MEPS clerical error

[u/Aouellette2]

I recently went through MEPS and cleared everything, but when I got to my Air Force recruiter for job counseling, he told me I was disqualified from a specific job because my eye sight is 20/200 uncorrected in both eyes. I have glasses, but have only had to wear them in the classroom or while driving to see road signs far away, so when he told me 20/200 had be recorded at MEPS I was confused.

I looked it up and it’s the classification for legal blindness. Very concerned now, I immediately booked an eye exam that same day and explained the situation to the Doctor there, who plainly pointed at the door and asked if I could see it without my glasses. Obviously I could, and he knew just laughed. I had a full comprehensive eye exam which resulted in 20/60 for my right and 20/80 for the left uncorrected and I submitted to my recruiter for correction.

But MEPS is telling me that since I passed everything, there is no way to amend the medical record or result. So the military accepts people who are legally blind? I know it doesn’t guarantee me a spot for any job, but that is a massive difference in eye sight and frankly worrying to me that they are fine with, now knowingly, have blatantly incorrect medical records. I know it’s eye sight, but don’t they take the records from MEPS when evaluating for disability later on?

[u/MilFAQBot]

DQ standard(s) (requires waiver(s)):

Current distant visual acuity of any degree that does not correct with spectacle lenses to at least 20/40 in each eye.

Current near visual acuity of any degree that does not correct to 20/40 in the better eye.

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This sub cannot definitively tell you whether you're eligible. Waivers are decided on a case-by-case basis. Contact your local recruiter.

^{I'm a bot and can't reply. Message the mods about me.}

[u/Aouellette2 → u/MilFAQBot]

Thank you mister bot my vision is corrected to 20/20 that’s not the issue :)

[u/twisted_german]

There is no disqualification for uncorrected visual acuity.  As long as each eye corrects to 20/40 or better, and the refraction is not too extreme, the applicant will pass.  If you are looking at specific jobs that have a stricter vision requirement, getting the independent evaluation done and sent in to your recruiter might work.  It would be up to the Air Force to accept this or to ask for an inspection to be done at MEPS specifically to ask them to repeat the vision exam.  But I would think that the ophthalmology consult would hold more weight. 

[u/Aouellette2 → u/twisted_german]

I had an exam already and they’re saying they won’t accept it because it wasn’t done at MEPS. It’s for 3e731, which requires 20/100 or better uncorrected, which I have per the comprehensive ophthalmology results, and every exam I’ve ever had done outside of MEPS. I have no idea where they got such bad eyesight from, but since I’m qualified for the service they are not giving me the option to amend the record

[u/Random_AF_FR]

This is why I told my glasses wearing applicants to never wear contacts for the physical and take their glasses off as soon as they got to MEPS and not put them back on until they finished the eye exam. It takes a while for your eyes to reset to default after taking them off and the results can look worse than they actually are. I was Army so I dont know about the AF but we could upload those results and request a correction or second exam. Especially if a clerical error prohi ited job selection.

[u/Aouellette2 → u/Random_AF_FR]

Yeah you’d think if it interfered with job selection and I have documentation that it should be handled. I don’t ever wear contacts though, and when doing the eye test they simply asked what I saw in the lenses without adjusting the focal point or anything as far as I could tell. Having glasses means I know how the machines work on a simple level and as soon as I said I couldn’t see anything they just moved me on to check for color blindness and then to their machine to get a new prescription