Manual of the Medical Department (NAVMED P-117): Chapter 15: Medical Examinations: Special Duty

15-63 General

Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

(1) Certain groups of personnel, by reason of the particular type of duty to which they will be assigned, are required to meet physical standards which differ from those stated in the preceding section. For military personnel the physical standards for initial enlistment or commission listed in the preceding section apply to these special groups as well as the applicable standards listed in this section. Civilian personnel must meet civil service employment standards and the applicable standards listed in this section. The special duty standards are not all inclusive but are representative of the requirements which most often affect physical qualification for the special duties defined in this section. This section does not apply to medical surveillance examinations conducted for the Navy's Occupational Safety and Health Program (OPNAVINST 5100.23 series).

(2) Except as stated below, all medical examinations for initial application for a special duty must be performed by a medical officer or a DoD civilian physician. Normally, for operational units, the responsible medical officer of the unit, e.g., the squadron or group medical officer, will perform special duty examinations. If there is not a unit medical officer, one assigned to a supporting clinic, hospital, or related operational unit should perform the examination.

(3) Physician assistants (PA) and nurse practitioners may perform special duty examinations when a medical officer or DoD physician is not available or examination workload necessitates. When PAs and nurse practitioners perform special duty examinations, the examination must be countersigned, in block 80 of the SF 88, by a physician.

(4) Medical examinations conducted for any purpose will include, as an additional purpose, any special duty to which the member is currently assigned. The examiner must make a determination of physical qualification for each type special duty listed. In the course of the examination any finding that would cause the member to be found NPO for full duty must be referred for medical board action.

(5) Waivers to the physical standards will be considered on an individual basis. Each case will be considered based on risks to the individual, unit's crew, unit's mission, capabilities of the unit's medical personnel, limitations of the unit's medical facilities, examiner's recommendation, and the needs of the Navy. Request for waivers of physical standards, along with command endorsements if appropriate, will be submitted per section V of this chapter.

(6) Examinations of candidates for the special duties listed must be completed within the year ,prior to application, except examinations for aviation duty must be completed within the preceding 18 months.