DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
2000 NAVY PENTAGON
WASHINGTON DC 20350-2000
OPNAVINST 1542.4E
N98
29 May 2018
OPNAV INSTRUCTION 1542.4E
From: Chief of Naval Operations
Subj: AEROMEDICAL DUAL DESIGNATOR PROGRAM
Ref: (a) NAVPERS 15560D
(b) NAVPERS 15839I
(c) CNAF M-3710.7
(d) 37 U.S.C. §301a
1. Purpose. To provide information, policy, and procedures for the administration of the
aeromedical dual designator (AMDD) program. This instruction is being reissued with a new
date, updated version and signature authority to meet Chief of Naval Operation’s age
requirement for Office of the Chief of Naval Operations instructions.
2. Cancellation. OPNAVINST 1542.4D.
3. Scope and Applicability. This instruction is applicable to Chief of Naval Operations N-
codes; Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet; naval
component commanders; type commanders; systems commands; Commander, Navy Installations
Command; regional commanders; and all subordinate commands.
4. Background
a. Development of effective new air weapon systems in the past has been highly sensitive to
human engineering factors. The unique demands of naval aviation and the multiplicity of
aviation programs have required the support of a limited officer inventory skilled concurrently in
the professional qualifications of a naval aviator and of a flight surgeon. To meet that
requirement, selected individuals trained as medical officers have been cross-trained as naval
aviators. Their assignments were selectively made to meet the identified requirements of billets
or projects and programs requiring the skills of both disciplines in a single individual. The
billets predominated in, but were not limited to, Navy research and development (R&D)
activities. The number and complexity of emerging weapons systems have required dual
designation of a naval aviator and flight surgeon Medical Corps in the past. An improved
understanding of the roles and capabilities of dually-designated, aero-medically trained officers
has now led to the more precise codification of the dual designator program, with the inclusion
of naval flight officers (NFO), as well as aerospace physiologists, aerospace experimental
psychologists, aerospace physician assistants, and aerospace optometrists.
