Poor Vision Questions and Options.....

[GregC]

hey guys, I am turning in my application monday and have my heart set on infantry or armour, but it seems like my eyes are certainly borderline. I have viewed the CF assessment chart that was posted elsewhere, and with my -6.25 eyeglass prescription, I fall at the very bottom of V3 with the prescription converted to a metric measurement.

My question is this: If the combat arms are indeed closed to me because of eyesight, is there anything that would keep me close to the frontlines? Does the Canadian Army have Medics assigned to Sections? (Hopefully Combat_Medic will see this).

Thanks alot for any suggestions, and if the worst case scenario does occur, I will just have to bite the bullet and get LASIK, which I am only shying away from because of the length of time I will have to wait before applying to the forces. Thanks again.

 

[GregC]

no advice at all?

 

[McInnes]

There are medics attached to infantry units and they essentially have to do everything the infanteers do on ex.‘s.

 

[Garry]

lots of jobs dealing with the frontline troops all the time- mechanics, medical assistants, supply techs, drivers, cooks, Military police, I could go on....but I will say that without support, Combat troops don‘t do much.

If you can get in on the "pointy" end, do so- it;s a lot of fun. If you can‘t, then try something that you think you‘ll like- suport trades can be a lot of fun as well, and once in if you volunteer to go with a unit, you‘re generally gone!

PS- have you thought about Lasik eye surgery?

 

[GregC]

Thanks for the tips, but I talked with my Optometrist (one of the best in Vancouver) and he told me immediately that I had no chance in **** of qualifying V3 or better.

I was pretty crushed, as I have been waiting many, many years for my time to apply, but it now appears LASIK is my only choice. I had already been in for a consultation, so now I will make an appointment, and after the CF‘s waiting period, I will reapply. Infantry is my dream, I won‘t settle for being a cook, like you said I want on the tip of the spear.

Who knows, maybe it is for the best.....maybe one day I will be in some godforsaken country where it‘s pissing rain, and I‘ll think to myself "If I had glasses on right now, they‘d be so fogged I wouldn‘t be able to see sh!t all". Well, looks like I have a long time to kill, thanks for the help guys!

 

[portcullisguy]

GregC, we need better cooks, man!

j/k... There are plenty of Combat Support and Combat Service Support trades that are essential to the effectiveness of the military as a whole.

Many of these trades will allow you to learn skills that would be hard or expensive to get trained in outside of the army.

Take another look at the trades available to you, and think long term.

You didn‘t say how old you were or if you were joining reg/res. I will assume you are fairly young and thinking of reg force. If you are donig the army instead of a college/university degree, you may want to make yourself employable after you leave the CF.

I‘ll give you a hint, you cannot put on your resume, "I can work a mortar" or "C6 Gunner for infantry platoon", unless you are planning to be a mercenary. If you take a technical trade, such as one of the communications or mechanical related ones, you are immediately employable after the army.

See the long view, mate.

 

[GregC]

I‘ve been told that for a long time, but I‘ve known that I‘ve wanted to be a soldier since I was around 7 or 8, I even have writings from school to prove it!

I truly believe that I would regret going into anything other than the combat arms....I know it will give me little or no skills after the army, and I‘ve accepted that. I hope you don‘t see me as one of the many children who come on here looking to be a "Sniper" or "Special Forces JTF2 Uber Soldier", I‘ve thought this through and want to carve out my own position in the infantry. If I‘m good enough for the Para company, so be it, but I just want to learn everything I can and get some travel under my belt, and maybe make a difference along the way. I‘m hoping I can make a worthwhile career in the Army, but I know staying in long enough for the pension is rare.

Oh, by the way, I‘m 18, and I just graduated from high school. I will applying for the Reg Force Infantry or Armour after this surgery. Thanks for your concern though, it is appreciated. But I think this is just something I have to do, I‘ve been waiting too many years to apply for the Infantry, and I don‘t want to simply "settle" for a position of laying cable behind the lines.

 

[combat_medic]

If you‘re looking to be a medic in a combat arms unit, then my best advice is to get your eyes fixed. While I managed to join up in time to get in to an Infantry unit, that option is no longer available. Some genius in NDHQ took every single medic and pulled them out of all the non-medical units. I‘m bogged under paperwork a mile high trying to fight it and stay with my unit, but right now I‘m facing the fact that in order to stay with my home unit, I may have to remuster to infantry.

Don‘t get me wrong, I love my job, and I love being able to go out in the field and be a soldier, but all of that is being taken away from me by those b@stards in Ottawa. Also, if you want a genuine soldiering experience, don‘t join as a medic in a Medical Company - you‘ll never see it. You‘d be better off to wait out, get laser eye surgery and join up then. Other trades you may want to consider would be things like Engineer or Artillery. Still combat arms, but the vision requirements may be slightly lower (although you need full colour vision for both).

Not trying to discourage you here, just being honest.

 

[GregC]

Thanks Combat_Medic, was hoping to hear a few words from you........like I said, maybe this is for the best. I have my laser eye surgery booked with Dr Lynn (one of the best around) who has something like a 95% success rate with LASIK, so I am confident I will come out with a satisfactory result that will let me into the infantry.

Meanwhile, I‘ll make the most out of my downtime, taking some refresher courses to get my French speaking back to the level I was at during my grade 8-11 years. As well, I‘ll be taking some St John‘s ambulance courses over the next year.

Hopefully some first aid certificates will just help to bump my application to the top of the pile, and give me additional options (ie Medic). So Combat_Medic, you‘re saying that I don‘t really have the option to be a "real" medic anymore, as in one that serves with forward infantry sections? If you could give me any additional info I‘d very much appreciate it, as being a true medic who serves on the front lines would be my second choice to infantry on my application.

thanks!

 

[combat_medic]

Greg: If you‘re joining the Reg Force, as it appears you‘re trying to do, then medic would probably be a bad choice for you. You "could" get attached to a combat arms unit as a reg force medic, but you have to be a corporal first. There‘s such a backlog with medical courses right now, that you‘re looking at 4-5 years before you can even take the course that would make you a corporal, then a few years of waiting for a vacancy to show up. In the meantime, you‘re spending those years in some god forsaken field ambulance driving trucks and folding Mod Tent.

They restructured all the Canadian Forces medical services, and made everything far more difficult and complicated. You‘d be better off going into ANY other trade. It‘ll take you years before you can every even see a patient, and in my opinion, it‘s just not worth it.

 

[CL84]

Greg,
You sound brainwashed like me haha. I am 20, done high school too, and always have wanted to be infantry. I got a small taste of Army life when I took a military co-op course in high school. BMQ. It was pretty fun, I loved every second of it. I too am going to reg force, Army - Infantry if I can. Again...I just think we are brainwashed? haha.

 

[Lebanese Canadian]

Hello. Does anyone have a bad vision like say -6 or -7 and still joined in the reserves and got an occupation ?(other than cook,stwd,and clerk)
thank you

 

[Northern Touch]

Ok this is about your 6th or 7th post, and in almost everyone, someone has asked you to do a search first.  You have even been told by a moderator to call the recruiting centre and then you can ask until your hearts delight.  Please read the FAQ's at the top of this page, then do a search on the forum for "Vision requirements", and when your done reading all the posts (and there is tons, I just searched it), you can then call this number, 1-800-856-8488, which will direct you to your nearest recruiting centre where they will be more then happy and willing to answer all your questions.

You need V3 or better for the combat arms, there is no bending the requirement

http://www.forces.gc.ca/health/policies/med_standards/engraph/annex_e_e.asp?Lev1=7&Lev2=3&Lev3=9

Go to that website, which was found through a search, and you can read what all the medical requirements are for each trade.
If you have any more questions, please S-E-A-R-C-H the website.

Mods if I'm out of line on this sorry, I apologize in advance..

 

[brin11]

Lebanese Canadian,

Please take the above advice and condense your questions into one or two subject posts.  We recognize your frustration with the vision requirements but your questions regarding them are best answered by someone from recruiting. 

This is our last request for you to do so and we will not ask again.

 

[quebecrunner]

i'm -6 left and -7 right and i'm V4. i've enlisted as an officer. Hope that help!

 

[Lebanese Canadian]

u were enlisted as an officer in what trade?

 

[quebecrunner]

moc 48 health administrator.

 

[Kids]

Hi, guys. I am a 4th year university student and is planning to apply for the Army and Navy. However, I have a very poor eyesight: my right eye is -6.00 and my left eye is -9.00 (this was the test taken from last year, and I think my eyes have degraded recetnly due to the overnight working in front of monitor...).

So, will this prevent me from accepting into Army and Navy? I applied for the intelligence officier, artillery, and navy.

 

[George Wallace]

Read this:

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/37674.0.html


Then these will be of great benefit to you:


MSN and ICQ "short hand" -  http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/33247.0.html

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FRIENDLY ADVICE TO NEW MEMBERS - http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/24937/post-259412.html#msg259412

Recruiting FAQ - http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/21101.0.html

Infantry FAQ - http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/21131.0.html

Canadian Forces Aptitude Test - http://army.ca/forums/threads/21101/post-103977.html#msg103977

Fitness requirements at enrolment, see page 12 of this brochure:
http://www.recruiting.forces.ca/media/pdf/physical_fitness_en.pdf

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To summarize. Welcome to Army.ca, start reading.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Also see this thread:

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/31590.0.html

But seriously, the search function is your best asset here.