As a young Marine, I was thrilled the first time I was allowed to look through a set of night vision goggles. They were not the cool guy quad goggles pictured above, but the goof-troop set of ANPVS-5s below.

Still, I thought they were the coolest thing ever. They didn't work very well. The picture was incredibly grainy and pixelated, but you could sometimes pick up movement.

Because they were expensive and relatively delicate, we only had one set per sniper team and they were only used while in a static position. We didn't move with them on because they lacked depth perception.

Later, when I moved to Force Recon, each man was issued a pair of upgraded PVS-7s, and technology improved every few years thereafter.

The point of this trip down the memory lane of gallium arsenide photocathodes and image intensifying tubes, is that in every case, the night vision goggles didn't change what was happening in front of me; they just allowed me to see it more clearly.

We all look through lenses that shape our view of reality. We owe it to ourselves to not only be aware that the lenses exist, but also to upgrade them from time to time.

John

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If you have read my book, Tough Rugged Bastards, thanks for helping make it a best-seller. I would really appreciate it if you would leave an honest review on Amazon. Thanks!

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Anniston Ct. Hubert, NC
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