eyesight and the PDF

Mrmotivator007

Can anyone tell me the requirements for eyesight in the pdf.I got an eye exame today and the results were I had 20/20 vision in my right eye (and with both eyes ccombined obviously)but was told i had Amblopia (lazy eye)in my left(he did say it might help if i exercise it by wering a pirate patch),my vision is half of what my right eye is.would this prevent me from joining the PDF.also ive read the other posts on lasik surgery and was wondering if this would be an option,but they were about the raf,from what ive read lasik surgery is allowed as long as its within certain requirements.

any help is much apreciated as this eye test is a real Bummer:mad:

Tribunius

To be honest I don't know how a lazy eye will affect your chances but I suspect not well. As for laser eye surgery thats a big no no. If I remember correctly the line goes "eyes must be surgically untreated".

See page 4 of this booklet for the eyesight standards.

http://www.military.ie/careers/booklets/Cadetships2007-eng.pdf

Tak3n

This is for the british army:



Eyesight Standards The standard personal weapon is the SA80 and this requires vision in the right eye to be correctable to no less than 6/9.
Vision in the left eye must be correctable to no less than 6/36. Spectacle correction must be no greater than -7diopters or +8 in any meridian.
Certain types of surgery or laser treatment to correct visual defects are unacceptable and clarification should be sought prior to application.
The standards required by the Army Air Corps are higher than for other branches: applicants should check current standards with the Army Air Corps.

GerryRyan

Tribunius wrote: »

To be honest I don't know how a lazy eye will affect your chances but I suspect not well. As for laser eye surgery thats a big no no. If I remember correctly the line goes "eyes must be surgically untreated".

Why is it the Irish army are still against laser surgery - when other armys even pay for their soldiers to have it done? The benefits definitely outweight the 'long term dangers'.

I can't find the link, but this arguement came up before, either here or on IMO, and a report was linked criticizing (spelling?) their policy as a nearly archaic approach

neilled

ThatGuy wrote: »

Why is it the Irish army are still against laser surgery - when other armys even pay for their soldiers to have it done? The benefits definitely outweight the 'long term dangers'.

I can't find the link, but this arguement came up before, either here or on IMO, and a report was linked criticizing (spelling?) their policy as a nearly archaic approach

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article688361.ece

Mrmotivator007

NEW PROBLEM!I dont meet the minimum education requirements,you need 3 c3s or beter in honour subjects ive only two?(is this a major problem)

all this to join the army,you dont have to be einstein to be a soldier! you need to be e bloody fit and dedicated! not to be able to do honours maths

think ill opt to join the british and the us,only in ireland would you need a degree to get into the army.! arghhhhhhhhhhh:mad:

(looks like i might be able to scrape by that eyesight ,as i said my right eye is as perfect as it gets(beter than 20/20)

Tribunius

The requirements are to join as an officer. Enlisted have different requirements. The medical is the same though.

P.S. You will find most if not all militaries require their officers to have that kind of educational standard.

eroo

Garda Siochana have accepted laser eye surgery why not the DF??I mean ffs the US Navy SEALs are allowed have laser eye surgery done...
http://www.seal.navy.mil/seal/vision.aspx

neilled

Mrmotivator007 wrote: »

NEW PROBLEM!I dont meet the minimum education requirements,you need 3 c3s or beter in honour subjects ive only two?(is this a major problem)

all this to join the army,you dont have to be einstein to be a soldier! you need to be e bloody fit and dedicated! not to be able to do honours maths

think ill opt to join the british and the us,only in ireland would you need a degree to get into the army.! arghhhhhhhhhhh:mad:

(looks like i might be able to scrape by that eyesight ,as i said my right eye is as perfect as it gets(beter than 20/20)

As stated by another poster, the requirements you have stated are to join as an officer. Truth be told theres an increasing trend for military forceswanting their would be officers to have degrees going in. apparently 85 percent of british officer cadets have degrees going into sandhurst., so the defence forces aren't unique in that respect.

if your looking at going for enlisted "general service" then you can get in with lower academic qualifications.

neilled

eroo wrote: »

Garda Siochana have accepted laser eye surgery why not the DF??I mean ffs the US Navy SEALs are allowed have laser eye surgery done...
http://www.seal.navy.mil/seal/vision.aspx

have a look at the times article i posted earlier, all three us services can have it done. And whilst they have lowered alot of standards in order to get recruits in recent years, it seems they allow their aviators (and remember the us armed forces have a fetish for expensive aircraft) to get surgery done.


i have looked at the figures. about 50 cadetships are awarded every year across the defence forces in total, with loads of applicants for each place. I'm beginning to suspect its simply a way of narrowing the field for them... Why change the rules when theres no shortage of would be officers.

if your going for general service theres no stipulation that you cannot have it done on the df website..

Mrmotivator007

whats my best chance of getting in then?really pisses me off when its so hard to get into and you hear guys quiting in the first week and even the first day

neilled

you havent stated whether your going for enlisted or officer. as someone else has stated most european forces require third level education, 85% of uk officer cadets have degrees entering sandhurst. although some enter with mediocre enough a-levels.

Bethany

From what you've said it is more that possible that you will get into the PDF as an enlisted man. Standards for military cadets are higher and the standards for pilot cadets are in keeping with the initial medical for commercial pilots. Get the recruitment booklet stating the requirements for enlisted personnel and take it to the person who examined you. He will then be able to tell you as to whether or not you meet the requirements.As regards the lazy eye, did he say to you that you would benefit from seeing and optometrist.....not an optician. They cost about 80 to 100 euros for a visit and they give specialist exercises to help with this condition.
As regards laser surgery there is some disquiet among the medical profession about this procedure and the long term effectivity. In this case the PDF seem to be taking the cautious approach. From what you've said, to be honest, I think there is a good chance that you will meet the requirements as certain degrees of amblopia are acceptable . Best of luck

Mrmotivator007

the optician says i should be oaky,what are my chances if i sign up for enlisted ofchances of getting a full time job,as i dont want to sign up for just five years!this is something i really want to do!not just 5 years

Poccington

Mrmotivator007 wrote: »

the optician says i should be oaky,what are my chances if i sign up for enlisted ofchances of getting a full time job,as i dont want to sign up for just five years!this is something i really want to do!not just 5 years

As long as you get past Recruit Training and then meet the terms of your 5 year contract you should have no problem staying on.

I'm sure Mairt or IA 01 will explain it better for ya though.

NoQuarter

you have to sign up for 5 years first its compulsory, everyone does it, then the contract states you need a certain amount of courses, overseas etc etc.. to sign back on back on after 5 years, once you pass your medical, fitness test and interview its on your own back wheter you make a career out of it or not!

Mrmotivator007

thanks guys for all the help,I read the requirements on the minimum education standerds and was told by neiled that they were for as an officer cadet?im not sure if id get in with the scores i got in my Lc,???(ive only got two honour subjescts)

Poccington

If you're going for General Enlistment you only need a Junior Cert as far as I know. I got in and my LC scores were far from amazing

neilled

Mrmotivator007 wrote: »

thanks guys for all the help,I read the requirements on the minimum education standerds and was told by neiled that they were for as an officer cadet?im not sure if id get in with the scores i got in my Lc,???(ive only got two honour subjescts)

Mr Motivator see http://www.military.ie/careers/faq.htm

It doesn't state any specifics for general service, although the minimum apprenticeship education requirements for the army and air corps are as follows at junior cert level.

Subject Grade

Irish and/or English
Maths*
Grade C (Ordinary) or Grade D (Higher)

One of the subjects listed hereunder, at Grade C (Ordinary Level) or Grade D (Higher Level)

Metalwork
Materials Technology
Science
Technical Graphics
Technology

Hope thats of use to you. best of luck!

Mrmotivator007

Thanks neiled!much apreciated!

I was reading todays paper earlier on and spotted an article about a couple in the PDF who were chosen to go on a peace keeping trip to kosovo.but then i noticed he wore glases,so how can a person who wears galses meet the eyesight requirements!surely their is more then one person in the PDF who wears glasses.?

ElSeano93

well lads i'm a bit confused cos no-one's answering te question. see, i want to join the army, but i'm -2.5 far-sighted, can i still get in ? and if so, can i wear contact lenses in the army?

Mrmotivator007

noboady?how can you still wwear glases and be in the Pdf

neilled

Mrmotivator007 wrote: »

noboady?how can you still wwear glases and be in the Pdf

Basically the way armed forces see it (no pun intended) is that people can have less than perfect vision and still serve with correction, as with glasses and contacts most people see fairly well. Some only need glasses for reading or distances etc. So they have a standard for corrected vision. They also have a standard for uncorrected/unaided vision which presumably is based around you still being to be effective as a soldier if you lost contacts/glasses.

JayUkSoldier

Ive Just Passed my B.A.R.B test (British Army Recruitment Battery) with flyin colours. Now ive got to send of my medical docs and optician report. Ive got a problem though. Ive got a squint in my right eye, Vision in my left eye is almost perfect But im worried i wont Pass the optician report cause of my problem in one eye.

Joinin the army is what i wanna do, No offense but i dont wanna be another mess up and end up stackin shelves for the rest of my life. Civvie street doesn't compare to the army, and i wanna get away from London. If you have a lazy eye will they still let you join? i can still see most things out of it but not in perfect detail. Left eye is all good though. thoughts?

Jay

minidazzler

JayUKSoldier, PM Sent.

IrishZeus

So has there ever been any update on the laser surgery situation? I was looking at joining but had my eyes done last year...

I have 20/20 vision now and I the LasEk surgery, the non-flap cutting one so no long term effects. I have a 3rd level honours degree so have all educational requirements.

Only thing stopping me is my eyes... anyone have anymore info? I have done a bit of researching rather than just posting but seems to be very little available on the topic...

concussion

NTR - nothing to report. Unfortunately. Apparantly it is quite difficult for even trained opthalmologists to detect some types of laser surgery. (However, not declaring something like that would be very dishonest and could lead to some serious repurcussions if found)

IrishZeus

concussion wrote: »

NTR - nothing to report. Unfortunately. Apparantly it is quite difficult for even trained opthalmologists to detect some types of laser surgery. (However, not declaring something like that would be very dishonest and could lead to some serious repurcussions if found)

I'd be lying if i said i hadnt considered just applying and not declaring the surgery... seems very backward given the most elite military units in the world actually pay for their members to have the surgery...

Ah well, i guess i'll just have to give up my career in the cadets and become a US Navy Seal instead. :P