CHANGES TO AVIATION SPECIAL DUTY WAIVER PROCESSING:
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//
ROUTINE
R 251931Z MAR 25 MID120001818030U
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
BT
UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 062/25
PASS TO OFFICE CODES:
FM CNO WASHINTON DC//N093//
INFO CNO WASHINTON DC//N093//
MSGID/NAVADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N093/MAR//
SUBJ/CHANGES TO AVIATION SPECIAL DUTY WAIVER PROCESSING//
REF/A/NAVADMIN 013/25 CORRECTED COPY CHANGES TO SPECIAL DUTY WAIVER//
RMKS/1. The Chief of Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) has directed
both immediate and long-term improvements to Special Duty Waiver (SDW)
processes to eliminate the backlog of medical holds at Recruit Training
Command and all other accession points. Guidance for SDW processes for
undersea medicine was previously released in ref (A). This memo addresses
SDW processes for the aviation community.
2. This guidance implements a process change to improve timeliness and
maximize resources in support of the aviation SDW process. It applies to the
performance of all initial flight physicals and directs the Naval Aerospace
Medical Institute (NAMI) to maintain a list in the Aeromedical Reference and
Waiver Guide (ARWG) of disqualifying conditions for which no waiver will be
recommended (WNR).
3. For the rapid disposition of initial flight physicals when a WNR condition
is found:
a. An appropriately credentialed and privileged clinician (Aerospace
Medicine physician, Flight Surgeon, Aerospace Medicine Physician Assistant,
or Aviation Medicine Examiner) will perform all aeromedical examinations.
These clinicians are collectively referred to as Aerospace Medical Clinicians
(AMCs).
b. Individuals who receive a general duty waiver also require a waiver for
aviation special duty. The WNR pre-existing conditions listed in the ARWG
will not be considered for an aeromedical waiver, with the rare exception of
some Class V flight physicals for which a waiver request may be submitted on
a case -by-case basis at the discretion of the AMC. If submitted,
consideration will be based on assigned platform, flight environment,
occupational duties, physical requirements, and mental and physical
stressors. Class I or Class II aeromedical clearances have additional
disqualifying conditions in addition to those listed for all classes.
c. Individuals found to have a WNR preexisting condition do not require any
further evaluation for aviation special duty assignment, including lab
testing, imaging, or specialist consultation. An individual with a
disqualifying condition for a more restrictive class may still be submitted
for a less restrictive class (e.g., Class II instead of Class I). AMCs
should complete an abbreviated disqualification package with a brief
aeromedical summary which references this message and submit via AERO as
Disqualified, Waiver Not Recommended. NAMI shall forward this to the
appropriate Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) code for final determination
without any further adjudication required, unless NAMI or BUPERS determines a
formal NAMI review is indicated.
4. NAMI shall maintain a current list of WNR conditions in the ARWG,
reviewed and updated as needed based on medical evidence, aeromedical best-
practices, and any superseding medical guidance. Updates to this list, in
addition to any other ARWG updates, shall be reviewed and approved quarterly
by the Aerospace Medicine Corporate Board and subsequently reported to Chief,
BUMED via the BUMED Branch Head, Aerospace Medicine.
5. The ARWG is accessible at: https://www.med.navy.mil/Navy-Medicine-
Operational-Training-Command/Naval-Aerospace-Medical-Institute/Aeromedical-
Reference-and-Waiver-Guide/
6. Tracking. The current SDW backlog must be tracked to understand the
effectiveness of the mitigation strategy being implemented.
a. All accession points with enlisted personnel or officer candidates who
have graduated but remain in a medical hold status while awaiting their
aviation medical waiver shall report monthly to BUMED Assessments and
Analytics (N58) the total number of personnel in that status and the total
number of flight physicals performed that month. Numbers for each category
(e.g.: mental health, cardiology, etc.) should be included if possible.
b. This report should be provided to BUMED N58 upon receipt of this
guidance, and monthly thereafter via email at
usn.ncr.bumedfchva.mbx.n58@health.mil.
7. BUMED primary point of contact is Branch Head, Aerospace Medicine (N10F1)
via email at AVMED@health.mil or phone at (703) 681-9323.
8. Released by Rear Admiral Darin K. Via, N093, Surgeon General of the
Navy.//
BT
#0001
NNNN
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//