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List of Approved Protective Eyewear

The United States Army, because the dangerous nature of its work, requires that its soldiers have access to the best safety equipment possible. This requirement extends to eyewear. The Army evaluates potential eyewear for use in the field, and then creates a list of the kinds of eyewear that are authorized for use by their soldiers. Civilians seeking to purchase protective eyewear might want to pay attention to the types of eyewear that the Army chooses when attempting to ascertain what type they may wish to use for their own needs.

  1. Eyewear Categories

    • In general, the Army splits its protective eyewear into two categories, spectacles and goggles. Spectacles are for low-level protection; they are designed to stop a 5.8-grain fragment moving at 640 feet per second. Goggles provide more extreme protection; they stop fragments up to 17-grains moving at about 550 feet per second, providing roughly twice the protection as spectacles. The army approves the use of several types of eyewear in both these categories.

    Special Protective Eyewear Cylindrical System

    • Special Protective Eyewear Cylindrical System (SPECS) are the name for a line of spectacles intended for use by soldiers who do not require any optical correction for duty. They are for ballistic protection, and come in a set featuring one clear lens, one gray lens that pops in over the clear one, a retaining strap and a hardened case for protection.

    Eye Safety System Goggles

    • Eye Safety System (ESS) goggles are designed to be worn by soldiers who require visual protection as well as soldiers who do not. They come in many types, including land ops, vehicle ops, and night vision goggles (NVG). These goggles can fit over either prescription eyeglasses or Army-issued protection glasses. They come with a rubber frame with foam backing. The night-vision goggles can only be used by soldiers who do not require visual correction for duty.

    Sun, Wind, and Dust Goggles

    • Sun, Wind and Dust Goggles (SWDGs) are for soldiers who have duty in sandy, windy, or dusty environments. Once again, this type of goggles comes in a kit that include several different lenses. One type in a clear lens, for ballistic protection, another is tinted gray for sun protection and another tinted blue for protection from lasers.

    Arena Flakjak Goggles

    • Arena Flakjak goggles are another Army-approved set of protective gear. These are also designed solely for soldiers who do not require eye protections. This eyewear is intended to protect soldiers from shrapnel injuries, one of the leading injuries to soldiers in the field.

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