Exercise Mountain Shield, Task Force 11, and visual readiness

Area of Science:

• Military Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Operational Readiness

Background:

• Military deployments necessitate robust health and readiness assessments.
• Vision correction is a critical component of soldier preparedness for operational environments.
• Previous data on refractive error prevalence and eyewear needs in deploying aviation units is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze vision screening and refractive examination data from a no-notice military exercise.
• To identify the prevalence of refractive errors and eyewear requirements in an aviation brigade.
• To inform future operational and planning guidelines for predeployment vision readiness.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of vision screening and refraction data from 122 soldiers.
• Data collected during predeployment processing for a Germany-based aviation brigade.
• Spherical and astigmatic refractive error assessment, including diopter values.

Main Results:

• 98 soldiers required updated refractions, and 122 needed eyewear orders.
• Myopia was more prevalent than hyperopia, with a peak spherical distribution at -1.50 diopters.
• A majority of soldiers had 1.00 diopter of astigmatism or less.

Conclusions:

• A significant percentage of soldiers required vision correction or eyewear during predeployment.
• Last-minute vision readiness issues can impact operational effectiveness.
• Proactive strategies and command emphasis are crucial for mitigating vision-related readiness gaps.