Excargodog

Time to post it again. If you are getting out and have not yet gotten an FAA class one physical and you have a military medical waiver FOR ANYTHING, get a copy of the initial waiver package and your latest military physical and give the AME who does your FAA class one a copy of your copy. It will save you a tremendous amount of time.

The OKC flight standards people and the USAF, Army, and Navy flight medicine certification people are all drawn from a rather small subset of the medical community, generally attend the same meetings and often know each other fairly well. Probably half the FAA docs in OKC are retired or ex-military.

Presenting your AME and the FAA flight standards people with a prefabricated waiver package that has already been signed off on by people they know will save the AME and the people at OKC a world of time and effort. True, it's their effort and that IS their job, but it is YOUR time as well as theirs. Make things easier on the AME and the OKC flight standards people and it'll be a lot quicker on you.

And lead turning getting your initial class 1 by 2-3 months before you will be separating/retiring is not a bad idea either, even if you don't have a military waiver.

navigatro

good advice overall but I would recommend getting your initial class 1 at least 1 year prior to separation for these reasons:

1. If there are any hiccups you have plenty of time to work it out

2. you should be applying to the airlines at least 6 months out, and you will need a current FAA physical to check all the boxes

also, consider joining AOPA for guidance if you have any known medical issues (they provide free advice to members)