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Navy NEC · Medical

L14A Opthalmic Surgical Technician

Current service use not established

This code is listed in the directory. Inclusion alone does not confirm current service use.

A Navy Enlisted Classification: a skill designation sailors hold in addition to their rating.

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Overview

An Ophthalmic Surgical Technician prepares ocular patients before surgery and assists, scrubs, or circulates in the operating room under an ophthalmic surgeon's direction. The technician selects, maintains, sterilizes, and sets up delicate surgical instruments, assists with patient treatment and care, and performs diagnostic tests using specialized equipment.

Minimum clearance: Secret

Core Skills

  • Delicate ophthalmic instrument selection and maintenance
  • Ophthalmic instrument sterilization and surgical setup
  • Operating room scrub and circulation support
  • Ocular diagnostic testing with specialized equipment

Civilian Career Paths

Career associations are editorial assessments of the cited evidence, not an official crosswalk unless the evidence explicitly says so. O*NET supplies civilian occupation information, not proof of a military match. Related experience does not confer civilian qualifications. Tasks and tools below describe civilian work, not military training.

Surgical Technologists

Preoperative ocular patient preparation, instrument sterilization and setup, and surgeon-directed scrub or circulation duties align closely with surgical technology work.

How to prepare: Have your documented military training reviewed against the applicable state and prospective employer's surgical-technology education and certification requirements, including any qualifying military-training route, before enrolling in additional schooling.

What the civilian work involves
  • Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
  • Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists.
  • Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
  • Electronic medical record EMR software

Ophthalmic Medical Technicians

Experience assisting ophthalmologists with ocular disease care and performing diagnostic tests using specialized equipment aligns with ophthalmic technician work.

How to prepare: Compare your documented diagnostic testing experience with an ophthalmic clinic's equipment and testing duties to identify where supervised practice would be useful.

What the civilian work involves
  • Operate ophthalmic equipment, such as autorefractors, phoropters, tomographs, or retinoscopes.
  • Conduct tonometry or tonography tests to measure intraocular pressure.
  • Measure visual acuity, including near, distance, pinhole, or dynamic visual acuity, using appropriate tests.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
  • AcuityPro
  • EyeMD EMR Healthcare Systems EyeMD EMR

Notes & Sources

Evidence for this guidance (3 documents)
  1. NAVPERS 18068F Vol II (NEOCS, Jul 2026 edition): NEC L14A

    [1] NEC entry "L14A - Ophthalmic Surgical Technician"; cached text line 7658; NAVPERS 18068F Vol II, 2026-07 edition

    Supports: Delicate ophthalmic instrument selection and maintenance, Ophthalmic instrument sterilization and surgical setup, Operating room scrub and circulation support, Ocular diagnostic testing with specialized equipment, Surgical Technologists (O*NET 29-2055.00), Ophthalmic Medical Technicians (O*NET 29-2057.00)

  2. O*NET: Surgical Technologists

    [2] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: Surgical Technologists (O*NET 29-2055.00)

  3. O*NET: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians

    [3] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians (O*NET 29-2057.00)

Defense contractor jobs for L14A

Descriptions may be summarized for clarity. Verify all information with your branch career counselor or official military documentation before making career decisions.

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