According to Clause 2, Article 4 of the Law on Military Service, citizens of military service age, regardless of ethnicity, social class, belief, religion, educational level, occupation, or place of residence, must perform military service according to the provisions of this Law.
One of the important criteria for citizens to be called up for military service is to be healthy enough to serve in the army according to regulations. Recently, voters continued to reflect questions about health classification in military service examination.
Voters said that according to Circular No. 105/2023/TT-BQP dated December 6, 2023 of the Ministry of National Defense, which stipulates health standards and health examinations for subjects, including regulations on refractive errors of the eyes, the score for refractive errors with astigmatism above 1.5 diopters is 3 points, meaning good health, eligible to join the army.
Compared with citizens with astigmatism level 4 (4 diopters), one eye 3/10, one eye 4/10, if according to the above Circular, eyes with astigmatism up to level 10 will still be scored 3. Meanwhile, for refractive errors of the eyes such as myopia 1.5 diopters or higher, hyperopia of all levels are not qualified for military service (point c, clause 3, Article 4 of Circular No. 148/2018/TT-BQP dated October 4, 2018 of the Ministry of National Defense regulating the selection and calling of citizens for military service).
On October 29, responding to voters' petitions on the Ministry of National Defense's Electronic Information Portal, the Military Medical Department (Directorate of Logistics) said that astigmatism is a very common refractive error that can appear at birth or from childhood, and rarely changes throughout life.
Some cases of astigmatism develop after eye injury, eye disease, or eye surgery. Astigmatism can occur with nearsightedness (myopia) or farsightedness (hyperopia) or alone (this is quite rare).
Most cases of mild (physiological) astigmatism do not require treatment and the eye will compensate by itself, the patient does not need to wear glasses. In cases of severe astigmatism, it is often accompanied by nearsightedness and farsightedness. If it is congenital, it will cause amblyopia if not actively treated from a young age; if it is acquired, it is often the consequence, sequelae of some serious diseases such as keratoconus, lens dislocation...
In cases of simple astigmatism over 1.0 diopter (not accompanied by other eye diseases), if glasses are worn properly, the vision after wearing glasses is 10/10, almost not affecting normal activities.
When examining eyes in the military health examination, the doctor must base on vision, refractive errors and eye diseases (if any) to give a score for eye indicators.
In which, the regulations for scoring refractive errors of astigmatism are implemented according to sub-section 1, Section II, Appendix I issued with Circular No. 105.
According to the above regulations, in case a citizen has astigmatism of 4.0 diopters, vision of both eyes is 3/10 and 4/10, the eye score will be as follows: Astigmatism (≥ 1.0 diopter): Score 3. Vision (Right eye 1-5/10; Total vision of both eyes 6-12/10): Score 6.
