Colorblindness

[Harry]

I have mild colorblindness. Will that preclude me from serving in an infantry unit? I know that my color vision meets the requirements of the US Army (ability to distinquish between vivid red and green) but every military is different. Does anyone know about this? Did any of you know any colorblind IDF soldiers?

Thanks

[drorh]

I also have a green-red color blindness. It lowered my profile to 82, but that's still good enough to go to normal infantry.

[Harry]

That's a huge relief, thanks.

[moshe.ny]

i have a cousin that is badly colorblind i no that he was not allowed into some elite units but he did get into another elite unit. I'm also colorblind and am hoping to get into paratroopers and also hope it doesnt affect my chances

[YoniIsraelMan]

Hi,
I have a diagnosis of an extremely mild case of colorblindness. This have never effected me, and I would never have guessed to be colorblind, and am very surprised that I am in fact colorblind. Is it possible to still retain a 97 on my medical profile even if I am mildly colorblind. If I do receive an 82 profile due to this dysfunction; will I be able to attend Yom Sayeret, and try out for some elite units? I believe that I will excel in all other fields, such as physical and mental/physiological.
Another question, although I am not sure it belongs in this exact forum, is that my Hebrew level is not up to my wanted caliber, and was wondering if all elite units are open with initial poor Hebrew knowledge, although after attending ulpan, is up to caliber.
One last thing is: what is the deciding line between going and not going to ulpan? I have attended Jewish Day schools my entire life, although still do not believe my Hebrew is completely fluent, albeit I can still hold a decent conversation.
Thank you so much!
Yoni

[Dan from Boston]

Hi Yoni, welcome to the forum.

I can't speak to your profile as I'm not a doctor who makes these determinations. However, if you get an 82, I don't believe you will be eligible for the sayerot. Keep in mind that you can often negotiate a higher profile for yourself. You have to convince someone who can change your profile that it ought to be higher than what you got at lishkat hagiyus. If colorblindness automatically disqualifies you from having a 97 and it's a hard-and-fast rule, though, it may not be possible. But with an 82 you can serve in the infantry units and, I believe, eventually become an officer, if that's what you want to do.

As for Hebrew, if you can carry on a conversation, you do not need to go to ulpan. Keep working on it, of course, but it sounds like you're already in pretty good shape!

[YoniIsraelMan]

Thank you for responding. If I can get a note or a form given from a doctor explaining that my colorblindness is very mild, and would not be screened as a threat, would that be beneficial? Also, if I am in a unit, (with an 82 profile), can I join the respective sayeret for that unit (if it has one), such as golani-egoz, and many others, with an 82, not a 97?
Thank you so much,
yoni

[Dan from Boston]

Regarding the first point, it couldn't hurt. The point is to show that it shouldn't impact your ability to perform your duties as expected. A note from a doctor may help.

As to your second point, I don't think you can enter any sayeret with an 82, but I'm really not sure. I'd suggest doing a thorough online search to look for others' experiences -- that's really your best bet.

[YoniIsraelMan]

I've conducted online searches and found that someone with an 82 and a 97 are eligible to go to the respective sayeret for their unit. I found this on numerous sources, and I hope this is the case.
Also, if you by any chance know, what kind of colorblind test does the IDF do?
Thanks a ton, yoni

[Dan from Boston]

Then I would go with that information.

I don't recall what test was used when I got my physical profile.

[YoniIsraelMan]

Okay, thank you so much! Answered lots of my questions. Great idea having this forum in the first place!
-Yoni

[Dan from Boston]

You're welcome, Yoni! Glad to be of help wherever possible.