In 2000, the Defense Department began allowing individuals who had received two common forms of laser eye
surgery to enter the service with a medical waiver. Today, the Navy and Marine Corps permit laser
refractive surgery for all warfare communities, and officials said Navy surgeons have performed more than
10,000 laser procedures to date. Meanwhile, the Army’s first Warfighter Refractive Eye Clinic at Fort
Bragg has conducted about 16,000 of the surgeries since commencing operations in May 2000, said an
official. And the Air Force Warfighter Photorefractive Keratectomy Program became active at the end of
2001. Qualified Airmen can get the surgery at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Texas; Travis Air Force Base,
Calif.; the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.; Keesler AFB, Miss.; and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. In
addition to photorefractive keratectomy, or PRK, the other most common type of eye surgery offered is
laser in-situ keratomileusis, or LASIK.
