fighting blind

The Straits Times today carried a report on worsening myopia in Singapore.

Kids' myopia getting more acute
By Radha Basu

SINGAPOREAN children are not only getting shortsighted younger than children in other countries, but their vision is also deteriorating faster, a study has found.

Between the ages of seven and nine, their myopia is increasing at the rate of about 80 degrees a year. That is 17 degrees faster than youngsters in Hong Kong and about 30 degrees quicker than those in America.

By the time they are 11, about 6 per cent have advanced myopia of 600 degrees or higher, about the same percentage as adults in countries such as Australia.

There, less than 1 per cent of children that age have such poor eyesight.

I wonder how long it will take for this to become a security concern. Already, the Air Force is offering free Lasik for pilot applicants with mild myopia. But at 600 degrees, a person is practically blind. In almost any combat vocation, this will become a severe handicap. I wonder how that will affect the morale of our half-blind soldiers, going out to war knowing their lives depend on their glasses even more than their rifles.

Imagine you're hiding in your foxhole when a nearby artillery shell slams you into the wall. You're shaken, but unhurt. Unfortunately your glasses aren't so fortunate. The frame is broken and one lens has shattered. How are you going to navigate the hostile warzone with just one lens? How are you going to use a weapon?

It's about time we started a new branch of military optics. We also have to stop taking sight for granted and start designing our operations around the very real constraint that half our soldiers can go blind at any time.