Army eyesight requirement for infantry

[Trigger Mike]

My son is thinking of joining the army and wants to be infantry and try for ranger.  When he was younger he was told to wear glasses but he decided you can’t be cool if you wear glasses.  When I joined eyesight requiring glasses could keep you from being infantry.  Is it still that way?  
 

if so what about combat engineer?

Edited July 30 by Trigger Mike

[Trigger Mike]

I told him to have his eyes checked before signing up as they will check and during the MEPS physical is not the time to find out you can’t do what you want.

[Alpo]

4 hours ago, Trigger Mike said:

but he decided you can’t be cool if you wear glasses

So does he wear contacts, or does he just walk around bumping into things?

[Trigger Mike]

He opted to throw away his glasses and do without and when he reads out loud I can tell he has a hard time seeing the words.

[Pat Riot]

You should have kicked him in the ass when he was young and made him wear them. Young eyes can improve with correction up until the ages of 18-20.

So, if he can’t get into the job he wants because of it reminding him that he should have worn his glasses will probably cause some resentment or regrets but it could also be a lesson he will remember in the future. 
 

I speak from my own experience. Only I didn’t have glasses because I wouldn’t wear them. I didn’t have glasses because my dad would not pay for them.

“I am not going to waste money on something you’ll probably break anyway.” - dear ol’ dad

[Major Hazzard, SASS #23254]

He'll be fine,  I've seen plenty of grunts wearing glasses and, unless things have changed, he can enlist with opportunities to go to jump school and pre-Ranger evaluation in his contract. Tell him to focus on attitude, weight, physical fitness, in that order.   Those are way bigger obstacles than wearing glasses.

[Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381]

Don't forget about PRK.

[Cypress Sun]

12 minutes ago, Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381 said:

Don't forget about PRK.

 

Or the Secret Service...seems like they don't need to have good vision.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Does the Army still provide birth control glasses?

[Shepherd Book]

15 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Does the Army still provide birth control glasses?

Yes...even to us old retiree's that don't need the birth control function any more!   SB

[Shepherd Book]

12 hours ago, Trigger Mike said:

My son is thinking of joining the army and wants to be infantry and try for ranger.  When he was younger he was told to wear glasses but he decided you can’t be cool if you wear glasses.  When I joined eyesight requiring glasses could keep you from being infantry.  Is it still that way?  
 

if so what about combat engineer?

Try this website for some specifics on vision:    https://www.oakleyforum.com/guides/us-military-vision-requirements/    SB

 

 

[Pat Riot]

2 hours ago, Shepherd Book said:

Yes...even to us old retiree's that don't need the birth control function any more!   SB

My wife laughed at me 9 or so years ago when I picked BC frames for my every day glasses. She said “You wouldn’t be caught dead in those things 30+ years ago. Why did you get them now?”

I said “Well, they were cheap and I look d*** good in them!”

”Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” 
 

Later on she convinced me to get some other glasses and have sunglasses lenses put in my BC frames. 

[SGT. M. F. QUINCANNON, #32999]

I went to the Ft. Benning School for Boys in 1980 and my uncorrected vision at the time 20/250 in right eye and 20/400 in the left. Glasses corrected to nearly 20/20.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

My vision at the time was 20/5 and 20/10.

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

I do not know the details but have to believe that the physical requirements for each MOS, infantry and combat engineer, are about the same. 
 

Now let me stick a bug in your son’s ear…  Combat engineers (12B) get to do everything that their infantry (11B) brothers do. Camping. Hiking. Shooting with free ammo. Visiting foreign countries. Wearing green makeup. Eating SOS. Ranger. Airborne. All the good stuff!

 

But the 12Bs also practice demolition. C4 blocks. Det cord. Breaching charges. Cratering charges. It’s all in a day’s work for combat engineers. 
 

C4 was what almost got me to branch Engineer instead of Aviation, but the sky’s call was too strong. 

[J.D. Daily]

My grandson who is a 25B decided at Ft. Gordon he wanted to be assigned to the Special Forces (SciOps) so he completed jump school.  He has been in a couple of SF units at Ft Liberty.  He choose the SF because the unit training includes frequent jumps & familiarization with small arms* of US, NATO & adversaries.

P.S. He has excellent land navigation & escape & evasion skills.  So far he is having fun unlike his two cousins.  The eldest only enlisted in the Army to further his IT education spent.  Took advantage of benefits to complete a BS & MS in computer science.  He recommended his cousin sign a contract for 25B.  The eldest's younger brother was the first of the grandsons to enlist right out of high school.  His occupation was machinist mate nuclear (mechanical systems).  He originally planned on making it a carer; however, his ship was in Newport for all but several weeks.  His contract was up 2 weeks before the Gerald Ford sailed for its' AO. 

*He is a small arms enthusiast.

[Redleg Reilly, SASS #46372]

We called those glasses RPGs - rape prevention glasses...

[Caprock Kid]

eyesight is not an issue.

As far as infantry- Is he breathing ….perfect candidate!
If he walks into the recruiter and says he wants infantry -the recruiter will fall all over himself getting him signed up!

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

12 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

You should have kicked him in the ass when he was young and made him wear them. Young eyes can improve with correction up until the ages of 18-20.

So, if he can’t get into the job he wants because of it reminding him that he should have worn his glasses will probably cause some resentment or regrets but it could also be a lesson he will remember in the future. 
 

I speak from my own experience. Only I didn’t have glasses because I wouldn’t wear them. I didn’t have glasses because my dad would not pay for them.

“I am not going to waste money on something you’ll probably break anyway.” - dear ol’ dad

In a pig's a$$ they can.  I wore glasses from the time I was nine until I had lens transplants in 2008 when I was 56.  During that time my eyes got worse with every visit to the doctor.

[Alpo]

I noticed that if you use weaker glasses your eyes seem to get stronger. At least that worked with mine.

 

Plastic lenses. About 10 years old. Scratched all to hell. So I went to get new glasses, and they tested my eyes, and ordered me new glasses. I had a spare pair that I had never used - they were my spares. So I started using them, while waiting for my new ones to show up. They gave me a massive headache. I thought it was because they were glass, and therefore it was the weight. Took about 2 weeks for the new glasses to show up, and when I put them on, I couldn't see anything. They were too weak.

 

The only thing that made sense to me was that because I was looking through the scratched up glasses for all that time, my eyes had actually gotten stronger, trying to see. Then when I started wearing the unscratched lenses, which had the strong prescription, I got the headache. But over the two weeks wait time I got used to the strong prescription again, and headaches went away. But then when the new glasses came in my eyes were no longer strong enough to use that puny prescription.

 

Although, I suppose it is possible that the people that made the new glasses just screwed the pooch, and ground them wrong.

[Trigger Mike]

I’ll let him know.  I did tell him check into combat engineers as they get to blow thing up more than us grunts, though they did let us play some in Iraq.  
 

I think he is getting bad info from YouTubers as he said soldiers make 40 to 50k these days but I found an E1 makes 2k a month.  Slightly less than he makes as a mechanic for John Deere tractors at a dealership.  

[watab kid]

interesting when i was of that age that was not really a factor - possibly for something like rangers but as cannon fodder you were fair game unless you got the lucky 1/3rd that went to germany ....or were fortunate enough to be in college , 

i have no idea what the army does these days but it would be an issue in air force as someone that wants to fly , that i do know a little of from family members , even then all my data s not current - today , they may have all new protocols at this point in time it keeps changing 

[Sedalia Dave]

12 minutes ago, Trigger Mike said:

I’ll let him know.  I did tell him check into combat engineers as they get to blow thing up more than us grunts, though they did let us play some in Iraq.  
 

I think he is getting bad info from YouTubers as he said soldiers make 40 to 50k these days but I found an E1 makes 2k a month.  Slightly less than he makes as a mechanic for John Deere tractors at a dealership.  

 

What he needs to know is there is a whole lot more to take into consideration that just your paycheck. You have to look at the entire compensation package.

 

Start with rent. Single and living in the barracks you are not shelling out half your paycheck for room and board not to mention utilities. When he attains some seniority he will be allowed to move off base but this comes with both a food and housing allowance.

Then there is medical and dental covered at 100%.

 

Now factor in that only his basic pay is taxed. the IRS does not tax his compensation package. BAH and BAS are non taxable.

 

Here is a link to a pay and compensation calculator that approximates the compensation side of military pay and benefits.

 

https://militarypay.defense.gov/calculators/rmc-calculator/ 

 

But the real value doesn't become apparent unless he stays for 20 years and becomes eligible for military retirement pay plus TriCare. Even after I pay for supplemental TriCare insurance my medical and pharmacy bills are about 1/10th what my co-workers pay. 

 

Between my retiree pay and the extremely low cost of medical insurance I'm looking at being able to retire comfortably at 63 vice having to work until I am in my 70's.

 

One other thing, no matter what he chooses to do in life, convince him to set aside a percentage of every paycheck and put it into some form of Roth IRA and NEVER touch it no matter how bad things get. Compound interest is an amazing thing.

 

 

[Trigger Mike]

Yes, I did tell him if he gets married and lives off base he gets extra (he has a serious girlfriend who said she didn’t want him to go but would go with him if he went).  He knows how in Iraq everything was tax free and I had a great wife who didn’t spend the “found” money on junk she instead paid down our credit card debt and I invested what was left over.  His possible future bride thus far seems as frugal as my wife at that age.  Her only concern was she did not want to live on base housing, not sure why.  Told him not to worry they stay tied up.  I think it’s a good idea and will help him grow up.  His mom is worried he won’t like it since I trained him like my dad like a drill sergeant and he always hated being yelled at.  I told her the army will fix that . 

[Pat Riot]

8 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

In a pig's a$$ they can.  I wore glasses from the time I was nine until I had lens transplants in 2008 when I was 56.  During that time my eyes got worse with every visit to the doctor.

Oh, so if it didn’t work for you then it works for nobody? Gimme a break. 

[Texas Joker]

9 hours ago, Trigger Mike said:

Yes, I did tell him if he gets married and lives off base he gets extra

This is one way dependapotomi are created

 

One of the major bennies is job training and education.  

 

Pick an MOS with real world application. 

[Trigger Mike]

I tried to tell him that, other than police work infantry doesn’t transfer well into the civilian market.  I mentioned mechanic but since he does that now he said he’d just stay where he is.  

[Texas Joker]

Combat engineers can get heavy equipment training.Make a lot of money running a bulldozer or backhoe

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

8 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

Oh, so if it didn’t work for you then it works for nobody? Gimme a break. 

My generalization is as good as yours, and as a general rule I don't give anyone a break..... as a general rule.  

 

There have been exceptions from time to time.

Edited July 31 by Forty Rod SASS 3935

[Pat Riot]

13 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

My generalization is as good as yours, and as a general rule I don't give anyone a break..... as a general rule.  

 

There have been exceptions from time to time.

But mine’s correct.  So there! 

[sassnetguy50]

On 7/30/2024 at 11:22 AM, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Does the Army still provide birth control glasses?

Internet searches show they switched from the S9 frame to the R5 frame in 2012.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

5 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

But mine’s correct.  So there! 

We could settle this with an arm wrestling contest, but since you moved out of the country it isn't practical.  I'm too old to get a pass port.  

[Pat Riot]

2 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

We could settle this with an arm wrestling contest, but since you moved out of the country it isn't practical.  I'm too old to get a pass port.  

Yep, left the commie west coast for America 

 

Arm wresting? I got a better idea. Breakfast on me if I ever get to Arizona. We could have a biscuits and gravy eating contest. 

[Rye Miles #13621]

On 7/30/2024 at 12:06 AM, Trigger Mike said:

My son is thinking of joining the army and wants to be infantry and try for ranger.  When he was younger he was told to wear glasses but he decided you can’t be cool if you wear glasses.  When I joined eyesight requiring glasses could keep you from being infantry.  Is it still that way?  
 

if so what about combat engineer?

Whatever he decides to do tell him thank you for his service. You got a good boy there!

[PowderRiverCowboy]

Straight from PULHES

Qualifications for initial award of MOS 11B, Infantryman:

PULHES: 111221
Physical Demands Rating: very heavy
Required ASVAB Score: CO: 87
Enlistment Bonus: N / A
Security Clearance: None
U.S. Citizenship: Not Required
AIT Length / Location: 6 weeks, 3 days at Ft Benning, Georgia
CLOSED TO WOMEN

Other Requirements for Award of MOS 11B:

(1) Color discrimination of red/green.

(2) Correctable vision of 20/20 in one eye; 20/100 in other eye.

 

 

Now as Far as Ranger , same but of course not guaranteed  and a huge difference between  Tabbed and scrolled ,

Airborne first

Required documents that will be uploaded to the AIM portal:

1. One Page Letter of Intent in Memorandum for Record Format
   1. Address the Letter to the Commander, 75th Ranger Regiment
2. Letters of Recommendations from (at a minimum) your Rater and Senior Rater
   1. *Do not exceed 4 LoR’s
3. All OERs, most recent to oldest
   1. Submitting OERs labeled "DRAFT" on EES is acceptable, but only necessary for evaluations covering KD positions
4. All AERs, most recent to oldest
5. Current APFT or ACFT Score Card
6. DA form 4187 endorsed by your BDE Commander or first O6 in your Chain of Command (see link above for example)
7. Fill out and complete the RASP 2 Pre-Screening Questionnaire (see link above).
8. ***While you wait, ensure that you have a current Ranger Physical***
9. Physicals are to be current within 18 months, stamped "AIRBORNE RANGER".
10. You should schedule this through your unit and hand carry this document to RASP 2 if invited to attend.

Qualifications to Join the 75th Ranger Regiment:

• Be a U.S. citizen
• Be on Active Duty and Volunteer for assignment
• Have a General Technical Score of 100 or higher (can be waived on case by case basis)
• No physical limitations (PULHES of 111221 or better)
• Qualify and volunteer to attend the Basic Airborne Course
• A person of good character (no pending UCMJ action or drug or alcohol related incidents within 24 months)
• Must enlist into or currently hold a Military Occupational Specialty found in the 75th Ranger Regiment
• Able to attain at minimum a Secret clearance
• • Pass physical requirements which include the Ranger Fitness Test (41 T Push-Ups in 2 minutes, 2:35 plank, run 5 miles in 40 minutes or less, and 6 pull-ups), Water Survival Assessment, and 12-mile Footmarch with a 35lb rucksack and weapon in under 3 hours.

https://www.moore.army.mil/tenant/75thranger/Recruiting.html#:~:text=Pass physical requirements which include,weapon in under 3 hours.

Edited August 1 by PowderRiverCowboy