# Will my poor vision affect my choice of trades?



## nthompson20 (29 Nov 2010)

Hello everyone,

I'm 19 years old and a first year Police Foundations student at my local community college, but recently I hit a roadblock. I was told that my vision is 20/250 for each eye individually and 20/200 combined, which means I'm not eligible to apply to civilian police forces, so I thought the Military Police would maybe have different vision requirements.

When I e-mailed a recruiter for a list of trades people with V4 sight would qualify for MP (officer) was on the list but not the MP NCO. I'd rather be an NCO because I'm already in school, but why is there the vision requirement difference? With my vision, can I even be a MP at all or would I have to choose a different trade? 

Thanks


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## Brasidas (29 Nov 2010)

Go into a recruiting office, show them your eye prescription, and talk to them.

Where are you at? Is there a recruiting center in your city?


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## nthompson20 (29 Nov 2010)

For sure, I live in Kingston, but I wasn't aware they'd just tell me with a percription.


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## OkanaganHeat (29 Nov 2010)

On the following site, first check the minimum requirements for the trade you are wanting to apply for in Annex E and then check in Annex A what category your vision falls under. http://www.forces.gc.ca/health-sante/pd/cfp-pfc-154/default-eng.asp This could have been found by doing a search for Enrollment Standards or Vision Standards which would have given you this same link.


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## nthompson20 (29 Nov 2010)

Thanks for your help


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## Nauticus (29 Nov 2010)

Laser eye surgery?


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## nthompson20 (30 Nov 2010)

I was considering that, but the price is out of my reach. I was hoping during my time with the CF, I could save up for laser eye surgery, but as of now, LASIK MD said it could range from 500-2000 bucks per eye, and I'd have to get additional paperwork to verify my vision is stable.


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## MMSS (30 Nov 2010)

I know it seems expensive but as a one-time expense I have to say it is really worth it.


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## Scott (30 Nov 2010)

Take your bills for your lookers every year and minus the coverage (if applicable) that you have.

Take that number and divide it into the total for your LASIK (aim high, say 4K)

The total is the number of years it would take for the LASIK to pay for itself. Keep in mind that prices will likely always rise a bit for your glasses/contacts/eye exams.

Take into consideration that even with LASIK you'll likely need reading glasses at +/- 50 years of age. So weigh your age now and that of 50, is there enough time in between for it to be worthwhile to you? Are your eyewear/exam costs high enough (special eyewear/precriptions) to justify it? Does vanity come into play? Convenience?

It is that simple, really. Forego the new car for a slightly used one and use the rest for your eyes. If the car breaks you can get a new one, if your eyes are ****ed then your eyes are ****ed.


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## Pusser (1 Dec 2010)

The bad news is that sub-standard eyesight will keep you out of certain military occupations.  The good news is that laser eye surgery is now an acceptable means to solve that problem for all occupations.  Unfortunately, the CF won't pay for it ....yet.

When I compared the price of laser eye surgery to what I was spending on contact lenses (which the CF does not pay for either), the surgery paid for itself in three years!  The annoying part was that I have also saved the CF thousands of dollars for glasses in the ten years since I had the surgery.  Oh well, I still enjoy the fact that I haven't needed to find my glasses to read my alarm clock in that ten years either! 

As for proving your vision is stable, it's not that difficult.  All I had to do was go in six months after the surgery and have my eyes tested by the CF optician and looked at by a doctor (GP).  The results of the test by the optician were used to determine my "V" level.  I went from V4 (almost V5 - below standard for every occupation in the CF) to V1, where I have remained for the last ten years.  When the doctor looked at my eyes, he said he had no way of knowing that I had even had the surgery done.  There was no visible difference in my eyes.  Mind you, I was already in the CF when I did all this, so the Recruiting Centre may have different requirements.  On the other hand, if your vision tests OK at the Recruiting Centre, do you even have to tell them that you've even had the surgery?

As for standards, if you can get your vision rated in terms of "20/xxx" (6/xx in metric), you can take that number to the Recruiting Centre and they can tell you what "V" level you fit into.


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## PMedMoe (1 Dec 2010)

Pusser said:
			
		

> On the other hand, if your vision tests OK at the Recruiting Centre, do you even have to tell them that you've even had the surgery?



Umm, are you telling someone to omit parts of their medical history?   ???

I would certainly tell the RC staff.  You can get surgery, have great vision and then have problems later on down the road.

If I were joining now, I would certainly tell them about three previous abdominal surgeries, even though they don't affect my health, nor do they show up on any medical tests (except as visible scars).


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## medicineman (2 Dec 2010)

nthompson20 said:
			
		

> . I'd rather be an NCO because I'm already in school, but why is there the vision requirement difference?



The difference is simply because the job requirements for officers and NCO's are different.

MM


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## Ben29 (5 Dec 2010)

What's the reason for vision being a factor? In case you lose your glasses? Haha.


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## MMSS (5 Dec 2010)

Ben29 said:
			
		

> What's the reason for vision being a factor? In case you lose your glasses? Haha.



Pretty much. My pre-surgery vision was poor enough that without glasses I couldn't see something five feet in front of me. In a combat situation I would be useless if my glasses were knocked off or fogged up. If you've always had good vision then it can be hard to understand what it's like.


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## chrisf (5 Dec 2010)

Stacked said:
			
		

> If your poor vision makes you ineligible for civillian police forces, why would you think the Military Police force would be any different?



Because the military isn't a civillian police force, and it has different job requirements?

You can have fairly crappy vision and still get into the forces, or at least some trades, whereas most police forces have a higher minimum standard for vision.


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## medicineman (5 Dec 2010)

Ben29 said:
			
		

> What's the reason for vision being a factor? In case you lose your glasses? Haha.



Three letters come to mind:  D-U-H.  That and some people's vision cannont be corrected to a point that they can see well enough to hit not only the broad side of a barn, but the right barn.

MM


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## NavyShooter (7 Dec 2010)

Or at least to hit the ground?

I'm going in for Lasik on Thursday.  The price is $1500 per eye (roughly) for the custom wavefront Lasik.

My prescription is such that I should probably be listed as V4, but for whatever reason am listed as V3.  

As a sailor, who wears fire-fighting breathing apparatus, Gas masks, etc, it's a rather important thing to be able to see.  I have the proper combat spectacle inserts (that don't break the seal) which has allowed me to "soldier on" so to speak.  However, with some other stuff going on, I'm getting the surgery done this week.

Full speed ahead and damn the torpedos.

Oh, and it's tax free (as a medical procedure) and tax deductible (as a medical expense.)

Not covered by the CF, alas, but for the first time in my life, I'll be able to buy a cool pair of Oakleys!

NS


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## Pusser (8 Dec 2010)

NavyShooter said:
			
		

> Not covered by the CF, alas, but for the first time in my life, I'll be able to buy a cool pair of Oakleys!
> 
> NS



One of my gifts to myself when I had it done was a nice pair of Ray-bans!


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