The existence of a refractive abnormality was and still is a reason for rejection from Military Academies. Even if the candidate fulfills all requirements to enter such a school, the existence of a refractive fault, even if it is corrected with glasses or contact lenses (visual acuity 10/10), will not allow him to participate in the examinations.

Each of these Military Academies has its own criteria regarding the required visual acuity and in some of them, candidates will be accepted even if they wear glasses or contact lenses, as long as their corrected acuity is not lower than what is required.

In particular, in the table below you can see the visual requirements for the candidates of every Military Academy. It is worth noting that except for the Hellenic Air Force Academy (Pilots), none of the other schools mention restrictions or exclusions due to correction with refractive surgery.

 

Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 6 diopters (spherical equivalent)

Hellenic Military Academy (Arms)	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 4.5 diopters (spherical equivalent)
Hellenic Air Force Academy (Engineers)	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 4.5 diopters (spherical equivalent)
Noncommissioned Officers Army Academy	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 4.5 diopters (spherical equivalent)
Hellenic Air Force Academy (Technical NCO School)	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 4.5 diopters (spherical equivalent)
Hellenic Air Force Academy (Administrative NCO School)	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 4.5 diopters (spherical equivalent)
Hellenic Military Academy (Corps)	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 6 diopters (spherical equivalent)
Corps Officers Military Academy
Officers' School of Nursing	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 6 diopters (spherical equivalent)
Naval Cadets Academy (Combatants)	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye without correction
Naval Cadets Academy (Engineers)	Visual acuity without correction 1/10 in each eye, 10/10 with correction, myopia should not be above 2.5 diopters, hyperopia 3 diopters and astigmatism 2 diopters. All candidates for naval schools should not have undergone refractive surgery with radial keratotomy
Hellenic Navy's Petty Οfficers' Academy	Visual acuity without correction 1/10 in each eye, 10/10 with correction, myopia should not be above 2.5 diopters, hyperopia 3 diopters and astigmatism 2 diopters. All candidates for naval schools should not have undergone refractive surgery with radial keratotomy
Hellenic Air Force Academy (Pilots)	Visual acuity in close or in a distance no less than 10/10 for each eye without correction and they should not have undergone any refractive surgery. Their myopia should not be higher than 0.25 diopters, hyperopia higher than 1.75 diopters and astigmatism higher than 0.75 diopters for each meridian. Also, esotropia up to 10 diopters, exotropia up to 5 diopters and hypertropia up to 1 diopter and close convergence point no lurther than 70cm.
Hellenic Police Academy	Visual acuity with or without correction 10/10 in each eye and refractive anomaly should not be above 4.5 diopters (spherical equivalent). Astigmatism should not exceed 5 diopters.

It is evident that even if visual acuity with correction is adequate, the degrees of refractive abnormality are an obstacle for the participation of the candidates in some schools.

In the past, the only ways to correct these refractive abnormalities were glasses and contact lenses. In some of those schools, however, vision should be perfect without correction. In others, even if corrected visual acuity was 10/10, if the refractive anomaly was above the accepted limit, the candidate was rejected.

The problem of refractive abnormalities can now be surpassed with refractive surgery (LASIK and PRK), which are considered routine surgeries in the hands of an experienced ophthalmologist surgeon. The improvement of laser technology and surgical techniques used today provide painless, safe procedures with excellent, predictable and stable in time results. Refractive surgeries are now undoubtedly an excellent application of advanced technology, which can open the doors of a secure profession to many young people who thought their options limited due to the condition of their eyes, while they were fully qualified for a brilliant career.

Remember: Your ophthalmologist is the best source for responsible answers on issues related to your eyes and their health. Under no circumstances is information taken from our website intended to replace him. Seek your doctor for complete information.