Descriptive analysis of military eye injuries from fiscal year 1988 to 1998.

An 11-year retrospective study of ground eye injuries collected by the Army Safety Center, Navy Safety Center, and Air Force Safety Center from fiscal year 1988 through 1998 was performed. The statistics for eye injuries indicate that the average Army, Navy, and Air Force individual sustaining an eye injury is a 20- to 24-year-old man with a rank of E2 through E5. The average military individual sustaining an eye injury is not wearing eye protection when injured. In addition, Army personnel lost 1.9 more workdays, Navy personnel lost 1.5 more workdays, and Air Force personnel lost 3.4 more workdays than those individuals who were wearing eye protection at the time of the eye injury. Proactive vision conservation education at local levels needs to focus on the military personnel that are at the highest risk for an eye injury.