UK Armed Forces (officer); any hope?

[MichelleB]

My son is at university and in the process of applying to be an officer in the Army. I am an Optometrist and tested his eyes yesterday as he was aware his vision had changed. He has developed Keratoconus in the 2 years since his last test. I have referred him on, hopefully for cross linking. His corrected acuities are still 6/6 R&L. I was wondering if there had been any progress in the viewpoint of the Army regarding Keratoconus? Surely if cross linking stabilises the cornea and corrected acuity remains good, there should be no reason for it to be a concern? This is all he has ever wanted to do and will be devastated if it means he will not be accepted.

[RedOnion]

Hi Michelle and welcome to the forum.

I’m not sure what the latest situation is but I believe it’s a “case by case” basis and it wouldn’t necessarily rule him out. Have you spoken to the local recruitment office? They could give you an idea and may well refer the enquiry on to the medical team. I think it would be worth it, especially if it’s a dream career for your son!

[Anne Klepacz]

Hi Michelle,
There is still no change in the written guidance on this, but the Moorfields consultant who joined us in arguing for a change chased this up last month. The reply he had was -
"the guidance for keratoconus is changing and will essentially be treated and stable with KMax <48 and CCT I think >400 and meeting all other visual entry criteria is okay".
From previous correspondence, 'treated' means having had CXL and 'stable' is likely to mean no change post CXL for at least a year.
So I think your son will probably need to wait a year after crosslinking to have the best chance of being accepted.
I'll obviously update when I hear any more, but in the meantime I guess the advice we were previously given still stands ie people who have had CXL should apply and appeal if rejected, at which point their application will go before the medical team.
I can't believe how slowly the wheels turn - it's now 8 years since we first raised this with the armed forces medics! I'll be cracking open the champagne when we finally get there.
All the very best to your son.

[MichelleB]

Thank you so much!
My son has 2 more years at uni anyway, so hopefully by then the criteria will be more certain. He has already got through first stages of officer application and next main board interview will be Sept 25 as they wanted more life experience. Hopefully by the time he finishes uni he will be cross linked and stable for a while. I'm hopeful as caught early and corrected va in glasses 6/6 R and L, he will pass an updated criteria. I'll accompany him to Moorfields and hopefully they will agree to cross link Re ASAP as this is the worst affected eye, but also the eye the army are more concerned about. I'm more hopeful now, so thank you for your responses.

[RedOnion]

All the very best and please let us know how it goes, would be interesting to hear if any progress at the Army’s end!

[space_cadet]

wishing your son all the best x