Well, getting a little away from the question, but I see what I did. It would have been more appropriate to say that it shouldn't have been a surprise to see the restriction on my medical. It would difficult for me to argue with the FAA that the color vision issue came out of the blue. Since I was 5 I have been told that I am "color blind." I have lost out on several jobs that I was otherwise qualified for, and had received conditional offers of employment only to have those offers rescinded due to the color vision issue. I have challenged state and federal agencies regarding the color vision standards and purpose behind the standards. Specifically, one state told me that a person cannot be a police officer if they don't have "normal color vision." I challenged the reasons behind the policy and was told that it would be dangerous for a color blind person to be a police officer. I went to another state, and had much success as a police officer in a large metropolitan area for many years, before going back to school. Another: I went through the entire testing process with the FBI and received an offer of employment conditional on passing a polygraph, psychological, and a medical. I passed everything except the color vision PIP and D15 tests. The Field Office SAIC authorized me to take a practical color vision test. The test lasted approximately an hour and I had to identify colors in the building, the colors of cars in the parking lot, colors of various forms, etc. Passed with no mistakes. The doctors in DC said "no go."
The color vision issue has been a significant part of my life; perhaps I should change my career and hobby choices to ones that don't involve color vision. I have spent countless hours (years) researching the medical aspects, legal aspects, caselaw, and everything I can regarding color vision. Given this, I should have expected the same issue regarding the FAA. I certainly can't argue that I am ignorant of the issue.
I don't recall what, if any, tests the first AME gave me. I looked at the standards that the FAA uses for passing a color vision test, if I recall a person must be able to see 6 plates out of the first 11 plates on the Ishihara PIP test. I usually see 7 or 8. When I was issued the medical without restriction, I assumed that either I passed or he didn't test properly. I never saw the restriction until I checked my online profile. That first medical expired over 2 years ago. My concern is that I was unaware that the restriction was in place, and apparently, continued into the subsequent medical.
My original question was, can the restriction be removed through a subsequent visit to the AME for a new medical? And since we are straying a little, if an airman goes in for a medical and the AME pencil whips it, what responsibility does the airman have?
