68H vs 65D
Optical Laboratory Specialist (USA) vs Physician Assistant (USA)
Two soldiers walk into a motor pool. One works there. The other just needs their vehicle back. Both are trapped for the next 4 hours.
0630. Two service members. Same PT formation. Then the 68H goes here: the work is real opticianry — surfacing, edging, mounting, inspection — but the volume is relentless and the lab is usually two-deep on a good day and one-deep on a bad one. And the 65D goes here: the IPAP program (Army-funded PA school) creates a service commitment that deserves careful math. They'll meet again at the PX. Neither will understand what the other did all day. Both qualify for the veteran hiring preference. One will actually need it.
After the Uniform
The part the recruiter skips: what each job actually translates to once you're a civilian — and what it pays.
Salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. A guide, not a guarantee.
Recruiter vs. Reality
The pitch versus what people who actually did the job report back.
“You will fabricate prescription eyewear and protective-mask inserts for the force — every Soldier who needs glasses gets them because of 68H. You will earn ABO and NCLE civilian opticianry credentials that translate directly into a $40-60K+ civilian opticianry career with no further schooling required, and you will work normal hours in a clinical setting away from the line. Optical labs do not deploy as combat slots, the work is technical and rewarding, and the post-service crosswalk into LensCrafters management, private optometry practices, or a VA civilian optical lab is one of the most direct in the Army.”
You will spend most of your career standing in front of a surfacing generator and an edger in a windowless lab on the back side of the MTF, cutting plastic and polycarbonate lenses to a Rx written by an optometrist you have never met, for a Soldier who will pick up his glasses at the dispensing window and never know your name. The work is real opticianry — surfacing, edging, mounting, inspection — but the volume is relentless and the lab is usually two-deep on a good day and one-deep on a bad one. The civilian credential path is genuine: ABO (American Board of Opticianry) and NCLE (National Contact Lens Examiners) are real credentials that civilian opticians pay out of pocket for, and you can sit both inside your contract if the lab NCOIC supports it. The honest read: this is a small, niche MOS (a few hundred Active Duty 68H force-wide) with low deployment tempo, capped promotion timelines because the structure is small, and a post-service market that is real but narrow — opticianry in the civilian world tops out lower than nursing or radiologic tech. Pick this MOS if you want a clean clinical bench job with a usable credential, not if you wanted to be Doc.
“Serve as an Army Physician Assistant, providing primary care and emergency medical services to soldiers across all environments. Clinical independence with a military career.”
The PA-C in Army uniform has a scope of practice that is broader than most civilian PA positions — you are often the primary medical authority for a battalion or remote unit, making independent clinical decisions with limited specialist backup that civilian PA practice typically provides. The Army PA experience is clinically rich and accelerates clinical independence in ways that value-minded PAs appreciate. What the recruiter explains less clearly: the administrative burden of being a military officer competes with clinical time, and in some assignments the leadership and administrative duties will genuinely affect your clinical development. The IPAP program (Army-funded PA school) creates a service commitment that deserves careful math. Post-Army PA salaries have grown significantly — the AMEDD PA community has an excellent reputation in the civilian market. Emergency medicine, urgent care, and occupational medicine are the most common post-Army pathways. The clinical experience with trauma, operational medicine, and independent practice is genuinely valued.
The Real Life
Same dimensions, side by side. 68H on the left, 65D on the right.
You work a clinical-lab schedule at an MTF optical lab — typically 0730 to 1630 Monday through Friday. The day is moving Rx orders through the bench: surfacing single-vision and progressive lenses on a generator and polisher, edging to the frame, mounting, lensometer-verifying power and axis, inspecting for tolerance, and pushing finished orders to the dispensing window for the optometry clinic to hand off. You also fabricate protective-mask optical inserts (for the M50 and aircrew masks) and prescription inserts for deploying units, and you handle ANSI-Z80 inspection tolerances, frame fitting questions from the dispenser, and the SRTS / Defense Online Optical Lab order queue.
Practicing medicine — patient care, surgeries, rounds, and teaching residents. Army physicians work in military hospitals and clinics providing the same care as civilian doctors. Some specialize in combat trauma, aerospace medicine, or preventive medicine. The caseload is steady and the patient population is generally young and healthy.
Optical Laboratory Specialist Course at the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC), JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, TX — roughly 14 weeks. METC is a joint medical schoolhouse; you train alongside Navy and Air Force optical fabrication candidates. The course covers ophthalmic optics, lens surfacing, edging, mounting, lensometry, ANSI tolerance inspection, protective-mask insert fabrication, and basic frame fitting. You graduate with the technical chops to sit the American Board of Opticianry (ABO) certified-optician exam.
Medical school (civilian or USUHS) followed by residency at a military hospital. USUHS (Uniformed Services University) is the military's medical school in Bethesda, MD — full scholarship in exchange for a 7-year service obligation. HPSP (Health Professions Scholarship Program) pays for civilian medical school in exchange for service obligation.
Low. Bench work — standing or sitting at surfacing generators, lens edgers, lensometers, and inspection stations for a full shift. Standard Army PT requirements still apply; fine-motor and color-vision standards apply to the technical job.
Low to moderate. Medical practice is physically manageable but the hours can be brutal during residency and deployment. Standard Army PT requirements apply.
This is a real, useful, badly understood MOS. The recruiter will frame it as "you fabricate glasses for Soldiers" and stop there. What they will not tell you: this is one of the smallest enlisted MOS in the Army (a few hundred Active Duty 68H across the entire structure) which means promotion is slow because the slots ahead of you are slow to open; the bench work is the entire job, day after day, with limited variety once you have surfaced your thousandth pair of single-vision polycarbs; and the deployment piece is minimal, so the combat-medic / clinic-medic "Doc" identity does not exist for 68H. What they also will not tell you: the civilian crosswalk is genuinely solid for a clinical-lab job that requires no four-year degree. ABO and NCLE are real, recognized credentials. LensCrafters, EyeMart Express, the VA optical fabrication center in Hampton VA, private optometry practices, and state-licensed dispensing roles in NY / NJ / CT / FL / RI all hire post-service opticians and pay a livable wage that scales with experience and license stack. Pick 68H if you want a clean clinical bench job with an exit credential. Skip it if you wanted to be Doc, wanted to deploy, or wanted to be promoted on a normal medical-MOS timeline.
Military physician is one of the most interesting ways to practice medicine. The Army pays for your medical education (either through USUHS or HPSP), which eliminates the crushing debt that civilian medical graduates face. What the recruiter won't fully explain: the service obligation is real and long. USUHS graduates owe 7 years after residency; HPSP graduates owe one year for each year of scholarship. Military medicine has unique advantages: you practice medicine without insurance bureaucracy, your patients are generally motivated and healthy, and you have access to experiences (combat trauma, global health, austere medicine) that civilian physicians never see. The disadvantages: military physician pay is significantly lower than civilian equivalent specialties (especially surgical specialties), you move when the Army tells you to, and the military bureaucracy layers on top of medical bureaucracy. Many physicians serve their obligation and transition to lucrative civilian practices. Others stay because the mission and lifestyle suit them.
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