colorblindness affecting job choice?

[BADma]

 Hi,

I am Tracy.My son enlisted in February. As a junior,he took the ASVAB and scored outrageously high ( I am SOOO proud). We were inundated with calls from recruiters from all branches of Military.We were told that due to his high scores...he could have his pick of any job ,providing of course that there were vacancies.

  He did his MEP and found out that he is colorblind. He was told that greatly diminished the variety of jobs  that he could choose. Are there surgical options? Is colorblindness REALLY tthat much of an issue...please understand...it must be minimal.He is 18,has contacts...we had NO clue about colorblindness.

 

Thanx in advance~

Tracy

[Anti M]

Any job dealing with electricity and electronics is right out. Wires and components and such are universally color-coded, normal color vision is critical for safety and job performance. (I was an electronic tech, so I know first hand). This is true for the civilian sector as well.

There is not a surgical option I am aware of, the very rods and cones which provide your sight also provide your color perception. Can't be tinkered with.

Does he have any choices at all?

[EMC (SS)]

Below is the instruction for Navy color vision testing. Ensure that the below instruction was followed to the letter. I was deemed color blind early in my Navy career completely incorrectly. Then had to go through quite a process to correct this issue and this happened while I was at boot camp. Remember that this test is often administered by a Sailor straight out of A-School, since it is normally a non-issue and they may be under the impression that if they aren't all spot on then it is a fail. For some reason I have always had an issue picking out what the number is on the PIP test, I can see the different colored dots, but can't figure out what the number is without tracing it with my finger, but I have no issues with the FALANT test which trumps the PIP test per the below instruction. If he passes the FALANT (up to 1 wrong out of 9 on an average of 3 tests) then his color vision is acceptable for all Navy jobs. Even if your son is color blind there are still some jobs available, but very few of them are technical. I know that Yeoman, Culinary Specialists and Store Keepers all do not require color vision.

COLOR VISION TESTING
The Manual of the Medical Department re-quires that all applicants for entrance into the naval service receive a color vision test. The Navy has two methods of testing color discrimination: the Farnsworth Lantern Test (FALANT), and the pseudoisochromatic plates (PIP). The FALANT is the preferred, and in many cases the only acceptable, method for testing color vision.
Farnsworth Lantern Test
The Farnsworth Lantern Test was devised as a means to pass personnel with normal color vision and those with a mild degree of color blindness. The Farnsworth Lantern is a machine with a light source directed at the examinee. What the examinee sees is two lights in a vertical plane, either red, green, or white, shown in varying combinations, i.e., red and green, red and red, etc. Have the examinee identify the color combinations from top to bottom at a distance of 8 feet; the examiner rotates the drum to provide the different combinations. There are a total of nine different combination that the examinee must identify. On the first run of nine lights, if the examinee correctly identifies all nine, the FALANT is passed. If the examinee incorrectly identifies any of the lights, either top, bottom, or both, do two additional runs of nine lights without interruption. The score is the average number of incorrectly identified lights of the second two runs. If the average score is 1 or less, the FALANT is passed. If the score is 2 or more, the FALANT is failed. If the score is 1.5, repeat the test aftera 5-minute break. Do not retest scores of 2 or more as this will invalidate the test procedure. NOTE: If the examinee wears corrective lenses for distant vision, he or she should wear them during this test.
Pseudoisochromatic Plates
Use pseudoisochromatic plates to determine color vision only if the FALANT is not available. Personnel so tested must be retested with the FALANT at the first activity they report to that has a Farnsworth Lantern. Two sets of plates are available: the 18-plate test and the 15-plate test, each of which has one demonstration plate not used for scoring. When administering the PIP examination, hold the plates 30 inches from the examinee. Allow two seconds for each plate identification, and do not allow the examinee to touch the plates. TO pass the 18-plate test, the examinee must identify a minimum of 14 of the 17 test plates; for the 15-plate test, a minimum of 10 of the 14 test plates.

Good luck,
EMC (SS)