healthy retiring AF stick comes in wants to get sleep apnea VA disability. Says they are giving it out like candy. Wants to know if it will impact his application for a 1st class medical as he transitions to commercial flying! UGH!

 

Doc, In reference to unemployment. The FAA 8500 asks employment. What if I recently took an early out from my employer? Does this send a red flag that a pilot is on disability? I will be going to my medical admitting spine surgery, and not employed. Anything?

 

probably not ... unless your condition on flight exam is disabling.

 

How does military service cause someone to acquire OSA?

 

Usually from brown nosing to make rank.

 

Don't know about obstructive sleep apnea, but sleep apnea & other sleep disorders are a very real problem. When you spend 20 years working the wrong side of the clock, living in field conditions, waking to gunfire, back and forth over multiple time zones, flipping sleep schedules daily and routinely (day flights, night flights, day flights) within the same few days, flying max duty days continuously (16-18+ hours), poor nutrition, living conditions that require continuous wearing of combat gear, sleeping in tents/aircraft/outdoors, communal living, routine minimum rest prior to flying, working to within minutes between duty days, etc.

I could literally keep typing and fill this page, but I hope you get the idea. Virtually every single person who does 20 years in the military and has had the deployment schedule we've all had over the past 15 years has some form of sleep disorder - whether it's true apnea (central or obstructive) or some other sleep disorder is for a sleep expert to determine. What cannot be disputed is that the overwhelming majority of military veterans have some sort of sleep issue or other.

 

thanks for making my point ... what u describe is not what faa directive does. I too went thru all u described though i did not do 20. When i left active duty in the 80's va disabilty was rare. (lol some have told me to present my military flt log to the va and file a claim now) I am trying to keep my taxpayer hat off and simply report what i am seeing examining 300 sticks a year for the faa.

 

I can see how what you describe can contribute/cause CSA.

 

The FAA seems obsessively focused on OSA for whatever reason.

As for sleep disorders, if that truly is a safety concern, there are many careers that have it as bad, if not worse.

And I would argue that doctors are one of the careers that arguably have it even worse. The ridiculousness of most doctors' schedules, particularly in the first half of their careers, has most of the same factors affecting sleep habits/disorders in AD military.

 

It seems the beating the fatigue drum has just brought about a response, except the manner is not what the industry workers wanted.