Is it really practice to use mesh or plastic foil to supress reflections on the lens?
I haven't served and I'm not an expert on this subject, but while modern rifle optics have anti-reflection coating it's commonplace to use *something* to reduce reflection. That something can be any number of any things, but generally any sort of sunshade even a silly-looking one like this will do the job. Purpose-built plastic mesh is something I've seen much less frequently, though.