LASIK Joins the Military

For the past four years, Army officials at Fort Bragg, NC have dedicated themselves to the continuous improvement of the military's vision.  They have been performing eye surgery, such as LASIK and PRK, on qualified soldiers.  For about 10,000 to 12,000 combatants a year, keeping track of glasses, prescription goggles and contact lenses on the battlefield could be a thing of the past.  The vision improvement that eye surgery offers can help soldiers who have to react quickly during battle and negates the risk of liability for spectacled soldiers who loose their glasses during combat.  Reading glasses are still needed my many after lasik surgery.

Eye surgery for Soldiers

Civilians continue to choose the LASIK procedure for refractive vision correction about 90% of the time, but for many active duty soldiers, PRK is the more logical choice.  Because PRK is preformed on the surface of the eye, there is no flap cut from the cornea that needs to heal back over the eye as there is in LASIK.  For soldiers who put their eyes under pressure from physical strain or jumping from high altitudes, not having to worry about complications from damage to the healing flap is an added bonus.

Either surgery costs the Army about $1,000 per patient, much lower than the approximately $1,700 per eye average paid by the civilian shopper, and could potentially benefit about one-third of the Army's employees.  Priority for surgery is determined on a case-by-case basis, but soldiers who will be involved in combat are usually favored.  The US Army can buy reading glasses for about $1.00 a pair.

LASIK in the Air Force

In 2001 the Air Force initiated its own refractive surgery program, offering PRK to eligible airmen.  In 2003 they began offering LASIK as an option, however, for aviators and individuals whose duties are performed in flight, LASIK is not available as flap complications could hinder performance.

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