>> The study analyzed outcomes for two groups of LASIK patients. In the first group, which included 262 Navy personnel with an average age of 29.1, it was 43 percent reporting new symptoms.
I'm in the middle of a multi-year application process for a job in the armed forces. They are VERY suspicious of all laser eye surgeries. I had several tests specifically looking for evidence of surgery. They didn't find any, but they did find a tiny scar in my cornea left over from when I was a teenager. My point: think long and hard about laser eye surgery if there is any change that you may want to work with or for any armed service. You cannot hide these procedures.
Flip side: If they implement a draft, lasik might get you a pass.
(1) G-forces. But it isn't just airmen, or people jumping out of planes. The 'flap' procedures leave a scar in the cornea. That scar is a weak point. Any impact, even being punched in the face, can crack along that weak point. They have seen a few of these over the decades. For pilots, the word is that flap procedures could see you limited to rotary-wing aircraft rather than jets. (50+% of military cockpits are in helicopters. It isn't that great a limitation unless you have TopGun dreams.)
(2) Future correction. Pilots cost upwards of 5mil to train. Maybe in 5/10 years your eyes aren't good enough any more and they want to send you for corrective surgery then. They want to know where they are starting.
(3) Catching cheats. There are a huge number of questions re eyes. They want to fish out anyone who may be fibbing about their medical history. A liar is worse than any medical condition. Basically, if you are caught you will be blacklisted for all the services.
Lol. That's what happens after hours of worried discussion amongst candidates at a military medical facility. Lots of information based on shared stories and fleeting comments by doctors in camo. Everyone wants to chat so as to confirm their understandings.
I'm in the middle of a multi-year application process for a job in the armed forces. They are VERY suspicious of all laser eye surgeries. I had several tests specifically looking for evidence of surgery. They didn't find any, but they did find a tiny scar in my cornea left over from when I was a teenager. My point: think long and hard about laser eye surgery if there is any change that you may want to work with or for any armed service. You cannot hide these procedures.
Flip side: If they implement a draft, lasik might get you a pass.