Eyes!!!

<p>I’m aiming this at cadets already there, but if you know that would be great as well.</p>

<p>When you enter, when do they do the very first eye exam? Do they dilate at that one, or is it straight vision? I ask b/c this will greatly change my PQ or NQ status. Thanks guys.</p>

<p>How bad is your eyesight? I'm with you on the dilating changes my vision. I know it sounds stupid but I used to have 20/175 visual acuity in each eye and I have wanted to be a fighter pilot my whole life so I tried doing eye excercises to see if I could naturally correct my vision. Everyone laughed at me but when I went to the eye exam I had 20/70 in my right eye and 20/100 in my left. It wouldn't change my status if my eyes were dialated b/c 20/175 is still NQ, but I know how you feel.</p>

<p>BTW, I don't know if they dialate or not. What would happen if you were barely PQ then showed up and your eyes had changed a little and were then NQ? Would they kick you out?</p>

<p>Hornetguy, why would your eyes change if they were dialated?</p>

<p>Well, dilating may not necessarily change your eyesight, but it could have an effect on what you see because it allows much more light into your eyes and therefore you might get glares or things like that that could mess you up.</p>

<p>Dilating forces your eyes to relax. My vision is 20/20, refractive is -1. Within range. Without Dilating, my astigmatism was near nil. Dilated it was 1 in one eye and 1.25 in the other. </p>

<p>Younger eyes can squint a change shape easier, so I suppose it affected my sight in that sence. My astigmatism is the only thing that could prevent me from being pq. However, if they only need an opt. report, then I will be ok, which is what I am going to go review at the doctor's today.</p>

<p>Guys, I think we are making too big a deal of the PQ/NQ thing from DoDMERB. First, the goal of the Academy is to produce Air Force officers first, pilots second. While I realize that most of us, myself included, would love to fly for the Air Force, I think that going to the Academy just to do that is putting too much pressure on accomplishing that one goal. If for some reason there were, say, a smaller number of pilot slots open our grad year, then a LOT of perfectly physically qualified people would not be offered pilot slots.</p>

<p>Second, what DoDMERB reports to the Academy is the result of preliminary findings. While DoDMERB is official enough to allow an appointment to be issued, notice that everyone is Potentially something (be it pilot, nav, or commission). DoDMERB is not the final answer in determining pilot slot allocation. That comes when a cadet has their grad year physical. The Academy, I think, relizes that a person's vision and other factors can change during the course of four years, and they use DoDMERB more as a way of roughly proportioning their class sizes per Air Force pilot, nav, and commissioning needs. </p>

<p>Sorry if I rambled, but this topic seems to get overplayed again and again...right now, the Academy does not care so much if you vision is 20/125 and you're potentially nav qualled, or if your vision is 20/infinity and you're commission qualled. They are looking for people that can make successful Air Force officers when they graduate in four years.</p>

<p>Just my take on this...if you know you're pilot qualified, great, kudos to you, but it doesn't matter as much now as it will in a few years.</p>

<p>I hope y'all don't take offense to this, this is just the impression I've gotten from the research I've done...and common sense. Thanks for listening.</p>

<p>Dan</p>

<p>Hey fiterace, did you go to Summer Seminar? If you did what session and element were you in?</p>

<p>I went to Summer Seminar 1st Session, element C-4 (I think). I was in Tuscherer's element. How 'bout you?</p>

<p>I was in Session 1, B-5 with Gramm. I was just asking because there was a guy named Dan from Ohio in my element</p>

<p>I understand where you're coming from. It doesn't matter if I'm PQ or NQ, I want to go and be an Air Force officer, but I figure, if I go in PQ, then I can only go down, but I can't move up. Oh well, but I have always wanted to do this, for 10 years. </p>

<p>Speaking of, what are the first exams they do to you when you get there?</p>

<p>You will have a vision exam during your first year there and they do dialate your eyes. There isn't another planned exam until your grad physical, which has now moved up as early as your third class year (your second year there).</p>

<p>bummer. o well, doesn't make me want to go any less. Thanks for the info.</p>

<p>"I know it sounds stupid but I used to have 20/175 visual acuity in each eye and I have wanted to be a fighter pilot my whole life so I tried doing eye excercises to see if I could naturally correct my vision."</p>

<p>I hate to bump old threads, but my eyes suck too (not sure exactly what they each are in 20/xx form, but worse than 20/50) and would like to know what kind of eye exercises you did! Thanks!</p>

<p>Yeah, I wouldn't mind knowing what exercises you did as well?</p>

<p>hornet, i flipped when i saw this, cuz i didnt see the date and was tryin to figure out why YOU were askin quesstions when you're at the academy. lol yes, please impart upon us these "exercises"</p>

<p>tx_falcon doesn't really post anymore. I see him time and again, but I wouldn't hope to hear on here soon.</p>

<p>ah well, yea, i still went crazy when i saw YOU asking questions</p>

<p>lol, is it that shocking. I was in yall's position not too long ago!</p>

<p>well i'm glad you're here to help us now!</p>

<p>About those eye exercises, I've tried them (don't know if they are the same as Texas) but didn't really have any success with them. I actually bought a book over the internet and regularly tried it for about a month, but to no avail. The results are really hit or miss, and it really takes a lot of time to see marked results. But for those of you that are dying to know what the exercises are; Focus in and out between a piece of paper with small letters on it (about 2 in. from your face) and a piece of paper on a wall a good length away with letters small enough that it's hard to read. Others had a lot to do with how your eyes focused and just trying to get them to focus better and stronger. You can actually find a lot of these programs and exercises on the internet.</p>

<p>I don't mean to butt in here (this is your forum) but I think the exercises depend on exactly what your eye problem might be. </p>

<p>I can only offer this personal experience. I get a Class II flight physical every year to maintain my Commercial license (I still fly and have a V-tail Bonanza) and, like most old guys began to lose near and distance vision in my mid-late forties. About 10 years ago, I read about these "exercises" and even bought a computer program (that I abandoned after a few weeks) but it was essentially what usafa21astr related above -- focusing your eyes -- using a series of diagrams. After I abandoned the program, I practiced trying to read withOUT my reading glasses, forcing my eyes to focus on the letters. I also "practiced" when I could things like reading labels on food boxes and other things where the print was really small. I did this every day, every chance I got. I found my eyes began to get better and continued reading small type, or holding a book even closer to my eyes and forcing them to focus the type into sharpness. To my amazement, after having had a "glasses" addition to my medical for several years, I mentioned to my AME what I was doing, and he had me try the test without the reading glasses. I passed both far and near vision tests. I find, however, that the amount of light makes a difference, and also the later in the day I take the test, the worse I do (because it is harder to focus and see the difference between a "D" and an "O" for example with tired eyes, in my estimation). </p>

<p>So, bottom line, I believe it depends on just what your eye problem is -- but consult a doc and maybe exercises might be an option for some folks.</p>