Can you have LASIK eye surgery and still be a Special Tactics Officer in the Air Force?
DA99O asked:
I read up on requirements and it said No radial Keraotomy or something to that affect i looked up what that was and it is laser eye surgery. However I proceded to look up LASIK eye surgery which is now much more common and it is not The same as Radial Keraotomy (miss spelling, I know, sorry.) its a different kind of surgery so I don’t no. Help please
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I read up on requirements and it said No radial Keraotomy or something to that affect i looked up what that was and it is laser eye surgery. However I proceded to look up LASIK eye surgery which is now much more common and it is not The same as Radial Keraotomy (miss spelling, I know, sorry.) its a different kind of surgery so I don’t no. Help please
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:19 am
There is acctually a different, better surgery that they should pay for.
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:25 pm
not with lasik, the military goes with RPK or what ever it is but i think there might be restrictions still. Lasik pretty much limits your options
September 4th, 2009 at 4:05 am
The Air Force has approved both Lasik and PRK eye surgery.
You must wait one full year after the surgery to apply for a position with stringent vision requirements.
The larger question is, just what AFSC are you gonna do, when you don’t become a STO ?
There are only 65 STO’s in the Air Force.
The competetion is so hard, that to even be invited to Phase Two course that only officers applying for STO’s have to complete.
You basicly have to do about 400% better on the PAST test, than enlisted do.
Here are what the Air Force says you should do prior to the Phase Two Officer selection course. ( this is before you start STO training )
Run: 6 miles in 40 mins.
Swim - 1500 meters in 28 mins
Pull ups - 16 to 20
Sit ups 80 to 100
Push ups - 65 to 80
Copare that to the Basic PAST test :
run - 1.5 miles in 10:45
swim - 500 meters in 14 mins
pull ups - 6
Sit ups - 45
Push ups - 45
September 5th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Jeeper, your advice if someone took it could disqualify them for Air Force SOF service. You should do more research or cease answering questions like this if you aren’t interested in providing accurate information.
LASIK will disqualify you for Military Free Fall. If you can’t attend MFF, you can’t be an STO, CRO, PJ or CCT. It’s a requirement for all of those jobs.
PRK and LASEK are your only two options if you wish to serve in Air Force SOF.
We’ve had better results with PRK and the waiver process is getting faster. For those already on active duty, it’s only a 6 month wait now. For those that have the surgery done as civilians, it is still 1 year but if someone really pushes for the waiver, it can be a bit less.
LASEK is a year regardless, active duty or civilian.
Go over to. The policies are posted on the site, it’s also the only source you should reference when seeking information about USAF Special Operations.