Gardai or Cadets

[andy]

DONT JOIN THE ARMY !! what ever you do ! get a real job

[ODIN]

ForegoneReality, I'll be back next year and i'll make it through too!!!gotta get my knees fixed up first....but i'll be in there soon enough!!!

LASIK teatment is a surgical conditon that corrects MYOPIA(shortsight) in a specific way.

Basically the important thing with regard to Night vision is that NV uses ALL of your eyeball, not just your lens/cornea to focus -which is the problem with MYOPIA due to th lens/cornea being mishapen -whether due to genetic reasons or environmental
(ie hereditary or through actually being prescribed glasses as a child when you didn't really need them, and the optican gradually increasing you prescription by
-0.25 dioptres every time you get a new prescription-every year.
Thus the emphasis is on cure, rather then prevention, why is debatable, but I would point out that the optical lense industry, private optical medical, and opticans all have a vested interest is this multimillion pond business internationally.
Your health is largely conincidental to making money........... )
Laser surgery only treats the part of the surfaceof the eyeball that surronds the lense itself -the coloured bit.

This is because the current Internationally agreed standard or 'safe' laser only has a limited diameter or about 3-5mm I think(not sure about the specific medical requiremnts..) and this can only cover part of your eyeball surface
As this leaves a thermal scar, the rays of light that are gathered by your rods and cones at night are distored potentially giving you clear vison by day, but
effectively making you "NIGHT-myopic".


Hence as noone has been allowed by the peer review ssytem to discuss prevention of myopia, and seeng as it makes so much money you WILL NOT get staright answer from any quack/optican/private eye doctor who you are paying for his/her next Merc.
Hence the confusion internationally, the lack of a common medcial standard for the surgery, and the differing requirements.

All I know is that in the profssions that count on visual acuity being 100% with no room for messin about eg. Firefighting, professional military fighter pilots, ect. there is no room fo any macular degeneration, disfiguration or weakness - ever.

If you are weak in this regard they don't want to know, and no ammount of risky
and quite frankly medically questionable-not to mention effectively quite primative- procedure is going to cure that.

nb WHAT I AM GOING TO DO IS GO AND GET A WHOLE STACK OF INFO FROM PEOPLE HERE, get all the references and links I cna find and post them up for poeple who are considering this thing to look at and make your own decision.
One of the benefits/disadvantges or the capitalist society.....

[ForegoneReality]

Originally posted title
Gardai or Cadets

Daddy, or Chips? :D

It's a shame that you didn't succeed in passing phase one Odin. The running was most definately the worst part for me. Got through that though, and the preliminaries..Though I don't expect to hear anything until Mid-May.

What the Captain said to the guys who didn't make it through the warm-ups (let alone the push ups/sit ups etc.) "You're only teenagers, Plenty o' time to make it in the future :D"

[ODIN]

I went for the cadets this year. Needless to say I didn't make it through stage 1....the fitness i failed....hamstring went on lap 2!!!
i'll go again next yr but i'm not gonna fail again...fitness is really important as is activities you've done(so i've heard). I'm not sure if the gardai take your sporting and team work abilities into account

You obviously should not attempt Cadet School. By comparing two opposites you display a frightening lack of knowledge and hence one decision is made.

[FCA Trooper]

did you know its actually acceptable in the british army

[DeV]

I think part of the reason the LASIK type eye surgery is not acceptable in the PDF is that it effects your night vision.

[Goldie fish]

You wont need to pay all this up front. When I was there you could buy all this kit in the Shop(Canteen) within the college,and have it deducted from your wages,or pay in installments. As long as you were paid up by the end of Phase one there was no problem.

Still have my track suit,T shirts and shorts....even the socks are still about...unfortunately they dont fit quite as well as they used to...must have shrunk in the wash...


Note....All Gardai are tight bastards..thats why their 2 Credit unions(St Pauls and St Raphaels) are amongs the Largest credit unions in Ireland..

[no.one]

The equipment that I`m referring to is shoes, boots and PE Health and Safety Studies training kit. It costs around 400euros, thats 2 weeks wages! Maybe I`m just a tight bastard!

[Farel']

I have often wondered about garda training. It seems that much of the time is spent on essays and dissertations...how can this be useful to the garda on the beat? I appreciate that paperwork is a large part of the job,but is it necessary for them to spend so much time being "students"? Would the time spent doing research for a never to be read again essay be better utilised learning driving skills,public order training etc?


Congrats to No.One on your acceptance....remember us "members of the public" when you end up patrolling town in a jam and cheese sandwitch

[Goldie fish]

What equipment are you referring to no.one? The uniform is issued,except for the shoes,which can be purchased at a very reasonable price in the College Canteen.
The only things not issued are PT gear,(which you must buy in the canteen store-College crests etc). Trainers are available,but its in your own best interests to have a few pairs of PROPER running shoes,as you will get lots of use out of them.

The rest is personal admin.

[Goldie fish]

The laser eye treatment has been greatly discredited in recent years. A knock on the head after can cause permanent sight damage.

As for the Garda Medical aid,you first have to pass the medical,so they can decide if you are fit and healthy enough that you wont be costing them a fortune getting your facilities repaired. If you do not make the grade because of something that can be fixed through surgery,they give you the chance to do this AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE and re take the medical.
Remember also that befor returning to work as a garda after any form of surgery,you have to satisfy the garda surgeon that you are fit to work.

A Guy in my class,son of one of the current A Comms,and a bloody good mate,had a problem with his eye during training,which necessitated long and drawn out surgery,which put his training back a year if i remember rightly.

After all that,he was killed in a road accident while on duty. R.I.P :(

[ForegoneReality]

Originally posted by FCA Trooper
if laser eye treatment counts you out of the cadets,are you sure it doesnt also disqualify you for the guards also?

I enquired about Laser Eye treatment earlier in the year..

From what I've been told the Gardai don't disqualify you for having corrective treatement as they themselves have this treatment on their insurance scheme. In fact, it's the only insurance scheme in Ireland that will pay for the treatment..

As for the cadets I'm surprised. Are your eyes more vulnerable to permanent damage afterwards? I was pretty sure that your eyes condition remains optimal apart from the refocused retina..

[FCA Trooper]

if laser eye treatment counts you out of the cadets,are you sure it doesnt also disqualify you for the guards also?