Cherry Point Sailor First to Receive Optician’s License from State of North Carolina

Story by Thomas Cieslak

Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point

A Sailor serving aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point is the first military applicant to receive an Optician’s License from the state of North Carolina.

Hospital Corpsman Second Class Rylie Maloney, the Optometry Leading Petty Officer aboard Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point, passed the American Board of Opticianry exam in early summer, 2024, demonstrating exceptional knowledge and dedication to her Navy Medicine career.

“I took the exam when I graduated C-School and I failed, so it took me a long time to gain the courage to take it again,” said Maloney.

“Cherry Point is my second duty station and first time working in patient care. Through my experience working in patient care, I’ve been able to learn so much more and apply the things I didn’t understand before. I decided it was time to stop putting it off and complete what I started eight years ago,” she said.

Maloney, a native of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, prepared for the test with a combination of years of studying and on-the-job-training. At her first duty assignment, she served in optical fabrication where she completed an apprenticeship while making eyeglasses for five years.

Her duties and responsibilities include day-to-day management of the facility’s Optometry clinic serving Active-Duty Marines and Sailors, their families and members of communities surrounding MCAS Cherry Point.

The ABO exam challenges an applicant’s knowledge and comprehension of six categories, including Ocular Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology and Refraction, Ophthalmic Optics and Laws, Regulations and Standards.

Administered by the American Board of Opticianry / National Contact Lens Examiners, the test has a 62% pass rate.
Completing the certification provides Maloney the opportunity to serve as an instructor to students attending a military Optician’s course, a career goal of hers.

Maloney’s service to the MCAS Cherry Point community comes from seeing the impact her team has upon the readiness of units assigned to the base and the wellbeing of their families and local beneficiaries.

“The feeling you get when you witness someone with a prescription put on their glasses and see clearly for the first time in their life,” she said. “That is a feeling you could never forget.”