Cross eye dominance

[PaulM]

Long story short I'm a civilian in pursuit of obtaining an 18x contract. I have amblyopia (lazy eye) in my left eye which is my dominant eye which is the opposite of my dominant hand. My left eye is currently at 20/30 but doing vision therapy to correct it to 20/20 (originally was at 20/50 so improving). Even achieving 20/20 that eye will always be blurry to some extent some I'm thinking I'll have to learn to shoot using my right eye which has strong vision but with my non-dominant hand.

I'm assuming leaning my head over the stock to line up my right eye with the sights is frowned upon and probably laughed at in the military. If not, which method of shooting should I plan on using?

I've never even shot a gun besides a paint ball gun so any advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

[DocIllinois]

Between the following document and the discretion of the MEPS docs, I think you'll find your answer.

Standards of Medical Fitness

The Drill Sergeants will know how to train you to standard during rifle week if you're allowed to enlist. FWIW, if any issues from this condition don't red flag you before then, I would bring this up to the Drills or student leadership long before you're getting settled at your zero range firing position on Sand Hill.

Good luck.

 

[PaulM]

Thanks for your quick response and my doctor and I are confident I'll pass all necessary visual acuity tests to be eligible to enlist.

 

[RustyShackleford]

The good ole lazy eye! My lazy left eye is 20/70 (non-correctable) and my right eye is 20/30 correctable to 20/20. The good eye is my dominant eye which has caused me to adjust how I do things. Batting for baseball and holding a hockey stick are done left handed. Most every thing else is right handed. Off hand shooting with a rifle presents a problem but it’s easy to overcome with training and some focus.

The left eye has been fucked from day one, so it’s something I’ve always dealt with. Having attended training events where doing things such as shooting a portion of a qual course offhand/weak side was a critical skill, I’ve learned to adapt. You just have to want it.

 

[PaulM]

@RustyShackleford - how were you able to enlist with 20/70 non-correctable? My stupid left eye is at 20/30 right now but I'm training it to get to 20/20...I was told no chance at Special Forces if you can't see 20/20 in both eyes.

Mod edit to fix tag so Rusty gets the alert that he is being paged.

- Rah -

 

[RustyShackleford]

It has never been an issue. When I enlisted, my right eye was 20/20 so with the binocular vision test the results were 20/20. Granted they tested each eye individually, but didn't seem to care. The same with my profession, only I need glasses now for the right eye.

If 20/20 is a deal breaker now, explore the option of wearing a patch on the good eye when possible to strengthen the weak eye. It worked for me as a kid but I'm not sure how it would work on an adult.

I am a big fan of eyepro as one fuck up and I won't be able to drive, do my current job, etc.

 

[Gunpowder]

I have found it to be a benefit to be left eyed dominant and right handed. I learned early in my career as a competition shooter to fire long guns left handed and pistols right handed. Rifle to handgun transitioning speed was also greatly increased. Practice, practice and then practice more...do not hesitate to be an equally proficient left and right handed shooter. $0.2