Vision Conservation

Vision is one of the most powerful weapons in a Soldier's arsenal. Protecting the eyes from injury should be a top priority, but research indicates that eye injuries -- though on a downward trend -- continue to occur year after year. A study conducted by the Army Safety Center reported 1,751 eye injuries in 1988-98. Eye injuries made up 2.66% of the 65,944 total injuries in that 10-year time span.

Of those injured, 64% were not wearing eye protection. On average, personnel who did not wear eye protection lost more work days and were hospitalized longer per injury than those who did wear eye protection.

An eye injury can happen to any Soldier, of any rank, in any line of work. Over 50% of eye injuries occurred while individuals were performing maintenance, doing repair/servicing, participating in sports, or engaging in combat Soldiering. However, injuries also occurred during such activities as food and drink preparation, janitorial tasks, and supervision.

Ninety percent of all eye injuries are preventable. Therefore, it is important to train personnel and supervisors about vision safety and conservation, including the use of proper eye safety devices. Such training can significantly reduce the incidence and cost of eye injuries in the workplace and in the Army. Please visit the Tri-Service Vision Conservation and Readiness Program web site to obtain valuable information and download educational products.

Tri-Service Vision Conservation and Readiness Program Booklet
Adobe Acrobat .pdf -192KB or Word document - 1,044KB

The Tri-Service Vision Conservation and Readiness Program

The Tri-Service Vision Conservation and Readiness Program was established in 1997. Its mission is to optimize vision readiness of Department of Defense health care beneficiaries. This office provides the following products and services:

• Revise/develop policy, doctrine, and standards;
• Conduct studies, research, and surveillance;
• Provide education and training;
• Develop vision information services; and
• Assist local vision conservation programs.