Military aircrew eyewear survey: operational issues.
BACKGROUND
Army aircrew are required to operate under stressful conditions within a degraded visual environment. To gain an understanding of current eyewear mission needs, we surveyed aircrew regarding operational issues associated with the current U.S. Army-issue aircrew eyewear.


METHODS
An anonymous online survey was completed by 976 U.S. Army aircrew personnel recruited through an invitational e-mail.


RESULTS
Of the respondents, 34% reported wearing corrective lenses. Nearly 50% of them reported dissatisfaction with the HGU-4/P Aviator spectacles. The leading problems reported were discomfort (15%), "hot spots" around the ears (13%), and break of the earcup seal (11%). Nearly 41% of the respondents wore multifocal lenses and, of those, 16% reported that the HGU-4/P's restricted field of view (FOV) adversely affected duty performance. Of those who wore Modified HGU-4/P Apache spectacles, 79% had an unacceptable FOV with the helmet display unit. A similar number of aircrew modified the Apache eyewear to increase the FOV. In addition, wind and dust created eye discomfort or affected the vision of 46% of all respondents when performing flight duties. Over 82% expressed the need for an improved aircrew spectacles and 73% desired aviation-compatible protective eyewear.


CONCLUSIONS
The current Army HGU-4/P Aviator and the Modified HGU-4/P Apache spectacles have significant operational deficiencies and compatibility issues. Such deficiencies have led to poor wear compliance and unauthorized modification of the Army-issue Aviator eyewear, posing readiness and safety issues. The results of this survey formally identify the need for military combat eye protection that is compatible with flight systems.
U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, AL, USA. jose.e.capoaponte.mil@mail.mil
José E
JE
Capó-Aponte
David J
DJ
Hilber
Thomas G
TG
Urosevich
Morris R
MR
Lattimore
Jeffrey L
JL
Weaver
D000328:Adult; D001359:Aviation; D004867:Equipment Design; D005139:Eyeglasses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006260:Head Protective Devices; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States