A few years ago I had the pleasure of going for a lap around the place in a Blackhawk - on a very dark night!
The PIC was wearing night vision gear, as was I.
It is awsome - turns night into day!
What did surprise me was the number of birds that were flying around - without night vision goggles!
It is not as hairy as it first seems - to the non-goggled eye, but not without some issues that need to be trained for and dealt with.
BC 