Free FAA testing, weird situation
 

I’m about to take an ATP written exam. I was in the Navy for 28 days...yes you heard that correctly. I received an administrative discharge due to medical reasons during Officer Candidate School. I did receive an official DD214 for the month I was in. Can I still take the FAA written test at a military facility? I don’t consider myself a veteran or ever really “in the military”, but the test would be free rather than having to spend $165 at a civilian facility.

You were not in long enough to qualify for any veterans benefits, other than possible VA medical if you were injured and then discharged.

What is the minimum time? 90 or 180 days?

On a military facility? Don't you need a CAC card to use military facilities?

How will this affect your FAA medical?

It was an eye sight problem. Got PRK surgery to fix it, 20/15 currently.

I’m not sure. Maybe a DD214 will suffice, but I was only in for 28 days. I don’t know

It's complicated. Some benefits are for very low service time, even one day, but that's mainly for guard/reserve personnel who can be recalled to active duty and conducting combat ops in a matter of days. But those are people who are already trained and in the system.

But for many "on base" services, like a test center, it may come down to to access. If you don't have an ID card to get on base, you can't use the facility. Many services, like the gym, typically card you at the door as well, to keep contractors and other hangers-on from accessing things they're not entitled to.

An Entry-Level Separation (ESL) is going to provide essentially nothing but VA medical for conditions caused or aggravated by service. If there is significant disability, then you'll be eligible for more VA benefits, but that's only for service connected problems. If you showed up with a disqualifying condition, you probably get no benefits for that. They do try to catch stuff like that at DODMERB, before people actually report for training but it's possible for something to pop up between DODMERB and day one of training. Also common for pilots candidates to get additional eye exams in training, which will disqualify you if failed.

Length of Service Criteria for Veteran Status
For people who enlisted prior to September 8, 1980, no minimum length of service is necessary to be considered a veteran for most VA benefits. However, certain minimum length of service requirements apply to people who enlisted on or after September 8, 1980. The general requirement is the “full period” for which the servicemember was called or ordered to active duty or, if less, 24 months of continuous active duty.

Several exceptions exist to this rule. For example, service-connected disability compensation benefits are exempt from the length of service requirement. Thus, a veteran with a disease or injury incurred during active service generally may receive service-connected compensation for that disability.
Other exceptions to the minimum service requirements include claims for VA life insurance benefits, hardship discharges, and persons retired or separated from service because of a service-related disability.

If the former servicemember did not serve for the full period of active duty and served less than 24 months, and none of the statutory exceptions apply, then the veteran did not complete a minimum period of active duty and is “not eligible for any benefit under Title 38, United States Code or under any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs based on that period of active service.”

Not sure how the FAA judges veteran status. This is simply the VA definition.

They booted you because you were not 20/20?