Posted on Jul 16, 2019
Potential Recruit
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Sgt Field Radio Operator
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(Join to see) It depends on the severity. Have you talked to a recruiter?

Astigmatism, all types over 3 diopters.

https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/disqualifiers-medical-conditions.html
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CPT Lawrence Cable
CPT Lawrence Cable
>1 y
I joined with an astigmatism, didn't require a waiver.
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SSgt Richard Kensinger
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I got into the AF during Vietnam as I wear corrective lens. Due to partial color blindness I was disqualified from aviation. I became an ER medic. Rich
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1LT Voyle Smith
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I joined the Regular Army in 1966 and I have astigmatism. I enlisted as a Rifleman (MOS11B10) and was commissioned a 2LT in the Infantry from Officer Candidate School at Ft Benning Ga. I spent a year in Vietnam getting shot at and I survived. The Army will probably give you corrective lenses. If they do, ask for spares.
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Can I be disqualified of the process of enlisting of the army for astigmatism?
MAJ Audiology
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Yes you can be DQ’d for it if over the limits. They will then send you to a specialist to check your eyes for any other eye disorders mainly keratoconus and if you don’t have any underlying eye disorders causing the astigmatism then they would submit a waiver to get you in.

I had to do this process.
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1LT Voyle Smith
1LT Voyle Smith
3 y
Good advice from the anonymous Major. You can work around your astigmatism if it’s not too severe. I used an estimated offset when engaging a target with my M-16A1. I found that my rounds consistently impacted high and to the right of my aim point, so I shifted my fire lower and to the left of my aim point. That usually improved accuracy enough to hit my target. Of course, when you’re being shot at yourself, it requires discipline to remember to do that. I rarely wore my eyeglasses in combat. They weren’t compatible with the helmets we wore in 1968. The glasses didn’t fit under the helmet and bounced off my head when running, so I left them in the pocket of my flak vest until I got shot at., then I mentally hollered “Kings Ex”, yanked the glasses out of the pocket, jammed them into place and returned fire. Teddy Roosevelt is reported to have carried eleven pairs of glasses in the Spanish-American War. I didn’t have the luxury of multiple pairs, I only had one but they survived combat.
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