The United States Marines Corps is now supplying its service men and women with protective eyewear and corrective lens integration systems from Eye Safety Systems, Inc. (ESS), of Sun Valley, Idaho.
The ESS P-2TM Rx Insert is a durable, prescription lens carrier that can be quickly interchanged between two pieces of authorized combat eyewear: the ESS Profile NVGTM goggle and ESS ICE-2TM eyeshield. The high-impact nylon frame of the P-2TM Rx Insert can accommodate a range of corrections to +/-11, well beyond U.S. DOD standards.
An April 18, 2005 Marine Times article, “New eye protection, correction wear available” by Laura Bailey provides details about the new ESS corrective lens system:
“Eye protection and vision correction now come in the same eyewear for deploying Marines. Leathernecks with 20/30 vision or worse will be issued corrective vision inserts for two types of protective eyewear, Corps officials announced March 29.”
“The ESS ‘Profile NVG’ goggles and ESS ‘ICE’ spectacles are authorized for field use and the corrective inserts fit both styles, according to a Corps-wide message, MarAdmin 149/05.”
“Both ballistic glasses are issued to deploying troops, but the ICE spectacles have mainly gone to II Marine Expeditionary Force leathernecks bound for Iraq, said Maj. Wendell Leimbach, who leads the eyewear project at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.”
“The service plans to eventually field the spectacles to all Marines, but for now is focusing on deploying troops. Units can order the inserts at no cost through unit aid stations.”
“About 25 percent of Marines require corrective eyewear and 7,200 Marines from II MEF have been supplied with the inserts so far, according to a Systems Command fact sheet.”
The US Army also authorized the use of the ESS P-2TM Rx Insert together with the ESS ICE-2TM spectacles and ESS Profile NVGTM goggles in 2004, following the Natick Combat Eye Protection (CEP) solicitation.