Lasik and the Military

Lasik and the Military

One of the most powerful “weapons” in the United States military is laser vision correction. Lasik is widely used in all branches of the military, significantly improving the fighting ability of
our troops.

The military has now performed over 600,000 laser vision correction procedures on United States military personnel. The Department of Defense carefully monitors the results of all of their laser vision treatments, and they have found that laser vision correction is highly safe and highly effective. Some interesting results of the many clinical trials conducted by the Department of Defense include:

  • In an evaluation of 785 Navy aviators, not a single pilot said his or her ability to land on an aircraft carrier was worse after laser vision treatment. This includes difficult and dangerous nighttime aircraft carrier landings. 89% of the Navy pilots rated their ability to land on an aircraft carrier as moderately to significantly better after laser vision correction.
  • Over 90 percent of marksmen had improvement in marksmanship skills after laser vision correction.
Stock image showing military personnel

Extensive research by the Department of Defense has repeatedly proven the extremely high level of safety and effectiveness of laser vision correction. This research has shown that patients with laser vision correction are suitable for the most visually demanding tasks in the world, in both daylight and in darkness, as well as extremely dry, wet, or dusty environments.

Troops who are treated with Lasik or PRK no longer need to worry about dirty, sweat-covered glasses, dry and irritating contact lenses, or losing their glasses or contact lenses during life-threatening combat. This applies to troops on the ground, in submarines, or aviators who fly very fast and expensive fighter jets. “Landing a jet on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean at night requires amazing vision. My vision was good with contacts, but it is amazing after Lasik by Dr. Caster.”

The military provides Lasik and PRK to active service members, but there is a long waiting list. We continue to treat many men and women who are members of the United States military, and we are proud to help each one perform his or her job more effectively and safer, as well as help each service member better enjoy life free of glasses and contact lenses. Fabulous eyesight, which is so important to a high quality of life in so many ways, is critical to all aspects of the military. As one Army sergeant explains, “After Lasik, our vision is always ready for combat. No worries about dirty glasses or watery contact lenses.”

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