My experience with the USAF is that it's easier to get a waiver AFTER you're already flying.

 

P.S. I just had my official 3 month follow up. My right eye is 20/20 and seems very good. My left eye still has some ghosting, but somehow I made out the 20/20 line with the left eye as well. So that part is good - hopefully my left eye's ghosting will fade and it'll catch up to my right eye. So yes, PRK is a very lengthy healing process.

 

Now for my next question. I have seen that there have been a few individuals who have been selected "off the street" for a pilot slot. I have the dedication, work-ethic, grades, and physical condition to be a viable candidate however I cannot compare myself to others without having taken the ASVAB/AFOQT tests or obtaining my PCSM.

I do plan on having these tests completed along with my PPL by this upcoming summer. And my 4-year degree finished by May of 2012. If there happen to be any boards inbetween June 2011/May 2012 (hoping that a unit would select me knowing that I would graduate within a year) then I will apply and hope for the best.

I do not expect to get a pilot slot as a civilian during my first interview but that does not mean I have a negative attitude. I will hope for the best and try my hardest to obtain it and if I do then that is amazing.

My question is... if you were in my shoes and should not get selected for a UPT slot by the time graduation rolls around would you opt to going enlisted (consider officer route since I'd have my 4-year degree) and be a member of the unit until you can prove yourselve worthy of a unit?

Also, if I do not get selected to any base I apply to for UPT I would most likely stay around my hometown and go enlisted there. The closest unit is in Portland, Oregon the 142nd Fighter Wing. What position would benefit me most from trying to go enlisted to pilot? Or should I try to get a loadmaster position and relocate?

 

I would recommend not getting it yet, as long as you are better than 20/70 (I see 20/40 in both) you will probably be good to go. My left eye is actually at 3.00 and I have gone through the FC1, my visual acuity and everything else is good, so the flight docs and everyone that looked at my file recommended me for the waiver even though I well past 2.50. My file is still at NGB, so I'm not out of the woods yet, but there is a pretty good chance I will be. Seeing as how you're better than me you will probably be fine... granted I don't have my waivers yet. Of course if I get rejected this go around, THEN I can go do the surgery, of course this is provided my squadron would still want me, but hopefully I don't get to that point.

 

So... the verdict is in and my vision is way worse than I had expected. 20/200. I still have a year left in college so I figure if I get the surgery done as soon as possible I will heal just in time (next summer). Quick question though... do I get WFG-PRK on my own or do I need to run that by a recruiter and maybe get a recommended doctor on the Civvy side? I'm sure the AF would like to have some idea of whats going on.

Also, I have the money to go forth and pay for PRK but just wondering if it is worth the cost and waiting for a year. I do have one more year until I complete my degree however (as stated earlier). The only problem is that the surgery will push back the timeline of me finishing my PPL due to time and cost restraints.

I have been looking into possibly Loadmaster on the aircraft I wish to fly for a few years and go about it that way? Being a Loadmaster looks like a kick in the pants and I believe I would thoroughly enjoy it... this is all up to whether or not I would qualify as a pilot or not.

 

I've applied to a unit on the east coast and just had WFG-PRK 4 weeks ago. I was outside of waiverable limits (about 20/300). No regrets with doing the surgery. My vision is already fantastic. Had a 4 week post-op visit today and am 20/15 in both eyes and still improving .

From speaking with the flight surgeon with the unit that I applied to, the gist of what he told me was that as long as the type of procedure you undergo is waiverable, which WFG-PRK is, among other types, then you can do it on your own. That is what I did. The unit will work on your refractive surgery medical waiver after you get hired, so I was told. And yes, you do have to wait 12 months after the surgery, but so what? I'm 28 years old in 3 weeks and thankfully it seems they like me enough that they're still willing to work with me to get me through all the hoops in time so that I can enter UPT before I turn into a pumpkin. It's going to be a photo finish, for me. If the stars align just right, I'll be on my way to AMS in a little over 12 months, but only because I elected to have the surgery and kept my name in their ears.

So, is it worth it to me? Hell yes. I want to be an officer and a pilot in the guard. You're young enough that I think it would be a no brainer. You want to be a pilot, right? My personal opinion is that you should make them tell you "NO" before you go and enlist. Granted, I say that because I'm 2 years from being 30 years old and I need take that approach.

With all that said, keep in mind that I'm a civilian and can only speak from the very little exposure I've experienced so far. You'd be better off directly speaking with people in the units you want to join to get the best answers (i.e. their flight surgeon, commander, whoever...). Thats what I did and because of it, I feel much better about the steps I've taken so far.

 

I talked to my doctor and he recommended me to go to an ex-military flight surgeon who has done thousands of WFG-PRK procedures... but its not the cheapest procedure in the world! I also want to get it done not only to increase my chances of being a pilot but also I wont have to put up with wearing glasses/contacts anymore.

I have heard rumors that even if you're short on your 1-year post-op that a particular squadron will pick you up (if they like you, of course) because it'll take 1+ year to get you through all the paperwork and such. Is this true?

But since the unit has to get you a waiver do they look at this as a bad thing? Like you would cause more hassle over an equally qualified candidate?

 

I don't know. Maybe. I'm still a civilian. I seem to recall reading in one of the AF regs that the process for applying for the refractive surgery waiver can begin as early as 9 months post-op, but it still doesn't change that you have to wait 12 months before flying. As far as being hired during that time, like I said, I don't know, but my straight up guess would be 'no', because you need a waiver to be hire-able, and you can't get that waiver for at least 9 months to a year after your surgery. This happens to be my exact circumstance.

I've been told it isn't a bad thing to need this particular waiver. Lots of pilots and applicants are having refractive surgery these days. And technically yes, if you are equal in all regards to another applicant but he doesn't need a waiver, then it isn't hard to believe that that could easily be the tie breaker.

But again, I say, "who cares?" Go out there and do it. If you really want to be a pilot in the guard, then why worry about what they think on stuff like that? You're either legally hire-able or not. Right now you're not legally hire-able because your eyes are bad. So you need to get the surgery and wait a few months. So what? You either do it and maybe get picked up to be a pilot, or you don't do it and you definitely don't get selected.

You ask a lot of subjective questions about how a unit would react to this, or what they would think of that. That's understandable and everyone has those same curiosities, (I know I do) but when you get down to it, it really just doesn't matter. You are stuck with your particular set of circumstances just like everyone else is stuck with theirs, and that isn't going to change just because someone online told you what they think. Those are all just 'comfort' questions. I decided for myself awhile ago to stop worrying about those kinds of things and just make sure that A)I'm hire-able (i.e. meeting all of the AF/unit requirements), and B)Do my best to be known and liked by the unit as a person. That's all you really can do!

So, make sure there is nothing disqualifying about yourself, put together the best application package you can, send it to the units you want to apply to, and visit those units you want to apply to, and be a good guy. Everything after that is out of your hands. Don't sweat the small stuff so much. It isn't any harder than that.

 

Hey AZFlyer,

Were you/are you a civvy pilot at the moment? Do you have many flight hours? Just curious because it seems to me that getting PRK done now is the top priority and waiting on finishing my PPL would come second. I notice not all units require a PPL but maybe just partial time (which I have) but all units require the vision.

I also know I'm a pretty young guy and have 9 or 10 years to get into the front seat before the age deadline. So maybe enlisting as a loadmaster (my 2nd dream job) and applying for a pilot slot when my 4 years are up wouldn't be a bad idea.

Thanks for the insight.

 

Currently am, but not professionally employed as pilot. Couple hundred hours with instrument rating.
PRK can be financed (monthly payments). Finishing your pilot certificate would look better than not finishing it. (Motivation/seriousness about flying, etc)

Possibly. Remember that it doesn't cost anything to apply for the pilot slot. Never hurts to try.