Can anyone give recent FC1/MFS Experience?

[extender10]

I don't think you're going to get a very good answer for that.  Getting there, it's a combination of MEPS paperwork going smoothly, proactivity of your recruiter, you not needing additional forms before the SG allows you to come to MEPS (I had to go to a civilian consult before FC1), and the cooperation of your sponsoring unit.

Mine was 3 months after my civilian appointment, and I never was notified about passing/waiver until I asked my recruiter to go looking.

[jspace17]

44 minutes ago, SkydiveMike said:

Anyone have any info on the current timeline for FC1 physicals? I.E. from when the recruiter requests an exam date to getting notification of exam date, wait time till the exam date, wait time to find out the results with a waiver, etc.

Can't speak for Wright-Patt but had mine done at Travis.

March 31st: Selected

June 5th (possibly earlier): Informed that flight phys was scheduled for July 21st.

June 21st: Inspect and DEP

July 21st: Physical, had larger optic nerve cupping, had to follow up.

August 14th: Flight physical complete without waivers.

August 17th: Submitted to AETC

September 1st: Pending signature and should be approved soon.

 

Probably not exactly what you're looking for but thought I'd give it for reference. Awfully quick in my case as I've seen it take several months to go through.

Edited September 6, 2017 by jspace17
added details

[SkydiveMike]

40 minutes ago, cagg011 said:

I can't help you on the post-physical timeline, but Wright-Patt contacted me the day after my recruiter submitted my info. The physical was scheduled for a little over two months out from being notified.

Thanks for the heads up.  It's been 2 weeks so I just gave my recruiter a call and she was surprised they haven't contacted me yet.  She's digging into it now.

[extender10]

11 minutes ago, jspace17 said:

August 17th: Submitted to AETC

September 1st: Pending signature and should be approved soon.

You in the pile for this month's AFRC board? (yesterday and today actually, I believe!)

What have you heard for timelines on approval?  I was told to expect an approval decision in 3-4 weeks and class dates a few more weeks after that as well as UPT base preference.

I was hired in February so I can't wait to have a date to count down to!

[jspace17]

3 hours ago, extender10 said:

You in the pile for this month's AFRC board? (yesterday and today actually, I believe!)

What have you heard for timelines on approval?  I was told to expect an approval decision in 3-4 weeks and class dates a few more weeks after that as well as UPT base preference.

I was hired in February so I can't wait to have a date to count down to!

I was picked up for AD. Heard the same about approval but have no idea about UPT preference. My recruiter seems not so sure so I've just been looking up other people's timelines from the same board. Hope to see you at UPT!

[SkydiveMike]

Seems like most people get thru without needing any waivers. I know for sure I'll need one (hopefully no more). What's the overall feel right now for FC-1 waivers? I know it's on an individual basis but in general, does it seem like AETC is favorable?

[SkydiveMike]

On ‎09‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 11:02 AM, SkydiveMike said:

Thanks for the heads up.  It's been 2 weeks so I just gave my recruiter a call and she was surprised they haven't contacted me yet.  She's digging into it now.

Just got my date of Nov 27 2017, so right now it's about 10 weeks from requesting to testing.

[extender10]

Sounds about right.
As far as waivers affecting your AETC standing, who knows.  If a waiver is granted, it's because the doctors/techs met and thought you were in good enough shape to send a waiver up to the SG with a good chance of it being approved.  Unless you have like 5 waivers for different parts of your body (they would have sent you home at that point haha) I can't imagine it being a problem.  

I had to get a waiver for PVC/heart stuff I had no idea about until showing up to Wright Patt. Stayed two extra days and did an echocardiogram, Haltor monitor harness, and treadmill stress test and fasted every morning for an EKG. Still got a waiver, still got it approved.  I think that having a good attitude around the techs and flight doc helped a lot - eventually I got the feeling they were on my side and felt good about sending my waiver up to get stamped.  If you were a stressful wreck at the possibility of having a waiver or two, they'd probably see it as a sign of you not handling future medical adversity very well.

Edited September 9, 2017 by extender10

[Jc12345]

I took the CCT test during my FC1. Will I have to take it again at MFS? 

[stuckindayton]

On 9/16/2017 at 3:33 PM, Jc12345 said:

I took the CCT test during my FC1. Will I have to take it again at MFS? 

Yes.  Technically the color test is not part of an IFC I exam (it's a long historical explanation), although it is always done at the IFC I exam.  You will take it at MFS.

[Jc12345]

ok thanks a lot. All of my scores were 90 or higher except the score for the blue in my right eye was an 80 and I know 75 is passing. How accurate is the CCT? Basically I'm asking what are the chances that the 80 changes to a failing score, assuming there are no changes to my color vision? Any info would be appreciated. Thank you!

[stuckindayton]

35 minutes ago, Jc12345 said:

ok thanks a lot. All of my scores were 90 or higher except the score for the blue in my right eye was an 80 and I know 75 is passing. How accurate is the CCT? Basically I'm asking what are the chances that the 80 changes to a failing score, assuming there are no changes to my color vision? Any info would be appreciated. Thank you!

Most people attribute low blue cone scores to acquired color vision problems.  However, if the red/green scores for the eye that scored 80 are near 100, an acquired color vision problem is unlikely.  Was the fellow eye low on blue?  If you were only low on blue on one eye and all the other scores are 90+, I wouldn't sweat it.  

[Jc12345]

Yeah every other score was at least a 90. Thanks for all your info and your quick responses!

[stuckindayton]

 

Based on what you said, I wouldn't sweat it.

[bluesidedown]

Just got done with the FC1/MFS. I highly recommend reading through this whole thread if you are concerned about the process. They got my group done in a day and a half but some people had to come back a third day for some more tests that only took a short amount of time. The Wright Patterson Inn is right across the street from the hospital (Bldg. 830) in Area A. They had us do our lab/urine testing and chest x-rays the morning of the first day. After that we went over to Bldg. 840 in Area B where we did the EKG, eye stuff, etc and then got to eat. The second half of the first day we did the psych test which took about 4 hours of staring at a computer screen. The second day we saw the flight doc, dentist, and got our eyes looked at again by the Opthemolegist. They will dilate your eyes so bring some sunglasses. The drops they use are freaky powerful too (mine are still not back to normal and its been like 48hrs+). I read some things about people getting tripped up by the color vision test which is understandable. I had to do a second one in a different room with an xbox controller but everything turned out to be alright. The computer makes it dang near impossible to see the letters once you get to a certain level. Just take your time with all the eye tests. The only other test that gave me a bit of trouble was with a light and red shaded glasses. I don't know what this is called but I would look up some youtube videos or something if you want to know more. You would see a double light depending on if the doc turned the fancy glasses a specific way or not. The staff are all very friendly and want to see you get through. Let me know if anyone has questions. Hope this helps!  

[iceman]

Are the height/weight standards for the FC1 the same as for MEPS?  I'm borderline, so at MEPS I was pretty dehydrated, and that caused my urine sample to show protein and I had to go back and do it again.  I'm going for the FC1 next week at Wright-Pat and I'm 5'7 and just weighed in at 174.  I think at MEPS the max weight for me was 175.

[iceman]

On 6/30/2017 at 9:25 PM, tk1313 said:

The people are Wright-Patt are honestly there for you. Every time I overheard a conversation about someone who had failed a test, the docs/techs were trying to figure out the best way to proceed that would most help the candidate. It was never negative. The only reason you will fail there or need a waiver is if you legitimately have an issue that is proved with multiple tests. Like DillonStewart said:
The first day was EKG, hearing, teeth X-rays, medical history, the first half of the eye tests (depth perception like at MEPS, eye pressure, some field of vision test with a red light and a filter that will show it as one red and one white light), and computer based testing (don't be like me, drink some coffee before the computer testing even though it "doesn't count").
The second day was an hour at the lab (for urinalysis, blood work, and chest X-rays), then back to the main building for height/weight, seated height(s), second half of the eye tests (color vision, detailed eye pictures/scans, near and far vision, then finally a ophthalmologist visually examines your eyes), eyes dilation (if you pass all the other eye testing), and finally a couple extra quick vision tests with dilated eyes before you go see the flight doctor to be cleared (again, assuming you passed everything else).

Some advice:
1. Don't take your phone into the hearing test booth... You will hear loud static during the beeps which makes it nearly impossible to hear the beeps and/or the beeps will be replaced by a cricket-like noise. I somehow passed even though my phone was constantly going off, but an ROTC kid also brought his phone into the booth, and the test tech had to stop the test because he was doing so bad. They both figured out it was his phone, and he left it outside the next time.
2. Take your time! It's been said before, and it's worth re-stating. I think the only test that is timed is the color vision. For some reason I felt the depth perception was just slightly harder at Wright-Patt than it was at MEPS (still passed "F"). I basically took my head out of the fixture and focused on various points near and far to me if I was even a little unsure. I was re-assured that I was doing great, and I pressed on.
3. Google "USAFSAM", and maps should point you to exactly the building. I didn't have an issue finding it, but a lot of people do.

Day 3 group:
Most of the group was let out a little after 12 noon on the second day (Tuesday). I had to stay until Wednesday because of my cup/disk ratio. The ophthalmologist basically said, "You just picked out the lenses that didn't give any correction and read off of the 20/15 line quickly and perfectly, you don't have an issue." He then proceeded to tell me only 3 out of all the people who had come to Wright-Patt actually had an issue, and that they knew they had an issue way beforehand. You have to do a field of vision test that isn't fun, and take 3 eye pressure readings... It's an extra couple hours the next day, but you get to fly for the Air Force, so all-in-all it's not a big deal. 

Side note: When they were confirming my medical history, something came up that I said I wasn't aware of. It basically boiled down to a request for a follow-up appointment that I didn't go to after being given pills for being sick (not anything major) because (1) I wasn't e-mailed and told that I needed to follow-up (the clinic had an e-mail system they used for anything and everything) and (2) Once I was given anti-biotics, I felt much better within about a week. The flight doc will iron everything out like he did with me, so no need to panic.

Good luck to everyone going to Wrigh-Patt for FCI. Enjoy Dayton, and talk/hang out with the other guys/gals there since you'll be close for the next couple of days and might possibly see some of them in later training.

How did they know about you not going to a follow up appointment and your anti-biotics?

[GDAL]

41 minutes ago, iceman said:

Are the height/weight standards for the FC1 the same as for MEPS?  I'm borderline, so at MEPS I was pretty dehydrated, and that caused my urine sample to show protein and I had to go back and do it again.  I'm going for the FC1 next week at Wright-Pat and I'm 5'7 and just weighed in at 174.  I think at MEPS the max weight for me was 175.

 

[iceman]

15 minutes ago, GDAL said:

 

Yeah I read that post.  But that post is 14 years old, and since then the Air Force adopted circumference measurements instead of height/weight.  So I'm posting this question in the "recent FC1" thread to get more recent info.

[tk1313]

2 hours ago, iceman said:

How did they know about you not going to a follow up appointment and your anti-biotics?

Dad was active duty for 20+ years. They knew everything about me medically. They pulled up a screen and said "looks like this was in your medical record" to which I replied "I don't remember that being a part of my history. I'm not necessarily denying it since I just go to the doctor when I'm sick, which is extremely rare, but I just don't remember that ever coming up." So that was written down in the notes and when I got to the final doc he looked into all the notes the nurse practitioner made 4+ years ago, said something to the effect of "oh they must've just said they never did a follow up appointment after you went in the first time for being sick", then basically scratched it out and said "no big deal" and off I went. I honestly had nothing to hide, but I didn't want something in my medical records that wasn't completely accurate. I have no problem proving I'm healthy with no previous health issues. I rarely get sick, so when something like that comes up I just want to make sure it's in my files correctly.

Edited October 20, 2017 by tk1313

[Stoker]

2 hours ago, iceman said:

Are the height/weight standards for the FC1 the same as for MEPS?  I'm borderline, so at MEPS I was pretty dehydrated, and that caused my urine sample to show protein and I had to go back and do it again.  I'm going for the FC1 next week at Wright-Pat and I'm 5'7 and just weighed in at 174.  I think at MEPS the max weight for me was 175.

The technician at Wright-Pat told me that so long as you weren't significantly over the height-weight standards, you'd be fine. I busted my limit at MEPS (by 1 pound!) so I was sweating it a bit. Seems like they really only weigh you to make sure you're within the T-6 weight limits (I think 245 lbs?).

Edited October 20, 2017 by sforron

[iceman]

38 minutes ago, tk1313 said:

Dad was active duty for 20+ years. They knew everything about me medically. They pulled up a screen and said "looks like this was in your medical record" to which I replied "I don't remember that being a part of my history. I'm not necessarily denying it since I just go to the doctor when I'm sick, which is extremely rare, but I just don't remember that ever coming up." So that was written down in the notes and when I got to the final doc he looked into all the notes the nurse practitioner made 4+ years ago, said something to the effect of "oh they must've just said they never did a follow up appointment after you went in the first time for being sick", then basically scratched it out and said "no big deal" and off I went. I honestly had nothing to hide, but I didn't want something in my medical records that wasn't completely accurate. I have no problem proving I'm healthy with no previous health issues. I rarely get sick, so when something like that comes up I just want to make sure it's in my files correctly.

So they found it because you were a dependent and used on-base doctors I guess?

[iceman]

8 minutes ago, sforron said:

The technician at Wright-Pat told me that so long as you weren't significantly over the height-weight standards, you'd be fine. I busted my limit at MEPS (by 1 pound!) so I was sweating it a bit. Seems like they really only weigh you to make sure you're within the T-6 weight limits (I think 245 lbs?).

Thanks.  I'm pretty sure I'll be under, but I'm training for a marathon, and a couple days ago I ran 20 miles and then ate a shitload of food right after, which hasn't quite left me yet, and when I weighed myself this morning it made me nervous.

[iceman]

For anyone that reads this in the future, they don't care how much you weigh, as long as you don't bust the limit for flying the T-6, which is like 240lbs or something.  That's what the nurse there told me.  But, if you are even a little bit off in height, you are looking at a waiver.  This girl with us last week had to get one for being 1/10th of an inch too short.

[umaerograd]

The ejection seat limit for the T-6 is 245 lbs.....just to clarify for those keeping score.