Skip to main content

Military Health System

For Thousands of Troops, Eye Surgery is Key to Vision Readiness

Image of A surgical team with the Warfighter Refractive Eye Surgery Program at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg monitors the progress of a patient's surgery inside the Ophthalmology Clinic's Refractive Surgery suite. A surgical team with the Warfighter Refractive Eye Surgery Program at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg monitors the progress of a patient's surgery inside the Ophthalmology Clinic's Refractive Surgery suite.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision Center of Excellence

For military eye doctors and eye surgeons, one of their top priorities is to preserve and enhance vision for the service members who need it most, including those in career fields like aviation, special operations and the security forces. 

The core of this effort is the Warfighter Refractive Eye Surgery Program, which has supported more than 750,000 surgical procedures during the past 20 years.  The surgical procedures, which include Lasik and PRK surgery, often aim to eliminate service members’ dependence on glasses or contact lenses in austere environments. 

“Our goal is to enable our warfighters to qualify and continue in professions that might require excellent uncorrected vision,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Tyler Miles, an aerospace optometrist at the Navy Refractive Surgery Center at Naval Medical Center San Diego. 

To help the military’s vision care community stay up to date on the latest technology and research, the 2022 Military Refractive Surgery Safety and Strategy Symposium (MRSSSS) convened in late January.  This year’s symposium was conducted virtually due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. 

The symposium focused attention on how to enhance vision on the battlefield, to make headgear and goggles less burdensome and to improve standardization and optimization across the Military Health System.  Refractive surgery is a model in the Defense Health Agency for standardization and optimization of procedures across 26 military warfighter eye centers. 

Laser eye surgery is available to all active duty service members who are medically and administratively qualified. While it is classified as an elective surgery, patients are often extremely happy with the outcome and their decision to have a Lasik or PRK procedure. 

“For most military members, the enhanced readiness and safety they find after their surgery is often cited as one of the best decisions they have made in their military career,” Miles said. 

The Warfighter Refractive Eye Surgery Program was initially designed to provide a combat-vision edge to Navy SEALS, Special Forces and other warfighters through a variety of corrective surgery options. 

Since its inception in 2001, the research, technology and experience have allowed the program to expand and include all active duty service members, including aviators.

You also may be interested in...

VCE Makes Laser Eye Exposure Treatment Recommendations

Article
2/9/2023
Demonstration of new retinal camera

Vision Center of Excellence issues first treatment practice recommendations for laser eye exposure.

Recommended Content:

Vision Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention

Vision Center of Excellence Sponsoring Landmark Eye Health Study

Article
2/8/2023
Military personnel in eye exam

Eye problems can end military careers. Now, there's new study that could launch a better way to screen and track service members' vision heath. See why expanding the current guidelines for routine eye care can help you.

Recommended Content:

Vision Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Research & Innovation

Mobile Hearing Tests Prove Successful in the Field and Beyond

Article
10/24/2022
Female service member in front holds a clicker while wearing a headset. In the background is the hearing test technician..

Mobile audiometry equipment can be used from the point of injury to advanced traumas.

Recommended Content:

Hearing Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention

DOD Conservation Programs Help to Decrease Hearing Loss

Article
10/20/2022
A group of service members walking

Hearing conservation programs help to reduce hearing loss in the military.

Recommended Content:

Hearing Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention

New Policy Benefits Noise-exposed Service Members

Article
10/20/2022
A service member wears headphones while sitting at a desk.

New hearing protection fit-testing policy on the horizon.

Recommended Content:

Hearing Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention

Protecting Your Hearing and Vision is a Personal Readiness Mission

Article
6/14/2022
Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Dominique Campbell drives a forklift on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during a vertical replenishment. She is wearing proper hearing and vision protection.

Experts from the Centers of Excellence help advance research to diagnose and treat diseases and conditions that affect military personnel and their families.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence

Ask the Doc: All This Noise is Giving Me Headaches

Article
6/13/2022
Ask the Doc: Noise from ship can cause headaches. Try to give your ears a rest when you can.

Ask the Doc: What is causing all of these headaches?

Recommended Content:

Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Hearing Center of Excellence | Ask The Doc

Cancer Patients Discuss Experiences During DOD Moonshot 2 Initiative Roundtable

Article
5/17/2022
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) hosted a Department of Defense Cancer Moonshot Roundtable, “A Conversation on Cancer Health Equity and Military-relevant Environmental Exposures,” on May 4. (Photo: Courtesy of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)

On May 4, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) hosted the Department of Defense Cancer Moonshot Roundtable as part of a day-long series of agency events sponsored by the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence | Cancer Moonshot

DOD Cancer Research Program Aims to 'End Cancer as We Know It Today'

Article
5/3/2022
Dr. Craig Shriver is leading a renewed DOD/DHA effort to significantly expand cancer research and save lives through personalized medical treatments using proteogenomics. Shriver is director of the John P. Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. (Photo: Bernard Little, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center)

DOD/DHA to greatly expand Military Health System cancer research, with a roundtable on the effort slated for May 4.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence | Women's Health | Cervical Cancer | Ovarian Cancer | Cancer Moonshot

New Centers Will Deliver Advanced Care for Serious Eye Injuries

Article
4/27/2022
Army Brig. Gen. Katherine Simonson, Defense Health Agency Deputy Assistant Director of the Research and Engineering Directorate, and Dr. Barclay Butler, Assistant Director for Management, DHA, talks with Army Lt. Col. Samantha Rodgers, Ophthalmology chief (left), during a tour and designation ceremony April 19 at the Ocular Trauma Center – San Antonio Region, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The designation ceremony marked the launch of DHA’s first Ocular Trauma Center, comprised of personnel from Brooke Army Medical Center and the 59th Medical Group. (Photo: Larine H. Barr, DOD)

The Defense Health Agency launched the first of four Ocular Trauma Centers, which will become primary hubs for the treatment of complex eye injuries and development of cutting-edge research programs.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention

Wear Approved Safety Eye Protection, Save Your Vision

Article
3/25/2022
Gunner with 1Brigade Combat Team 82nd Division wears shaded eye protection as he fires his M249 at Rotation 21-05 at the Joint Readiness Training Center. (Photo: Capt. Joseph Warren)

The Tri-Service Vision Conservation and Readiness Branch, or TSVCRB, encourages service members to wear eye protection while at work and at home to prevent eye injuries.

Recommended Content:

Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Hearing Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision Center of Excellence | Injury Prevention

Ask the Doc: Can a Concussion Affect Hearing and Vision?

Article
3/16/2022
Elizabeth Kirkpatrick, a physical therapist for the Fort Drum Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Clinic, New York, uses a model of the inner ear on Feb. 27, 2019, to demonstrate how a concussion can cause inner ear, or vestibular, damage which may result in dizziness, anxiety, depression, moodiness, balance problems and irritability to name a few. (Photo: Warren W. Wright Jr., Fort Drum MEDDAC)

Even a mild concussion can lead to hearing and vision problems.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Hearing Center of Excellence | Vision Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Ask The Doc

Data Registry Helps Improve Research and Treatment for Eye Injuries

Article
3/14/2022
Pvt. Second Class Jagger Dixon, treats an eye injury during Expert Infantryman Badge testing, June 15, 2021, at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Dixon is a soldier with B Company; 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. Soldiers must successfully execute a variety of warrior tasks to earn their EIB. (Photo: Army Spc. Kay Edwards, 27th Public Affairs Detachment)

Eye injury registry (DVEIVR) transforms data into usable information to help improve initial warfighter care and rehabilitation.

Recommended Content:

Centers of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision Center of Excellence

Ringing in Your Ears Might Be a Sign of Hearing Loss

Article
3/10/2022
Army Col. Randy Lau fires a 120 mm mortar during a live-fire exercise at Camp Roberts, California, June 15, 2021.

Tinnitus can affect your concentration, reaction time, and short-term memory. It can be linked to anxiety, depression and sleep disorders. Some people turn to substance abuse to try to block the sounds.

Recommended Content:

Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Hearing Center of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention

It’s True – Carrots (and Other Vegetables) Can Help You See in the Dark

Article
3/4/2022
Each color in fruits and vegetables indicates an abundance of specific nutrients.

Have you ever heard that carrots are good for your eyes, or that they can help you see in the dark? It’s true – carrots are rich in the compound beta carotene, which your body uses to make a form of vitamin A that helps your eyes adjust in the dark. A shortage of vitamin A can cause a host of health problems, including blindness.

Recommended Content:

Nutritional Fitness | Centers of Excellence | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention | Vision Center of Excellence
<< < 1 2 3 > >> 
Showing results 1 - 15 Page 1 of 3
Refine your search
Last Updated: January 31, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery