2StgTurbine

A little background information on my specific situation:

I got accepted for an active duty pilot slot for the USAF in November 2008. It took 12 months to complete my flight physical and during that time I was informed that I had zero depth perception and would never be able to fly. Since I had no problems flying in the civilian world, I saw a specialist who did some tests and said there was no point in trying to correct or fix it because I showed no signs of depth perception problems outside of infinite distant eye tests. Then I get a call from my recruiter who wanted to schedule the rest of the physical. I told him that I was disqualified and he said not to worry about it.

Six months after my flight physical, I got a call from the medical facility and they told me I qualified! After, they told me I qualified for an air battle manager . Then just to make sure I could not view the glass as half full, they called back and told me that there were no air battle manager jobs available.

I called my recruiter who told me the medical facility should not have contacted me. He finally got back to me with the reasons I was disqualified and they are: Binocular vision disorder, diplopia, and hypertropia. I have a copy of AFI 48-123 and all I could get out of it was that uncorrectable diplopia is not waiverable (I don’t know if mine is correctable). I tried to talk with my recruiter about a waiver, but he is not too sure what to do. He just kept telling me how easy this problem is to fix for enlisted people.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice or can direct me to other resources. Surgery is an option for some cases, but two doctors told me that even though I might be able to pass the tests, I probably would not notice anything different in my vision.

Wollac

I could be wrong, but I don't know any USAF pilots who were awarded a pilot slot prior to their flight physical to see if they were even qualified. Who told you that you had a pilot slot...the recruiter? And why did your physical take 12 months to complete? If I recall, mine was done in two separate appointments, one morning appt, one afternoon appt, both on the same day. Also, I know you're not a USAFA grad, but have you completed ROTC or OTS? If not, I've got news for you, there's no way you can get an Active Duty pilot slot without completing one of those three paths.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2StgTurbine

Then I get a call from my recruiter who wanted to schedule the rest of the physical. I told him that I was disqualified and he said not to worry about it.

Rule Number One: Never trust anything that flows from a recruiter's mouth.
Rule Number Two: See Rule Number One.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2StgTurbine

Six months after my flight physical, I got a call from the medical facility and they told me I qualified! After, they told me I qualified for an air battle manager . Then just to make sure I could not view the glass as half full, they called back and told me that there were no air battle manager jobs available.

Why is the medical facility telling you which jobs are available? That's AFPC's job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2StgTurbine

I called my recruiter who told me the medical facility should not have contacted me.

Why? They have every right to contact you. It sounds to me like he wants to make sure no one exposes any of the lies he is feeding you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2StgTurbine

He finally got back to me with the reasons I was disqualified and they are: Binocular vision disorder, diplopia, and hypertropia.

Really? A recruiter was allowed access to your medical file? Strange...perhaps illegal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2StgTurbine

I have a copy of AFI 48-123 and all I could get out of it was that uncorrectable diplopia is not waiverable (I don’t know if mine is correctable). I tried to talk with my recruiter about a waiver, but he is not too sure what to do. He just kept telling me how easy this problem is to fix for enlisted people.

Ah Hah! Here's where he's trying to "set the hook." Recruiters will promise you anything to get you to enlist. I had a friend that was promised a Blue Angel backseat ride. He showed up to the Air Show all excited ready for the flight, and wouldn't you know it, something fell through. In other words, this recruiter gets more points if he makes you an enlisted Airman. I think you need to start asking him some serious questions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2StgTurbine

I was wondering if anyone has any advice or can direct me to other resources. Surgery is an option for some cases, but two doctors told me that even though I might be able to pass the tests, I probably would not notice anything different in my vision.

My advice for you is to number one, ensure you really have a pilot slot. It sounds to me like the recruiter is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. If you don't have a pilot slot, I would not bother with the surgeries. You've been flying fine with them as is. If you do opt for surgery, I'd connect ASAP with your base's patient advocate and relay your issues to him/her. It's their job to help you navigate the red tape that encompasses the military medical machine. Good luck.

2StgTurbine

The only physical I did for my application was the MEPs. I asked why they don’t do the flight physical first and they told me they only do the MEPs first because it would take too long if every pilot candidate had to do a full flight physical when only a few would be selected. When I got accepted, I signed a form acknowledging that I was only accepted as a pilot on the contingency that I passed my flight physical and training. I did not go to OTS because I needed to be accepted to be trained as an officer first. If my flight physical passes, then I will go to OTS.

The reason it took 12 months was because no one knew how to process an officer or schedule a flight physical. They would call me in to do one test one day, then a week later they would have be do another. Most doctors I encountered seemed confused when they looked at my folder, left the room, and then came back after talking to someone. After months of this, I had to repeat some tests because the originals expired. They also lost my file when they moved offices.

I know you cannot trust recruiters, but that is the only contact I have in this process. The other recruiters seemed to want to get me into flight training quickly, but this one seems to want me to join as an unrated officer. I don’t want to seem entitled to this pilot slot, but the lack of organization and extreme length of time to get my flight physical done is fishy to me. Is there any way I can get another physical without offending anyone by accusing them of messing this one up?

Wollac

Since you are talking about OTS and pilot slots, I'm assuming you already have at least a Bachelor's Degree. As I stated before, there is a reason the recruiter is pushing you to go enlisted. Look, there are a lot of great enlisted men an women serving in our forces, but if you have a degree, you are overqualified for an Airman Basic. From there, you are fighting an uphill battle to become an officer, and eventually a pilot. If the recruiter really wanted you, he'd be fighting harder to help out with the medical situation.

Look, I hate to crush your hopes and dreams, but do you know how many people have rushed into a recruiter's office (especially after seeing the high-dollar TV spots) with ambitions of being a pilot in the Air Force? They see kids like this every day. They are trained to prey on these types and eventually convince them that it's better if they enlist first. Once they are enlisted, all promises and half-promises are forgotten, and you're stuck wondering what the hell happened.

What type of medical facility conducted your physical? Was it a military facility?

How old are you and what's your education level? If you'd rather take this off-line, PM me.

2StgTurbine

I am 22 and have a bachelor’s degree. Hanscom did my physical. There is no question that I got accepted for a pilot slot. It is on paper in black and white. When I sent my application in, I had the option to apply for a generic officer position, or specify which field I wanted. I checked the pilot box and that is what I got. My first recruiter wanted me to get it and worked hard to make sure everything was done right. The other two I had don't really seem to care what happens to me.

Wollac

I'm not an OTS guy, so maybe I jumped the gun with some of my assumptions. It just seems strange to me that they would hand out a pilot slot to someone who isn't even in the Air Force yet, and not even PQ. Try to touch base with the patient advocate at Hanscom, and lay out your ordeal. Like I said, it is their job to help you out. They have the knowledge and resources to iron out the rough spots. That's my best advice for you going forward. Good luck.

Grumble

Call the Navy/USMC/USCG.

The depth perception test is retarded across the board. Which one did you do? Wear the 3D glasses and look at circles on a piece of paper?

blastoff

OTS Pilots know their AFSC before entering; so yes, they hand out pilot slots before someone is "blued." Why sign the paperwork to got to OTS without slot in hand? It is also true that the Med Groups didn't like giving FC1 physicals to civilians, and stopped doing so recently...thus you have his situation.