Although the U.S. Military is drawing down in several areas (Afghanistan for example), the importance of ballistic-rated eye protection is not going away and has in fact become a mainstay of our armed forces. In addition, the use of ballistic-rated eyewear has started to trickle down into non-military applications.

What is ballistic & tactical eyewear, & how does it differ from other eyewear?

In basic terms, ballistic refers to a free-moving object, such as a missile or cannon, fired from a fixed site. The term tactical refers to activity, such as bombing or using weapons, that usually supports military operations. Ballistic and tactical eyewear protects wearers from the dangers associated with these and similar situations.

In addition, ballistic and tactical eyewear provides additional protection in harsh military environments, such as the Middle East with its intense heat and frequent dust storms, and it does so at a standard well beyond those found for industrial-rated safety eye protection.

While ballistic-rated safety glasses and sunglasses are becoming one of the fastest growing segments of protective eyewear both inside and outside the military, there still seems to be a considerable amount of confusion over what actually classifies eyewear as ballistic rated.  The two terms are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, but not all ballistic eyewear is necessarily intended for tactical use, and not all tactical eyewear is ballistic (though it should be).

The U.S. Military has issued rigorous ballistic tests that safety eyewear and sunglasses worn by military personnel have to pass. These tests, conducted in a field environment, include subjecting eyewear to projectiles at over four times the velocity of normal ANSI Z87.1 testing, the standard for industrial safety eyewear. ANSI (American National Standards Institute) tests projectiles at 150 fps, while the military requires testing projectiles at 650 (+/- 10) fps for spectacles and 550 fps for goggles.

According to The Army Vision and Conservation Readiness Program, in addition to impact safety requirements, the U.S. Army also wants eyewear to be functional, reasonably comfortable, to not have bright colors or distracting design, and to be able to be disinfected.

The military’s standards are outlined in the MCEP (Military Combat Eye Protection) Program, created by the Army’s PEO (Program Executive Office) Soldier authority, and the two main Military Ballistic Standards used for testing are MIL-PRF-31013 (spectacles) and MIL-DTL-43511D (goggles).

The Advanced Planning Briefing for Industry describes MCEP as “the umbrella program” with the purpose of:

• Protecting eyes from external hazards including fragmentation, electromagnetic radiation, wind, sand and dust.
• Providing vision correction to accommodate those needing corrective lenses.
• Encouraging use in the field by providing variety in choices of sizes and styles.
• Encouraging feedback to promote improved design.

This briefing also details the requirements for submitting product to be considered for APEL (Authorized Protective Eyewear List), which is modified yearly as models improve and new models are submitted. For more information on MCEP Standards, see “Understanding U.S. Military Eye Protection (MCEP) Standards.”

(Note: In the European military, standards are set up a bit differently with the European EN166 standard identifying four levels of ballistic protection.)

The Advanced Planning Briefing for Industry also states that all APEL eyewear must bear the APEL logo, which is the single-best way to know eyewear is approved for military standards.

The military insists that personnel only wear approved eye protection not simply to have another regulation on its books, but because there is a significant need for a protection standard beyond what typically works for the civilian population.

How great is the need for ballistic and tactical eyewear in the military?

The Official Homepage of the United States Army recently published an article titled “Eye doctors teach combat trauma management” that illustrated the tremendous need for ballistic and tactical eyewear protection for individuals in the armed forces.

Consider the following information presented by these doctors:

• Combat ocular trauma has stabilized due to widely implemented eye protection in the military.
• The vast majority of combat eye injuries are due to explosion from high energy projectiles and improvised explosive devices rather than from gun shots or explosions.
• Combat ocular trauma is more complicated and more likely to involve more than one body system than is civilian ocular trauma.

And the U.S. Congress apparently agrees with the importance of better eye care for our nation’s military since it has budgeted $10M for research.

The Military.com article “Congress Budgets $10M for Eye-Injury Research,” says that Defense Department statistics show the following startling data:

• About 15% of injuries from battlefield trauma are to the eyes.
• In just the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, there were more than 200,000 eye-related injuries to military personnel.
• About 75% of military personnel suffering traumatic brain injury also have eyesight problems.
• Approximately 70% of our total sensory awareness comes from eyesight, making vision the most critical of the five senses, especially in combat conditions.

These statistics show the necessity of this funding and stress the importance of research for treating eye injury. They also serve to emphasize the importance of prevention through ballistic and tactical eyewear.

The need for ballistic and tactical eye protection extends well beyond military application, though, and into many areas of civilian life as well.  We’ll explore this in the next segment.  To be continued…