"Excessive refraction"- Can I still go airborne?

[jliu137]

DQ'ed at MEPS for excessive refraction. The numbers they got were -8.00 and -8.50. Waiver came in 3-4 days later, and now I'm an 11x DEPer. I'm 20/20 with glasses. The docs won't pass me for an airborne physical because of that. However, the MEPS personnel told me (With the most serious looks on their faces. So serious that it was almost funny. ), "you can still volunteer for airborne school at AIT." It wasn't just one person either. I was told this on 3 separate occasions throughout the day. Are they pulling my chain? I mean, I would LOVE to be able to do it, but I'm looking at this logically... If I can't meet standards now, why would I be able to meet them at AIT? Are the standards at MEPS different or something?

If indeed I cannot volunteer for airborne at AIT because of my eyesight waiver, can I get laser eye surgery and get airborne eventually? What about RASP?

Thanks. Any feedback will be appreciated.

EDIT: Forgot to add this. Before they threw the airborne phys paper away I read something like "20/20 one eye, 20/(some high number. I think it was 80) in the other" and "no more than -8.00". I only have one eye over -8.00 and it's BARELY over. I could easily be 20/20 in one eye and 20/25 in the other with -8.00 lens. My ophthalmologist was able to correct me to 20/15 when I went about a year ago. I didn't want to argue with the doc, since I'm sure she knows what she's doing, but that's what the paper said. All I care about is being able to go airborne at AIT, since I wanted the earliest possible ship date anyways.

[Jim]

There are a fair number of us who have worn corrective lenses all our lives. Do well in your training and try to earn a slot for BAC and RASP.

[jliu137]

I realize that corrective lens are common throughout the army, but the thing is, on the airborne physical paper, it said "no more than -8.00" and I also needed a excessive refraction waiver to get in. I wanna make sure they weren't lying to me when they said I can volunteer for it at AIT even though I couldn't pass an airborne physical at MEPS. Did anyone of you guys get dq'ed for airborne at meps but still secure a slot at AIT?

[linuxheels]

As Ranger Jim stated above "Do well in your training" That means don't do the bare minimum just to get by. We had a guy in basic that could only get just above the minimum in most areas of training, but you could tell he was giving it a 100% everytime. In the end his determination paid off as he earned honor grad because determination will win out everytime if you are truly giving it your all. I say this because your Drill Sgts will notice how you perform, how you respond to their instructions, how you carry out tasks giving to you and more importantly how you conduct yourself when you assume noone is watching. You want to be rewarded with an Airborne contract then show them you want it by your actions. Good luck to you and by all means avoid the whinners and barracks lawyers.

[jliu137]

Trust me, I'm gonna be giving it 100%. I'm not worried about performance or anything, since I know I'll be doing my best. I'm just worried that they might not be able to gimme airborne after AIT because of my eyes... They wouldn't clear me at MEPS. However the MEPS personnel (doc, a few nurses or whatever they're called, counselor) all told me that I'd still be able to get it at AIT, but I don't trust them too much since of course they wouldn't want a dep loss. I'm not gonna let the answer affect my performance, but it would be nice to know ahead of time so I don't have to wonder.

Just to reiterate. My eyes are -8.50 and -8.00. 20/20 in both eyes when I've my glasses.

If I can't get it at AIT because of my eyes, can I get eye surgery and then get airborne?

[linuxheels]

I hate to see that you can't get what you want, but we have guidelines for a reason. If you did not get it in your contract then don't expect it at AIT. It will be awesome if you did but don't expect it. Regardless if you get it at MEPS or at AIT you are going to still need to have passed an airborne physical before going, so not sure how you are going to bypass the regs in AIT if the MEPS says NOGO. If I were you I would google your surgery questions or go to army.com and do a live chat with a recruiter and see what you get back. Good luck to you.

[jliu137]

Hopefully the AIT docs doing the phys will be more realistic... I mean, -700 and -800... No difference. Both are totally blind without lens. If they really wanted to have a cutoff due to the risks of glasses falling off, the cutoff should be at like -200... That's just my 2 cents though, haha...

Thanks for the help. If someone has a more definitive answer, feel free to chime in. My plan now is just to be the best basic recruit I can be and hope for the best.

Thanks again.

EDIT: Just read about some dude who got DQ'ed at meps for cav scout because of colorblindness, but after being high speed in his unit for whatever MOS he ended up doing, his unit sent him to scout school... Dunno if that same situation applies here, but it does give me some hope.

[linuxheels]

Dude I can't help but to love your attitude. You have it right, be the best recruit you can be. Good things happen to those that actually give a fuck and do things for the right reason. Drive on

[jliu137]

Haha... if I can't go airborne, I can't go airborne D: There's nothing I can do about it, although for now, my hopes for getting airborne are still pretty high. On the other hand, I can work on being high speed in an infantry unit and still be a professional door kicker, so I'll still be getting what I want in a way.

[jliu137]

Rangers,

I've got another question. A buddy of mine had a ship date a week after mine at a different recruiting station and he got option 4 tacked on. My recruiter is like the coolest guy on earth, but obviously not that cool... I'm gonna try to hardball him a bit, but I'd still have to go back and pass that physical, right? For those of you that aren't in the know, the difference between -8.00 and -8.50 is literally like a few centimeters worth of distance, and I wouldn't be so scorned if the reason were practical...

What I want to know is, is it even possible for me to go to meps again to test my eyes? Or will it be a reason for them to deny me a physical/option 4/40 right off the bat? Maybe if I had just squinted harder or something. It just kills me to know that this little sliver is preventing me from everything.

[K.Ingraham]

I can't answer the med stuff but I can speak to your friend scoring the opt40 a week after you. It is simply a matter of timing, assuming all else is equal. A slot opens when a ranger declines to reenlist or gets transfer orders for europe. Someone gets promoted into his slot, and someone gets promoted into that slot etc until a forcasted opening now exists 9 months from now in the 75th. That slot might be reserved for Recruiting Command. It goes on the computer and the next recruiter who searches for it scores!
One minute it is there nationwide and two minutes later, some fat videogamer with an airsoft gun has an option 40 contract. And there you are.
Just do your best.

[jliu137]

Roger Ranger K. Ingraham. I'm disheartened to hear that that's how the system works, and I can't do anything about it, so I guess I can't do anything but to ask my recruiter to look more often. If my eyes still don't meet the standard if I go in for an airborne physical or at AIT, I guess I can always get laser eye surgery at a leg unit. Speaking of which, does anyone have any experience with military surgeons performing laser eye surgery? Can I just get to my unit and request it straight away? Any horror stories with the military docs screwing someone's eyes up?

Thanks.

[K.Ingraham]

Any horror stories with the military docs screwing someone's eyes up?
.

Don't worry about horror stories. Docs screw up anywhere. Just do your best.
If you have to be a leg, consider the Marines. (that's not a joke!)

[LJ_602]

I've always heard "correctable to 20/20" and thats for Airborne to SF to SEALs when I was in the Navy. I never heard any bullshit about "if your eyes are this bad without glasses." It's always been correctable to 20/20 that I've heard, things may have changed but I was at Airborne with a guy that had coke bottle bottoms for glasses, so I don't know what the deal is with MEPs.

MEPs is a butch of Fucktards anyways. I mean we are a country at war, do you think we are going to send out best and brightest to MEPs? Fuck off.

[jliu137]

I don't want to cancel my contract because I signed it already. Also, I have some interesting news. I went to the ophthalmologist today and apparently my eyes are within regs. -7.50 in both eyes. Way to go, MEPS... They screwed me out of the option 40 that I actually had reserved, but could get because I needed to wait for my waiver.

So I didn't even need the freaking waiver in the first place. What do I do so that they don't give me overpowered BCG's? My recruiter said just bring my prescription with me before I ship and they will give me glasses that fit. Does that sound right? Will it affect anything if I get my airborne physical before I ship? As opposed to getting it at OSUT.

Thanks.