USAFSAM - FCI - Welcome Letter UNITED STATES AIR FORCE SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE MEDICINE Aeromedical Consult Service Medical Flight Standards Branch 2510 5th St, Bldg 840, Area B Entrance on corner of 5th and Q St Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45433 IFC I Pilot/IFC II GBO/RPA Pilot Candidate Welcome Letter/Information Thank you for completing all of the pre-exam processing steps. The following information is provided to help you prepare for your exam. Please review all sections carefully. ARRIVAL TO DAYTON AIRPORT The USO, located to the left on exiting the restricted aircraft gate area, has volunteers available. They also have snacks and seating available. You should obtain a taxi/uber at your earliest convenience to Wright Patterson Inn, Wright Patterson AFB, OH. If you need to contact WPAFB Lodging for additional information, you can reach them at (937) 257-3451. TRANSPORTATION AFROTC Cadets: Rental cars are not authorized for AFROTC cadets. Transportation to and from the Dayton International Airport should be arranged by taxi/uber to the Wright Patterson Inn. On each day of your appointment, cadets will drive themselves in the van leased by AFROTC, for this purpose, to Area B where our building is located at the address listed above (check in with the lodging staff if you have been assigned as a driver by AFROTC). All AFROTC cadets must meet in WPAFB lodging lobby at 0630 for either cadet transportation or to walk over to the MDG to get labs accomplished (the MDG is across from lodging). Please check with your Detachment NCO for additional details prior to departure for your exam. In case you arrive late or your flight was cancelled/delayed, leave a message at 937-938-2867 or 2731 to see if we can make adjustments to accommodate you. ANG, AFRC and AD personnel: Transportation to and from the Dayton International Airport is not provided. You will need to take a taxi/uber or rental car if approved by your sponsoring unit. There is parking available at our facility to accommodate rental cars; however, the cycloplegic exam (eye dilation) will affect your ability to drive, so please plan accordingly. Once cleared by the optometry or ophthalmology physician, having a vehicle is a plus when you're released to depart. Optional charter van service - with 24 hours advance notice - There is an optional van service called "Charter Vans" that has a desk near baggage claim at Dayton International Airport for transport to Wright Patterson AFB. They can be reached at (937) 898-4043. LODGING Wright Patterson Inn 2439 Schlatter Drive Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45433 Lodging reservations are automatically arranged by us through the Wright Patterson Inn Assistant Manager's office the week prior to your arrival. Lodging Front Desk can only confirm your reservation within 72 hours of your appointment date. In order for you to receive reimbursement in the unlikely event that you are assigned off-base lodging at the Hope Hotel (right outside of the base entrance), or another location due to high occupancy on base, you will need to receive a non-availability letter that you are required to include with your final travel voucher in DTS. NON-AFROTC candidates only: You will need to make sure you have the funds available to pay prior to departure either way. LENGTH OF STAY We will do our best to have your IFC completed in a timely manner. Physicals for IFC exams take longer than normal exams because of the complexity of the exams; usually IFC exams take 3-4 days on average. We will try not to keep you over a weekend unless it is absolutely necessary and only with prior approval of HQ AFROTC or your MAJCOM POC. Everyone should plan on staying through Thursday. You will be here at least 3-4 days once your exam is started to complete all portions. No flight reservations prior to 1700 hours on your departure date; our goal is to complete your exam as soon as possible. Report Time: AFROTC applicants usually show up on Monday’s and all other applicants on Tuesday. Each of you will get an email and/or phone call a few days prior to your travel day with reporting instructions. PREPARING FOR YOUR EXAM Fasting: All AFROTC applicants must be fasting for a minimum of 12 hours prior to the first day (Monday morning) of your exam. This means you cannot have anything to eat or drink (except water) after 1900 hrs the night before. Please make sure you are well hydrated; this will help avoid an abnormal urinalysis from Monday morning. Fasting includes no chewing gum, candy or juice. If you are on a prescribed medication, please continue to take your medication (with water only) and let the technicians know what medications you are currently taking. You are welcome to bring snack food to eat, after your blood is drawn and ECG are completed. You must refrain from alcohol for 72 hrs prior to your first day, as we draw a blood alcohol test. You do not want to risk testing positive for alcohol; therefore, our policy is no consumption of alcoholic beverages while on orders for your exam due to lab requirements and repeat lab possibilities. All of other applicants, you will be notified when you should fast for your lab and ECG studies. We recommend a good night's sleep, hydrate well especially on the day(s) you're fasting, minimize protein drinks the weekend before and avoiding sleeping medications (OTC or prescription) to optimize your performance on neuropsychological testing. The urine drug screen only tests for illicit drugs. Remember to bring: Pen Money for lunch (ANG & AFRC only) AFROTC Cadets will be provided box breakfast/lunch Prescription glasses Sunglasses Medical records (if requested) PT gear (though there is no mandatory PT while here for your examination) You must be wearing a mask at all times while inside any building on WPAFB at all times. Very Important!! CONTACT LENS WEARERS Soft contact lenses must not be worn 30 days prior to this exam! Hard contact lenses must not be worn 90 days prior to this exam! If you have worn your contact lenses inside the time frames specified above, contact your Detachment NCO or program manager immediately to have your exam rescheduled. Typically, we will have other available appointment dates that will allow you to adhere to this instruction. Failure to comply with this no contact lens requirement mentioned above will greatly impact the processing time of your FCI physical - causing your physical to be incomplete until you're able to make-up/complete all necessary eye examination criteria on your own. We will accomplish as much testing as we can; however, in this case we will be unable to perform the corneal topography and USAF cycloplegic eye exam required for all IFC exams. This may result in your exam being "deferred" to HQ AFRS pending these tests that must be done according to USAF standards to be acceptable. These follow-up eye exams may result in out of pocket expenses to you. ATTIRE AFROTC applicants will wear the approved USAF PT uniform. It is preferred that you wear the following: Cooler months (Oct-Apr): PT uniform pants with PT uniform long-sleeve shirt with or without PT uniform jacket. Summer months (May-Sept): PT uniform shorts and PT uniform shirt. ANG, AFRC and AD applicants are expected to wear military uniform of your choice. Civilians: Please wear appropriate civilian attire. We recommend that all applicants bring conservative business attire in the event you require specialty evaluations at an off base/civilian medical facility. *** If you have not yet been issued the required uniform items, you may wear conservative business attire to your IFC appointment. LUNCH ANG, AFRC, and AD should make their own provisions for meals – for lunch, you will have less than 1 hour to obtain a meal. We do have a sandwich/coffee shop upstairs in our building if necessary. AFROTC Cadet applicants: AFROTC cadet driver picks up box breakfast/lunches, pre-paid by HQ AFROTC, from the Pitsenbarger Dining Facility in Area A each morning and delivers them by gov't van to our building in Area B - which is about 5 miles away. There is a refrigerator in the waiting are for your convenience. SCOPE OF THE IFC EXAMINATION Vision Testing: Near and distant visual acuity Color vision testing (CCT) Depth perception Corneal topography Phorias Red lens test (double vision test) Amsler grid Intraocular pressure Cycloplegic refraction: You will have your eyes dilated as part of your IFC exam. The medication/dilation will last anywhere from 10 to 24 hours, so please have sunglasses with you. Having your eyes dilated will make it difficult to perform many everyday tasks such as reading and driving and will cause light sensitivity Note: For Individuals who have had CRS (PRK, LASIK, LASEK) Note: Individuals who have had PRK or LASIK will undergo additional evaluations to rule out post surgical complications or visual disturbances incompatible with pilot duties. Anthropometric Measurements Anthropometric measurements consist of 4 basic measurements standing height, sitting height, buttock to knee length, and weight. General Studies Medical history form review/ interview and Reading Aloud Test (RAT) Audiogram (hearing test) Please avoid noise exposure 12 hours prior to your audiogram. Vitals (Blood pressure and pulse) ECG (4 hours fasting) Dental x-rays and exam Lab Work – 12 Hours Fasting Lipid panel: cholesterol, triglycerides, high density and low density lipoproteins G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) - blood enzyme HgbS (hemoglobin S) - sickle cell anemia test RPR (rapid plasma reagin) - syphilis test Hgb (hemoglobin), Hct (hematocrit) – Complete Blood Count (CBC) HIV screening Urinalysis - clinical screening, clean catch FBS (fasting blood sugar) - only for individuals with a family history of diabetes HCG (pregnancy test) - required for all females applicants Blood alcohol test Urine drug screening TB QFT Gold Hepatitis Panel If you tested positive for COVID in the past, you will also be required to accomplish additional lab and diagnostic tests as part of the required protocol. Neuropsychological Testing This is done using four separate tests which measure cognitive skills, abilities, problem solving, and IQ. These tests serve as a baseline study which may be of future use regarding closed head trauma or other neurological disorders. They are not used for IFC qualification purposes. We recommend you have eaten and are well rested prior to these evaluations. Testing time is 4-5 hours. Flight Surgeon Examination Head-to-toe examination and review off all pertinent studies FAA Exam Completion VERY IMPORTANT: If you have had any type of corneal refractive surgery (PRK, LASIK, LASEK, etc.), you are required to send copies of all pre/post surgical medical reports and corneal topographies accomplished with your follow-up exams. We must receive all documentation at a minimum of 30 days prior to your exam. Our optometry/ophthalmology specialists will review your documents and may or may not request additional information to support your waiver. If you have had CRS, please provide your information quickly to avoid cancellation of your appointment. DEPARTURE FLIGHTS AFROTC will schedule you to depart on Thursday evening. In the event you are released earlier, you may call your Det NCO to request additional information. All other applicants will be released upon completion, but similar departure constraints apply. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION If you need medical attention while here, simply notify any of MFS staff members, we will have one of our staff physicians or the 88 MDG clinic providers see you on base. Thank you for completing all the pre exam requirements. Any questions regarding your FCI exam appointment should be directed to your Det NCO, or you may call us at the numbers listed on our Admin/contact page or email us at usafsam.med.flt.scr@us.af.mil.