Annual Report of the Surgeon General United States Army Fiscal Year 1958
PHYSICAL STANDARDS
Medical Examinations
Army regulations were revised to provide for the accomplishment of annual medical examinations during the anniversary month of the examinee's birth. Annual medical examinations are currently conducted on all officers as well as enlisted personnel over 40 years of age. Enlisted personnel under 40 years of age are to be examined at least once every 3 years.
Induction and Retention Standards
Efforts which were initiated during the previous year to tighten up physical standards for retention of personnel in military service were continued. Army regulations pertaining to physical standards were extensively revised to bring them up to date by eliminating obsolete and duplicating provisions and to include those conditions customarily considered for waivers.
The Surgeon General recommended that members of Reserve component units mobilized in time of emergency be medically evaluated under retention rather than induction medical standards. These retention standards were applied during the federalization of the Arkansas National Guard and have been adopted for the mobilization of Army Reserve and Army National Guard units.
Visual standards for admission to the United States Military Academy were changed in order to permit acceptance of candidates whose vision can be corrected to 20/20 in each eye and is within certain refractive limits. These changes should reduce by 40 percent the number of candidates rejected for visual deficiencies.
