A powerful Senate committee is raising questions about the Marine Corps’ plans for buying protective eyewear, just weeks after the service tapped a company to make new glasses for every Marine.
The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC), in its report accompanying the fiscal year 2012 defense appropriations bill it approved Sept. 15, said it is “concerned” about the service plan for buying personal protective eyewear.
“In order to track the success of the Marine Corps’ acquisition strategy for this program, the committee directs the Marine Corps to report on its field usage rate and performance of the current eyewear system, called ESS-ICE, not later than 60 days of the enactment of this act,” the report states. “The committee further directs the Marine Corps to produce a report not later than 180 days after the adoption of the new eyewear system, called the ESS-Crossbow, that reflects the field usage rate and performance data for that eyewear system. Both reports must detail the scientific process for data collection.”
The SAC notes there have been questions about “the overall validity of the test design that led to the selection of the Marine Corps’ new personal protective eyewear system.” Thus, it directs the Government Accountability Office to investigate and report on “the test and evaluation design and statistical analysis” performed by the Marine Corps that led to its selection of the new eyewear vendor.
Eye Safety Systems Inc. (ESS), a Sun Valley, Idaho maker of military protective eyewear, said on Aug. 18 that Marine Corps Systems Command selected its Crossbow ballistic spectacle as the winner of its Improved Ballistic Eyewear (IBE) program competition. Under this program, the service put competing eyeglasses through a series of tests by troops.
The service plans to outfit all Marines with Crossbow spectacles this year and next year.
ESS, which is owned by eyewear maker Oakley Inc., also makes the ESS-ICE eyeshield that the Marine Corps has used as its authorized protective eyewear since 2004.
The Army, Navy, and Air Force also use the Crossbow eyewear, according to ESS.