Abstract
This paper discusses the evolution and use of military ballistic eye protection, from its first prototypes to that complying with current technical and safety standards, and the efficacy of its integration into the general service-member protection system in contemporary warfare and armed conflicts. Combat eye injury remains a serious medical and social concern since it substantially affects fighting efficiency, results in long-term loss of capacity to work, and can lead to legal visual disability. Over the past seven to eight decades, there have been increases in the incidence of combat eye injury and the share of severe injuries, which stimulated the development of new materials and protective eyewear designs. Additionally, this paper reviews major causes of the increase in the share of eye injuries, generalizes the experience in the implementation and use of proper means of protection in the armed forces of leading nations, and considers the reasons for eye protection non-compliance by service members. The experience of implementing the Military Combat Eye Protection (MCEP) program in the US Army has demonstrated that the achievement of high eye protection compliance rates required a transition from prescriptive requirements and mandatory standard-issue protection wearing to an increased list of certified eye protection models taking into account the ergonomic requirements of service members and conducting targeted information and awareness campaigns on the effectiveness of the appropriate protective equipment. These measures allowed increasing the rates of eye protection compliance among service members during a deployment in a combat zone to 95%. Current technical requirements to prototype validation and actual ballistic eye protection use practice during the full-scale war in Ukraine were analyzed and the data on their impact on eye injury rates and pattern were reviewed. Moreover, this paper justifies the necessity of introducing stricter regulatory requirements and further expansion of awareness on the use of eye protection among military personnel.