Protect the eyes
THE MILITARY IS PUTTING AN INCREASING FOCUS ON PREVENTION OF EYE INJURIES.
“Eye injuries occur in 10 percent of nonfatal casualties in military conflicts,” according to Ophthalmology Trauma Magazine.
“In recent conflicts, combat injuries to the head and neck outnumber torso injuries by nearly four to one, with the eye and socket as the most frequently injured regions of the warfighter’s head and neck,” according to U.S. Army publication Warfighter Face and Eye Injury Protection.
Statistics like these have led the military to offer increased eye protection, including ballistic spectacles, goggles and laser eye protection.
“We recognize the importance of eye-injury prevention, and in that realm, we’re doing a better job of protecting the soldier.” said Major (Dr.) Dean S. Bancroft, program manager, Defense Vision Services (DVS), Tri-Service Vision Conservation and Readiness, at the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
“Currently, ballistic eyewear is fielded to all deploying troops. There is also an initiative between Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier, based at Fort Belvoir, Va., and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command to field ballistic eyewear to all new recruits at the five basic training sites and Fort Sam Houston [Texas],” Bancroft said. He anticipates that the initiative will start sometime this year. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have also demonstrated the need for better protective eyewear. Historically, the sand, wind and dust goggles (SWDG) have offered ballistic fragmentation protection in a goggle format that also provides protection against wind/sand/ dust, according to a PEO Soldier representative. The goggle was designed to accommodate interchangeable clear, sunglass and laser protective lenses.
More recently, the program manager for clothing and individual equipment has put a certification/qualification program in place to provide soldiers with state-of-the-art commercial-offthe- shelf ballistic protective goggles and spectacles. The PEO Soldier representative explained that these products will provide the soldier a greater selection of protective eyewear in up-to-date styles, improved flame retardant foam, and seal to the face.
“With improvised explosive devices, many small particles are released and they find the eye as a ‘soft’ target,” Bancroft said.
Currently, deploying soldiers who don’t wear prescription eyewear are issued the Oakley SI M (military configuration) Frame spectacles and the ESS Profile Night Vision Goggles (NVG). The SI M Frame offers expanded peripheral vision and enhanced protection via lateral contouring. The threepoint design of the frame minimizes the need for adjustment and improves comfort, according to Oakley, headquartered in Foothill Ranch, Calif., with nearly 90 locations worldwide.
Ketchum, Idaho-based Eye Safety Systems Inc. (ESS) provides the military with a number of different eyewear options, including the ESS Profile NVG. These goggles fit closer to the face because of their rubber backing and are more compatible with night vision opticals.
The Profile NVG features a matte black, synthetic rubber frame that provides a comfortable anatomical fit, according to ESS. The frame is designed to seal around the nose without restricting breathing. The vents are large and fully filtered, keeping airborne particles out while allowing humid air to escape. The Profile NVG has an innovative black elastic nylon “instant fit strap” adjustment system designed for use with helmets that allows the fit of the strap to be quickly adjusted. Deploying soldiers who require prescription eyewear are fielded the ESS Land Operations goggle and the Uvex XC spectacle. The ESS Land Operations goggle’s features include exceptional fog resistance and particle filtration. It has a roomy frame designed to fit over most eyeglasses. An anti-reflective sleeve reduces glint when the goggle is not in use.
Uvex has numerous locations throughout the world—their U.S. headquarters are in Smithfield, R.I. Uvex is the leading brand of the Bacou-Dalloz Group.
The Uvex XC spectacle is made of elastomer material on the temples for comfort at contact points with the face. The frame has a ratchet lens adjustment for fitting the system. The ventilation space between the frame and the lens helps reduce moisture and the interchangeable lenses have been treated with anti-fog coating. Most importantly, the Uvex XC can be fitted with a prescription lens insert for those requiring visual correction “All of the eyewear products authorized by PEO Soldier for use have polycarbonate shields that meet the military standard,” Bancroft said. With one exception, all of the eyewear comes with interchangeable/replaceable shields, with the UV protective, gray shield used in daylight and clear shield at night. As to whether troops actually use the eyewear/goggles they’ve been provided, “there is a lot of command emphasis on wearing ballistic eyewear in theater,” he said.
Before PEO Soldier will approve any new eyewear for inclusion in the Authorized Products Eyewear List (APEL), the eyewearmust meet a number of standards and offer a number of features. The eyewear must meet both military ballistic and ANSI Z87.1 standards.
“We are also looking for prescription integration that will not inhibit the soldier,” Bancroft said.
As with all military equipment, eyewear must meet certain weight standards. The military also requires that eyewear be scratch resistant, anti-fogging and provide resistance to chemicals. “Chemical resistance to bleach, DEET and fuel are expected,” Bancroft said.
OPTIONS
There is a wide variety of eyewear and goggle choices available other than those placed on the APEL by PEO Soldier. These devices are not on the APEL for several reasons, including simply not being submitted for approval yet.
One of these is the Bolle T800R Tactical Goggle. Bolle, headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., is a subsidiary of Bushnell Performance Optics. “The T800R has historically been one of our top sellers to the military,” said Andrew Cohen, product line manager for Bolle. “The no. 1 priority for our tactical goggles is to provide protection from flying objects.”
The T800R offers the protection typically required by the military and also has two very useful accessories, Cohen said. One is the prescription adaptor. “It looks like a large pair of plastic eyeglasses without the temple arms,” he said. “So, you place the prescription lens inside the adaptor and then snap them into place behind the outer lens. This is very helpful if you don’t wear glasses all the time.” Also, the prescription lenses are easily removed for cleaning.
The other accessory is the lens tear-off, a very useful feature in environments such as Iraq and Afghanistan where protection from sand is critical. “The lens tear-offs are 12 dye-cut .004-inch polyester sheets—so they’re very thin—that protect the lens from abrasions or debris,” Cohen said. All 12 tearoffs can be pre-stacked in front of the regular lens (there are little holes in the tear-offs that can be set on the temple pins of the goggles).
“So if, say, sand abrades the lens, or the lens gets covered by debris, you can easily remove the tear-off lens,” he said. “The tear-off lens takes the abuse and the soldier immediately has a clear lens.”
Another company which provides eyewear/goggles with features that are especially useful to the military is Revision Eyewear Inc., Williston, Vt. “The Bullet Ant tactical goggle has been widely tested and accepted as a unique design that works very well for a variety of functions, such as pararescue, combat control, air force reconnaissance, security force applications and combat boat operations as performed by Air Force Special Operations Command airmen, SEALs and Rangers,” said Laura Burgess, representative for Revision Eyewear and Blackhawk Products Group.
Designed to guard troops from wind, dust and debris in addition to meeting military eyewear ballistic impact requirements, the Bullet Ant provides optimal facial fit, a wide field-of-view and helmet and night-vision gear compatibility, Burgess said. The strong, flexible frames of the Bullet Ant goggles are black with a non-reflective matte finish that is well-suited for military missions. “Designed for comfort, Bullet Ant eyewear is equally suitable for short-term tactical use or longer-term wear when on regular patrol,” according to Burgess.
Norfolk, Va.-based BlackHawk Products Group has a goggle specifically designed for extreme flexibility in hot- or cold-weather tactical operations: the Hellstorm Special Operations (SO) tactical goggles. The Hellstorm SO features a dual-lens design to reduce the potential for fogging, Burgess said. BlackHawk states that the Hellstorm goggle will not fog up—period.
The outer lens is constructed of shatterproof polycarbonate. The inner lens is constructed of acetate and is impregnated with an anti-fog compound. The outer frame of the goggle is made of soft matte black polyurethane. Polyurethane stays flexible in extremely cold conditions.
The goggle is flexible, which adds to its comfort. The goggle can even be squeezed in half without breakage.
LASERS
There is one area of eye protection that both the military and industry are putting a great deal of research into but, for reasons of operational security, don’t want to discuss. The area is laser eye protection.
How serious is the threat of lasers being used against American forces? “I can’t give a detailed response due to operational security; however, laser threats warrant the efforts of scientists in all three service branches and work by various research laboratories on laser eye protection [LEP],” said Lieutenant (Dr.) Tyson Brunstetter, an aerospace research optometrist at the Naval Air Warfare Center- Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md.
Research contracts on LEP have also been awarded through the Small Business Innovation Research Program. Dayton, Ohio-based Exciton Inc. demonstrated that two classes of Exciton’s LEP dyes can be integrated into a soft contact lens. LEP dyes have also been incorporated into rigid gas permeable materials. That research is continuing.
Reveo Inc., based in Elmsford, N.Y., is working on a project to develop and commercialize contact lenses for LEP. Protection is achieved by incorporating a thin, flexible, polymeric-reflecting film on or within the lens. The film can be incorporated on soft lens made from hydrogel as well as on gas permeable lenses. The film will be made with such high optical quality that it doesn’t impair visual performance or create distractions in the visual field. Again, work continues on this project.
Meanwhile, Glendale, another Bacou- Dalloz subsidiary, has been supplying the Air Force with laser eyewear through a contract with Northrop Grumman, said Mark McClear, sales and marketing manager at Glendale.
LEP uses two primary technologies: absorption and reflective coating, McClear said.
Absorption uses dyes. “But, the more dyes put in the lens, the darker they get, which can be a problem for night operations,” said McClear. “Also, troops often have to make use of visible readouts and the readouts can be distorted.”
Reflective coating causes just what the term implies—the laser light bounces off the lens.
“There is no one technology that can meet all military standards. A combination of dyes and coating are used,” said McClear.
Glendale XC is the name of the LEP eyewear that the company is providing to the Air Force. “Uvex XC and Glendale’s laser version are linked in that they are both Bacou-Dalloz companies, both products use the same frame and are interchangeable,” said Don Budke, government market manager with Bacou-Dalloz. “Most importantly Bacou-Dalloz is offering a commercial-off-the-shelf solution to the Army’s need for an integrated laser program with an existing product, the Uvex XC that is on the APEL.”
According to the company, the Glendale XC is the industry’s first nine-base wrap-around laser eyewear. “We’ve used dyes, coating and other technologies that I can’t talk about,” McClear said. On the military side, the Navy has for some time led the design, manufacture and assessment of newer, reflective LEP, Brunstetter said. “This technology uses interference filters—such as dielectric stacks, holography and hybrid combinations—to reflect away very narrow spectral bands of light … This allows larger amounts of nonthreat light to reach the eyes and maximizes visibility.”
“We also work hand-in-hand with the Army and the Air Force in several LEP forums and on various LEP projects,” he said.
Developing effective LEP for aircrews alone is a considerable challenge, “The goal of LEP is to block threat laser light while concurrently allowing the maximum amount of non-threat light to reach the eyes,” Brunstetter said. “Considering today’s high-tech, full-color displays, cockpit compatibility remains our greatest challenge. This tight balance between visibility and protection requires thorough laboratory, ground and flight testing, and a constant interaction with LEP manufacturers.”
For security reasons, Brunstetter was unable to discuss advances he would like to see or anticipates happening in the future regarding LEP. PEO Soldier did indicate what they’d like to see in the future for laser eye protection. “We’d like to see ‘tunable’ LEP. A lens that is essentially completely transparent in normal use and reacts to a laser threat by blocking only the incoming laser line or band automatically adjusts to a shift in the threat line or band and retains enough transparency during and after the laser event to enable the user to
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