Lasik Eye Correction

Vision Standards for Infantry, Lasik in the Army?

I already have an Infantry contract and ship out 2008 July 31. I am just curious to know what the minimum vision is for Infantry. I know the minimum for the military is -8.00 diopters to +8.00 diopters. I have pretty bad vision..Not that bad! Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what the minimum standards are for combat jobs like infantry? Also, any information about LASIK in the Army would be greatly appreciated. I plan on trying to get LASIK in the Army. For LASIK, do you just go to a regular LASIK surgeon and the Army pays for it, or do they have their own? What if you went to your own, to avoid waiting lists, would that get you in trouble, would you have to pay for it? How long do you think the waiting list for Infantry is to get LASIK, since I heard the waiting list differs depending on your MOS. I know thats a lot of questions but any help is greatly appreciated. And again, I was just curious about finding out the answers. God Bless our Troops.

Public Comments

1. You have to see a military optometrist first, who will determine if you are a candidate (I don't know what makes you a candidate). Then, you have to get the surgery approved through your battalion commander. Since the recovery time is so great, not only would getting the surgery on your own cost you money, it would probably earn you non-judicial or judicial punishment.
2. well, i went in with like, 4.25....now like 5.5...don't know the answer but check this....wear contacts....i know it's understood that the army discourages this...wink wink....i knew alot of guys that did...me too! those bc's just don't work with sweat and dust! i was expert marksmanship from day one and never had a problem...keep 'em clean...when you can. you just have to adjust to one extra task then everybody else does....but , of course, this is all classified. lol! give'm hell buddy!
3. Well my vision is 20/225 and I can still be an 11B. Do not get LASIK!!!! With LASIK you are disqualified for a lot of cool schools and jobs. You can not be Airborne, be a helicopter pilot, or be in Special Forces. If you want your eyes fixed, get RPK surgery. RPK, while extremely painful, is what you need. Hope this helps.
4. When you went to MEPS and did the vision test, they would have disqualified you from your infantry job if your vision was that bad. Lasik in the Army usually comes with a long waiting list. They don't send you to LASIK surgeons off post, the military has LASIK surgeons on certain posts that will do the procedure. Again, the wait list is like 2 years. If you were to go and do it by yourself, that is authorized, you just have to pay for it yourself. Healing time is only like 24 hours so you won't be out of work that long. I had a lot of guys stationed with me that had their vision corrected.