye doctor said she had to return back a 2nd time because she has astigmatism and they want to make sure she does not have keratoconus. So she went back a 2nd time to MEPS and the doctor said she had to return a 3rd time because he thought she may have early signs of keratoconus. So back to MEPS she went a 3rd time and the eye doctor said she did NOT have keratoconus but that she would need a waiver for her astigmatism. My daughter said MEPS sent a file with waiver stamped on it to the officials and it came back denied within 2 hours. Her astigmatism was a 6.25 and she was told the standard is 6.0. While completing the medical forms at the recruiters office we told him about her astigmatism, he told her not to list it because it would require a lot more paperwork for him and MEPS will see she has astigmatism anyway and a waiver would be requested at that time.

Can someone please tell me if this is correct, the astigmatism 6.0 standard?
Can we get a copy of the denial letter?
Is this something we can appeal?
If she gets lasik surgery to correct her astigmatism will this automatically disqualify her in the future?

She is devastated over this, she kept going back because she had hope & enlisting in the Navy was something she's truly wanted.

Last edited by Lxrnyv05; 07-20-2017 at 09:16 PM..
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Old 07-25-2017, 07:46 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
3,536 posts, read 12,271,874 times
Reputation: 6036
Page 14 of the regulation here, http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmotc/...0.03_JUL12.pdf.

The limit is 3.0, not 6.0. Your daughter is almost 2x the limit. No branch is going to give her a waiver.

Unfortunately, surgery will not help, as you can see in the regulation that this includes PRE-SURGICAL numbers as well. This is because astigmatism that severe is an indicator of possible later in life eye issues that the military does not want to be dealing with.

There are no appeals past the SG process. The SG was the appeal for MEPS, and is the final authority.

I'm so sorry
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Old 01-11-2018, 03:59 PM
 
1 posts, read 14,344 times
Reputation: 11
my son in law just breceived the news that he has been deinied into the air force because of austigmutisum, the waiver DENIED! that is crazy he wears corrective lenses for it! He didnt want to fly the jets! millions of Americans have that condition! He is truly devestated! Is there anything he can do? Will the same thing happen if he tries a different branch? This is so unfair for someone who wants it so bad for himself and his family!!!!
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Old 01-12-2018, 07:51 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
3,536 posts, read 12,271,874 times
Reputation: 6036
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lxrnyv05 View Post
Hi, my daughter was asked to go back to MEPS 3 times for her vision. 1st time the MEPS eye doctor said she had to return back a 2nd time because she has astigmatism and they want to make sure she does not have keratoconus. So she went back a 2nd time to MEPS and the doctor said she had to return a 3rd time because he thought she may have early signs of keratoconus. So back to MEPS she went a 3rd time and the eye doctor said she did NOT have keratoconus but that she would need a waiver for her astigmatism. My daughter said MEPS sent a file with waiver stamped on it to the officials and it came back denied within 2 hours. Her astigmatism was a 6.25 and she was told the standard is 6.0. While completing the medical forms at the recruiters office we told him about her astigmatism, he told her not to list it because it would require a lot more paperwork for him and MEPS will see she has astigmatism anyway and a waiver would be requested at that time.

Can someone please tell me if this is correct, the astigmatism 6.0 standard?
Can we get a copy of the denial letter?
Is this something we can appeal?
If she gets lasik surgery to correct her astigmatism will this automatically disqualify her in the future?

She is devastated over this, she kept going back because she had hope & enlisting in the Navy was something she's truly wanted.
An Astigmatism of 3 is the standard, please see page 12 of this regulation: http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Do...di/613003p.pdf.
They'll sometimes waive it to 6. You're daughter's is WAY worse than the standard, and is a little worse than the maximum we will waive it to.

You can't appeal it. You already appealed it. The waiver process is the appeal. It was denied. There are no higher levels.

Surgery will not help. If you see the regulation I sent it says that you're disqualified if you have "(b) Pre-surgical astigmatism exceeded 3.00 diopters."... PRE-SURGICAL. This is because Lasik surgery is no permanent and long-term success is less likely with a huge astigmatism.
Also, bottom of page 11, astigmatic keratotomy surgery is also disqualifying.

I'm sorry. Your daughter can try the other branches, but the result will likely be the same. She'll need to find an alternative path to a life in the military.
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Old 01-12-2018, 07:57 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
3,536 posts, read 12,271,874 times
Reputation: 6036
Quote:
Originally Posted by queentingler View Post
my son in law just breceived the news that he has been deinied into the air force because of austigmutisum, the waiver DENIED! that is crazy he wears corrective lenses for it! He didnt want to fly the jets! millions of Americans have that condition! He is truly devestated! Is there anything he can do? Will the same thing happen if he tries a different branch? This is so unfair for someone who wants it so bad for himself and his family!!!!
I realized I replied to the OP, not you, but please see my reply as it also applies to your situation.

It's not unfair.
The standard is applied fairly, to everyone.
Millions of people have astigmatisms, and they get approved because of the degree being low.
Severe astigmatisms aren't approved, for anyone.

Severe astigmatisms can lead to a condition called Keratoconus, Keratoconus can cause severe scarring, corneal tearing, needs for surgery, black spots in vision, ghosting, severe light sensitivity, and eventually blindness. How is it unfair that the military won't take someone that is likely to develop this condition, become unable to serve, go on disability, and cost the military and taxpayers untold money in medical treatment?

Astigmatisms over 3 have risks of future eye and vision problems. Astigmatisms over 6 have probabilities of future problems, and therefore aren't waivered for people to join the military.
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Old 01-18-2018, 07:29 AM
 
Location: Central Massachusetts
6,502 posts, read 6,968,512 times
Reputation: 9232
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmarie123 View Post
I realized I replied to the OP, not you, but please see my reply as it also applies to your situation.

It's not unfair.
The standard is applied fairly, to everyone.
Millions of people have astigmatisms, and they get approved because of the degree being low.
Severe astigmatisms aren't approved, for anyone.

Severe astigmatisms can lead to a condition called Keratoconus, Keratoconus can cause severe scarring, corneal tearing, needs for surgery, black spots in vision, ghosting, severe light sensitivity, and eventually blindness. How is it unfair that the military won't take someone that is likely to develop this condition, become unable to serve, go on disability, and cost the military and taxpayers untold money in medical treatment?

Astigmatisms over 3 have risks of future eye and vision problems. Astigmatisms over 6 have probabilities of future problems, and therefore aren't waivered for people to join the military.
You are so right. They apply to everyone. I have astigmatism and I served for a very long time (37+ years). I don't know what my number was or is but I know it wasn't high because I didn't need a waiver. I could not be a fighter pilot but I could be a gunner or almost any other occupation.
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Old 08-15-2018, 05:42 PM
 
1 posts, read 12,672 times
Reputation: 10
Default Your own fault now

So you don't want us in cause keratoconus will cost you more in the log run with people putting in disability claims so you deny us outright that's fine just don't try and draft us when it's convenient for you because I will laugh at you and not go on principle we want to serve our country we just don't want to serve people who make the rules and can change the rules cause they don't care about us they want to further their careers with as many body's as possible
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Old 08-15-2018, 06:28 PM
 
Location: New Mexico U.S.A.
26,527 posts, read 51,500,813 times
Reputation: 31318
Quote:
Originally Posted by LanceE-3nonob View Post
So you don't want us in cause keratoconus will cost you more in the log run with people putting in disability claims so you deny us outright that's fine just don't try and draft us when it's convenient for you because I will laugh at you and not go on principle we want to serve our country we just don't want to serve people who make the rules and can change the rules cause they don't care about us they want to further their careers with as many body's as possible
No... There are a lot of reasons to not be allowed to enter the U.S. Military.

Can I Serve In The Military If I Have Keratoconus?
By Gary Heiting, OD

Quote:
Unfortunately, people with keratoconus currently are not allowed to serve in the United States military.

According to Department of Defense Instruction on Medical Standards for Appointment, Enlistment, or Induction in the Military Services (DoDI 6130.03, Section 4c), people who have been diagnosed with keratoconus are not eligible to serve in the United States Armed Forces.

It appears this prohibition applies even if your keratoconus was managed successfully with corneal insert surgery, corneal cross-linking or other corrective surgery.

If you've already enlisted in the military and keratoconus is diagnosed during your training, you typically will not be deployed for combat. Also, a diagnosis of keratoconus might result in a medical discharge.
Entire Article at: https://www.allaboutvision.com/condi...ry-service.htm

I believe Idiocy might also prevent some from entering the U.S. Military...
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Old 08-16-2018, 09:05 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
3,536 posts, read 12,271,874 times
Reputation: 6036
Quote:
Originally Posted by LanceE-3nonob View Post
So you don't want us in cause keratoconus will cost you more in the log run with people putting in disability claims so you deny us outright that's fine just don't try and draft us when it's convenient for you because I will laugh at you and not go on principle we want to serve our country we just don't want to serve people who make the rules and can change the rules cause they don't care about us they want to further their careers with as many body's as possible
What the heck are you talking about? What draft? Hasn't been a draft in over half a century and there are no indications there will be again. Also, people can still be medically disqualified in the draft. Also, what draft? Changing standards? What are you rambling about? Drafts are just so "convenient" for all of us, aren't they? What rules did we change that proved we don't care about you?

What about being fiscally responsible to tax payers?
What about being fair to the other men and women in uniform that would have to deploy in your place?
What about if we send you into combat and you need to take out a threat, and you can't hit the target, because you can't see, and someone else dies because we counted on you?

Do you understand that Keratoconus is PROGRESSIVE and will continue to get worse for most people? It can cause huge vision issues that can affect your ability to fire a weapon, operate at night, use NVGs, drive, use a computer, can cause headaches, extreme light sensitivity, time out of work, and more. Does that really seem compatible with the demands of military service? But yeah, you're right, it was probably personal because we don't care about you.


"The disease can degrade vision to a level where one will experience difficulty leading a normal life." (Source: https://www.allaboutvision.com/askdoc/keratoconus.htm).

Do you understand your own condition? This is a serious medical diagnosis. You may need to talk with your ophthalmologist and optometrist and ensure you understand your prognosis.
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Old 12-11-2018, 01:41 AM
 
2 posts, read 12,805 times
Reputation: 15
i have astigmatism at -3.25 , does that mean i will get disqualified from the military ? or can it be easily wavierd
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