jonlbs

Reminded me of this.

DQ’ed for for depth perception while going enlisted. Rushed thru the test, didnt explain anything, went and took test again passed no problem. Second time, read thru my notes on eye surgery and DQ’ed because post-op haze was mentioned. Even though it had fully cleared and gone away. They honestly don’t care at all if you pass/fail just wanna get you out of their stack of papers. If DQ is easier than taking the time to help you figure it out that is without a doubt what they will do. Each DQ came with about 3-6 months of fun paperwork and fighting.

I somehow find this assumption wrong on all levels having been thru meps 3 times. Especially since I have been DQ’ed twice at MEPS for things I’ve never had. While I have no experience with DoDmerb from what I hear from ROTC friends I would recommend 100000 times over going that route. Not even close to be honest. MEPS will DQ anyone so fast, they dont wanna deal with extra shit ever. I almost think they DQ people on purpose to see if they have the drive to fight it lol Edit: i was DQ’ed while going enlisted and DQ’ed during commissioning exam. It is not fun.

https://militaryhonors.sid-hill.us/history/rescue.htm Rescue From the Heart of a Typhoon Crewmen of a downed bomber are saved from a raging sea in a daring feat by nuclear subs fighting 40-foot waves. by Capt. Charles Barton, USN (Ret.) POPULAR MECHANICS January 1977

Letters of Rec need work. An E-4 should not be used for a letter of rec, nor a personal friend from college. Any contacts with old professors? Current boss? I'd recommend getting your pilot license as well(at least start flying). Helps improve your packet and you find out if you really wanna do this. Also will put you in contact with tons of people as you start hanging around the airport and networking. Could even get your flight instructor to write you a letter of rec.

What are your chances? Pretty Good On paper everything seems certainly good to go. Things I think you should focus on (aka things in your control now): COVER LETTER AND RESUME! (custom for each unit you apply to). Seem to get underplayed but when a lot of people go through your package to make a decision these can make or break you if they are crappy. Interview prep. Get ready to answer the questions about your GPA. You get C's in college yet UPT is 10 times more intense and rigorous, why should we believe you are going to make it through the UPT courseload? May not ask that exactly but be ready for something like that. I had a 3.075 GPA and never got asked about it so...Obviously prep for all the standard questions as well. Being yourself. It seems easier said than done but in a strange squadron bar surrounded by 30+ people you never met, half of whom are competing against you and the other half are basically interrogating you, it can be difficult to show your true colors. It's a fine line between trying to show yourself off and being arrogant. And another fine line between being a humble good listener vs being a reclusive quiet weirdo. In my opinion it takes practice and going to interviews will help even if it doesn't work out at that unit. Most importantly, don't get frustrated if you dont get picked. I can't explain how much it is about timing, throw your apps out to every unit possible! One year we had 5 people apply for 3 slots and the next year we had 40 super qualified people apply for 2 slots. From talking to other units that seems to be the norm. Sometimes you are going up against Albert Einstein meets Bob Hoover, and the next year its Sloth from the Goonies. Best of luck and these are just my opinions from my experience so hopefully they can help!

Even if you say you aren't seeing glare/halos they are going to do a slit lamp exam, they basically put a dye in your eye and use a special light and mirror to take a look at any scarring on the cornea from the PRK. Not sure if it is standard for all cases but for my waiver they requested that I used a machine to take a side view to get a more precise picture of the scarring. Hard to say if you will or won't get DQ'ed but best place to start would be reading over your post-op notes and seeing if they marked any corneal haze/opacity/sub-epithelial changes and the location of these "scars" and if they have been resolved. Under Anterior Segment Exam in your notes you want to see Cornea: Clear. You could get a optometrist to do the slit lamp for you if you are that worried but they aren't going to know the AF limits and you are still going to have to find out at your IFS/FC1 anyways. (wouldn't recommend wasting your money but if $60 for an eye exam helps you sleep at night I guess go for it) Feel free to message me if you want any more info or got any questions.

Slit lamp exam probably then a machine to take a better picture of any opacity's on your cornea if need be.

How lenient is the Libyan Mercenary Air Force on vision waivers? Asking for a friend.

They arent RV’s but beats the hell out of bending wrenches for a living. Firm believer all it takes is a good mission/purpose and all pilots would get back into GA (usually involves convincing a student/pilot to plan a X/C to a casino and they are hooked)

You check out the Navy yet? My brother had a very similar injury (knee cartilage issues, not sure if exactly the same though) and with a little grunt work was approved with them. Other option is ETP if you can get the support. Keep with it brotha, it'll be worth it.

They no longer use a minimum uncorrected requirement. (Sorry to be that guy and correct you) https://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/711/usafsam/USAF-Waiver-Guide-190417.pdf Page 722 (scroll farther for Refractive Surgery info) Don't know your case fully and you should discuss it with a USAF doc but it certainly looks like LASIK/PRK (whichever the doc recommends) is a great option for you.

ETP Thread And AFMSA is Air Force Medical Support Agency. ETP thread goes over some of the details and I'm not exactly sure what they do (maybe advise the air force on medical stuff?). If you dig around into the waiver authority AFI's when I last looked they are an approving authority and can therefor approve your waiver. Wouldn't call it overriding but you would end up approved so. I'd read up on the thread in detail as there is lots of good info, though some of it is outdated, most probably still stands.

Its definitely shitty as hell and I’ve been there and feel your pain. But by the looks of it you have a real decent foot to stand on (You did pass the standards). Go check out the ETP thread and see if applying to AFMSA (medical) for a waiver works for your case. They are the other medical approval authority besides AETC. Gonna take a lot of emails and lots of persistence though, cause people are gonna just want you to give up and quit. Shoot me a message if you want to pursue the ETP route at the same time and I can pass along all the info I have accumulated. Also what is your current situation military wise? Active, rotc, guard/reserve, civilian?

I'm no expert on Color Vision stuff, but if you passed in 2015 and 2018 I'm going to assume you got a fighting chance. If you really want it DO NOT GIVE UP. Where there is a will, there is a way and the people on this forum will do their best to help you achieve it. So since you aren't quitting, what is your next step from here?

Not sure if you checked it out but the medical forum has some ETP discussion for reference. I’m in the middle of an ETP in the AF reserve chain and if you do go the ETP route, AETC should not be a signature anywhere in the chain. Message me if you are interested and I can provide a copy of my ETP that I put together for reference. On trying to get approved medically, you can also apply to AFMSA (air force medical support agency) for a medical waiver. Not sure if ACS can help (cant hurt?) in my case they had already reviewed my case before AETC/SG said no. Have no experience with back related stuff as mine was vision related so @stuckindayton may be the source for info on anything medical. www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/topic/6866-exception-to-policy-etp-information/?page=4

@stuckindayton Just heard back from USAFSAM that they would not recommend the waiver since its out of limits still (even if its way less). Knew this was coming, but if I’m outside of waiverable limits will AFMSA even bother looking at it or is there a chance they take a look at the whole picture and maybe say ya hes outside the numbers but his actual functionality is pretty good and sign it? My medical personnel believe the ETP is the best chance now but I’m curious if I should push them anymore on the medical cause I know AFSMA is an authority still.

So currently have an ETP in the works, but the waiver-able limits for my condition have changed since my ETP started its routing (still out of limits but only a small amount now). Is there a specific protocol for a rebuttal? My current Flight Surgeon wrote a memo supporting my rebuttal and as of now the plan is to submit it to AFMSA. Or should we go thru AETC again first? And will any of that interfere with the ETP? From what I know, my ETP case gets reviewed medically (to provide solid medical info to the decision makers) and don't want to step on any toes since the ETP is supposed to be a last resort and now I'm trying medically again.

"Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel. #Gaza #Palestine#Israel," Idk. Sounds like a great US rep to me.

My logic says don’t immediately take the AFOQT till you know you can beef the scores up. No point in taking it again if you are just going to get the same results. Do you have a game plan to get the scores up? No hurt in applying though, hiring can be a timing thing so you might get in the right unit at the right time and wow them at the interview and voila. Not like a unit is gonna see your scores and put you on the banned forever list, they will probably be impressed when you come back with higher scores, it shows dedication and commitment, and the ability to improve. Really is no excuse for not applying to every unit at every possible opportunity, except laziness. Best of luck!

https://www.navy.mil/ah_online/ftrStory.asp?id=108102

Did you try it in Microsoft Edge? Only browser that seems to let me access anything related to the portal or email.

Having had paid back a bonus before, beware that when you receive the bonus it will be taxed. When you pay it back, you pay back the pro rated amount before tax. Idk how your bonus works in terms of the payment plan, whether its like 15k up front for the first 3 years then 5k a year for the next 3 or 5k a year for 6 years. But if you are going to be in for 2-3 years enlisted take it. Say you got 15k (lets call it 12k after tax) and only did 2 years. Worst case scenario you owe 5k back and that leaves a free 7k for you. Best case scenario you take the 15k and take the commision right before you get the 5k per year and then you owe nothing. You should be cognizant of what that pay date is though cause if you take the 5k (4k after taxes) then commision the next day you owe 5k back. But that being said if you are doing 2-3 years I would for sure take the bonus. But be responsible so you have the money to pay back or be ready to have it taken from your paycheck.