Is albinism a disqualifying condition for joining the military of any nation? Does albinism come with any disqualifying conditions that would prevent them from passing the physical?
This document lists “oculocutaneous albinism” as a disqualifying condition for service in the U.S. military (pp. 40-41):
Can’t speak for other nations but I don’t believe albinism by itself is disqualifying in the US (aside from oculocutaneous albinism), however common associated conditions certainly are.
Visual problems are common in albinos, most of which are disqualifying. Photosensitivity in the eyes or skin is also disqualifying. Extent of the condition and correctibility (sic?) are mitigating factors. Waivers can be applied for and granted on a case-by-case basis.
I work on a military base and it’s certainly not common, but I have absolutely seen a non-zero number of people walking around in uniform that are clearly albino, so it is certainly possible.
One thing that surprised me when I first learned about it (many years ago) is that the retina and optic nerves somehow rely in melanin for proper formation and development. The end result is that most people with albinism have very poor eyesight (the oculocutaneous albinism previously mentioned in this thread). Issues with the formation of the retina results in the images that their eye receives being much less distinct and lacking fine detail than in normal vision, and the optic nerve issues result in poor distinction about which eye is sending what information due to more crossed fibers in the optic nerves, with the overall result of albinos having extremely poor depth perception.
Albinos are also much more likely to develop nystagmus, which is rapid uncontrolled eye movements, and issues with eye muscle development also often results in both eyes not looking in the same direction (strabismus). I believe strabismus can be corrected in most cases with surgery.
Overall, people with albinism tend to have vision somewhere in the range of 20/30 to 20/400. For reference, 20/200 is considered to be legally blind.
Albinism mostly affects the eyes (aside from skin and hair, of course). However, there are more rare forms of albinism that result in a wide variety of health issues, such as bruising, bleeding, and intestinal disorders.
There are different forms of albinism. Some have no pigment whatsoever, and therefore have more prominent symptoms and worse eyesight. Some have some pigment, and certain types of this may be born without any visible pigments but may get some pigmentation as they grow older, and may eventually even be able to tan in the sun. Some types only affect the eyes, and other than vision problems they have normal hair and skin pigmentation.
Certain rare forms of albinism also result in neurological issues. Most forms of albinism do not affect the brain though. Albinos are usually of normal intelligence, but children with albinism often do poorly in school due to vision problems making reading difficult.
Whether or not someone with albinism could pass a military physical depends a lot on what type of albinism they have.
But oculocutaneous albinism is the most common type, and exactly what people normally think of when they hear “albino”. So that means pretty much that albinosm by itself is disqualifying.
(BTW, “oculocutaneous” in Google pulls up some incredibly disturbing cancer photos from a PDF.)
My former father-in-law was albino. He had a ton of disqualifying conditions that would have kept him out of the military including being legally blind. A cursory search of the medical criteria for joining doesn’t show albinism as being disqualified but its presence will lead to a lot of further testing to ensure the many frequently present conditions aren’t effecting the applicant. My FIL had HPS which certainly would have disqualified him even if his eyesight was better.