In order to fully organize conscription for military service, it is not enough to conscript all registered persons. The modern army does not experience a shortage of personnel, so it can afford to make certain demands on the health of a conscript. Thus, each call begins with a medical examination. Due to certain indicators, a young man may not be included in military service, especially if these indicators are documented by entries in his personal medical record.
Analyzing frequently asked questions from conscripts, we can conclude that citizens are unaware of the issues of conducting a medical examination. Despite the fact that much attention has been paid to this problem and all regulations have been translated from dry legal language into publicly accessible language, we have to give the same advice every time - look at the illness schedule.
Not the reason
Despite the conscription nature of the armed forces, they do not experience a shortage of conscripts, so there is no talk of a total conscription: medical commissions carefully monitor the quality of the conscript contingent, and the army will not contact persons weakened by chronic diseases or physically poorly developed.
Let’s say right away that in the overwhelming majority of cases, people with color blindness are recruited into the army. An exception is made only for those whose color perception disorder was not congenital (such young people most often do not suspect that they have any disorders), but acquired as a result of a serious illness or eye injury. And when there is a risk of further deterioration of the condition.
In most cases, with such post-traumatic syndromes, the perception of red and yellow colors is impaired (and it is this acquired pathology that also seriously weakens visual acuity), making the conscript unfit for service in the vast majority of military branches.
In those days where he can be drafted, he is recognized as being of limited fitness, which often serves as a basis for issuing a military ID to such a conscript of limited fitness - and forgetting about his existence. Until the next military training. And even those “buyers” from the military branches most often turn their noses up skeptically - and once again send the “limitedly suitable” home.
Congenital color blindness does not have a serious impact on the quality of life, and in accordance with the severity of this pathology for conscripts going to serve, at conscription medical examinations they make gradations of the course of such a disease.
Types of color blindness
There are three main types of color vision impairment:
- Protanomaly - inability to distinguish the color red.
- Deuteranomaly - green.
- Tritanomaly - the same problems with the color blue.
There is also a rare pathology called monochromasia, with the simultaneous loss of two primary colors at once. In the eyes of a person with such retinal damage, red and green colors at a traffic light may look the same, only red (which is like green) will have a brighter glow intensity, and green, regardless of its brightness, will look like a dim light.
The degree of similarity of two such different colors with different wavelengths and, therefore, with different degrees of energy impact on light-sensitive cells in the eye, will depend on the number and functionality of these cells responsible for distinguishing colors.
In previous years, starting from childhood, ophthalmologists would have identified the slightest anomalies in color perception: it is only the patient himself who has no doubt about the existing picture of the world, but hardware methods of vision research will with 100% certainty answer the question - is there at least the child has some degree of color blindness, or does not have it. And if there is, what kind?
Even less common is achromasia, which can be compared to black and white silver bromide photography. With such an anomaly in the development of the retina in the eye, colors are not perceived at all. Remove the color rendition on your TV and you will understand the “charms” of such a vision of the world.
A mild form of color blindness is trichromasia. With it, one or two, or even all three colors are perceived correctly, but faded. It makes no sense for such people to study to be an artist, where it is necessary to distinguish not only colors, but their thousands of shades.
And yet, according to the “List of Diseases”, which guides the medical commissions at military registration and enlistment offices when recruiting conscripts for military service, color blindness in its congenital form, with all gradations of this pathology, is recognized only as “Vision Features”, but not as a disease.
So attempts to avoid the fate of the army by focusing on your real or imaginary color vision impairment are initially doomed to failure. Moreover, attempts at simulation are immediately exposed by viewing special ophthalmological tables of Ishihara, Rabkina or Yusov.
Features of visual pathology
Color blindness is a color vision disorder and the inability to recognize partial or complete colors. According to the generally accepted classification, there are 4 main forms of the disease.
The most common visual perception disorders include failure to recognize one color. In this case, we are talking about anomalous trichromasia as a mild form of color blindness. With this variant of the disease, there may be a slight, significant or profound decrease in the perception of colors. Thus, a person ceases to distinguish or distinguishes with difficulty the following colors:
- blue for tritanopia;
- red for protanopia;
- green for deuteranopia.
Colorblindness and military branches
Paragraph “d” of Article 35 of the “list of diseases” regulates restrictions on service in certain branches of the military for conscripts with dichromasia and weakness of color perception of the 2nd and 3rd degrees. So young people are assigned the “B-2” category, and they cannot serve in such branches of the military as
Marine Corps, special forces of all military branches
The explanation is simple: has everyone heard the joke about “the signal to attack is three green whistles”? Radio orders in the headset, which is part of modern army equipment, are often duplicated by the launch of colored missiles: green, white, red, when the signal is not transmitted or jammed and the distance from the commander is present. The inability to distinguish the color of the signal can play a bad joke on such a soldier.
Airborne and assault troops
The same reasons, plus the need to understand the markings of cartridges and shells, in which their affiliation (tracer, armor-piercing, incendiary) is indicated by colored marks on the cartridges.
On ships and submarines
Watertight insulating hatches and clinker doors between compartments are often equipped with warning signs of a very specific color, depending on a possible emergency situation. Failure to distinguish such colors can also lead to catastrophic consequences for the rest of the crew.
Others
- Military chemical defense units. The same considerations as with the marking of hatches and clinkers on ships.
- Special security and defense structures in strategic missile units. In bunkers and underground passages, color light signaling is used, which duplicates sound alarms or notifications.
- Drivers of special equipment. The requirements are the same as for ordinary drivers who are required to distinguish between traffic lights, only even stricter.
So what remains? Railway troops with their hard physical labor, which is rewarded only by moral recognition of your merits? Or, never mind, an alternative service in the department for the hopelessly ill? Men will rightly choose the army.
Is it possible to serve in the army with color blindness?
Normal life activity is impossible without good visual acuity; the number of colors perceived by the eye has little effect on it. That's why colorblind people are recruited into the army. However, there are some reservations that limit service in the army with color blindness. This does not mean that the army is not for such a man: the presence of pathology is indicated on a special card and becomes a decisive factor in the assignment of a conscript to the army.
For example, a man with color blindness will not be able to serve in special forces and the Marine Corps, he will not be allowed to serve on a ship or submarine, and will not be able to become a driver of military special equipment.
Selection principles
The conscription medical commission does not go deeply into the health status of each individual conscript. It's none of her business. The main thing that guides her is a document such as the “Schedule of Illnesses” and his medical card taken from the clinic at the place of registration or residence of the conscript.
That is, studying his anamnesis. Based on this anamnesis, the commission makes a conclusion about the correspondence of the young man’s health status and his “medical history” reflected in the medical record starting from kindergarten or even nursery. The “Schedule” contains a list of symptoms. By comparing the results of the examination with the diseases reflected in the medical record, a conclusion is made about the suitability or unfitness of the conscript for military service.
And when they begin to be guided by Article 35, they take into account the constant and systematic development of medicine among the factors of suitability or unsuitability. Which makes many previously limiting factors irrelevant. Color blindness in its congenital form is precisely one of these unimportant factors.
And in the case of the acquired form, there is a risk of serious complications, which, with the increased physical activity practiced in the army, can cause retinal detachment. Which member of such commissions will take responsibility for such a development of events? As a result, the conscript receives category “B” and a military ID in hand.
Eye disease, army and liberation
Among vision pathologies, color weakness is often detected. This disease is defined in Article 35 of the above document. But presence alone is not enough to give a negative answer to the question: “Are people with color blindness accepted into the army?” To try to independently understand this problem, you need to rely on the document in the most recent edition.
The reason is that medicine does not stand still, but is systematically developing. In addition, conditions in the army are gradually softening. Therefore, some diseases that were not previously accepted for service are now on the list of acceptable ones.
A similar phenomenon occurred with a disease such as dichromasia. In simple words, now colorblind people are hired to serve, introducing some restrictions for them. Speaking in the language of the draft commission, they are assigned category “B”, which implies service in almost all troops, except for law enforcement agencies and special services.
The situation is somewhat different with acquired color blindness. Although this option is not spelled out in the schedule, the overwhelming majority of the commission’s decisions are related to exemption from military service.
This happens for the following reason. The disease develops as a side effect of injury or other, more severe pathology. Colorblindness itself will not provide an exemption, but other diseases can be identified for which an examination will be carried out. If it turns out that color weakness arose due to functional disorders of the eye(s), the commission may issue a verdict on assigning category “B”.
Features of color vision in other species
The visual organs of many mammalian species have a limited ability to perceive colors (often only 2 colors), and some animals are in principle unable to distinguish colors. On the other hand, many animals are better than humans at distinguishing the gradations of those colors that are important to them for their life. Many representatives of the equid order, in particular horses, distinguish shades of brown that appear the same to humans; This determines whether the leaf can be eaten. Polar bears are able to distinguish shades of white and gray more than 100 times better than humans, since when melting the color of the ice changes and the strength of the ice floe can be assessed by the shade of the color.
Conclusion
Even if a conscript manages to deceive the specialists during testing, the decision of the military registration and enlistment office will be unequivocal: he is fit for conscription. A young man with dichromasia and color vision impairment of the III-II degree will be given the fitness category “B-2”: it does not prohibit, but limits service, not allowing military activity only in certain types of troops. Accordingly, neither the presence of color blindness nor its form will bring exemption from the army. Only the choice of unit for the conscript depends on the form of the disease. There are no other restrictions. Therefore, to the question: “Do they take colorblind people into the army?” There can only be one answer - yes.
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Essential vision to serve girls
Requirements for the state of health when entering service in the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation are regulated by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia No. 190.
Eye diseases that are grounds for refusal to accept employment or acceptance with restrictions are recognized as:
- abnormalities of the eyelids, eye sockets
- conjunctivitis
- pronounced or progressive diseases of the sclera, cornea, iris, ciliary body, lens, vitreous body, choroid, retina, optic nerve
- retinal disinsertion
- glaucoma
- eye muscle diseases
- myopia and farsightedness more than 12 dpt
- blindness, low vision, color vision abnormalities
