NVG aided flight operations originated throughout the Vietnam era & evolved for a good deal of years with increased use by mostly military operators. The technical quality & skills of the NVGs improved progressively & began to receive interest from other areas of aviation for its improved safety and operational abilities.
In the late 1980's & early 1990's civilian operators began doing operations with NVG goggles & many would turn off the aircraft lighting or tape over light sources that could not be turned off or dimmed. Today, NVG aided flight has grown to be commonplace amongst military and civil (specially first responders) air operations. There are many different cockpit lighting solutions obtainable. See "Cockpit Lighting Tradeoffs" for more facts. There are also rigorous regulatory standards that govern civil NVG air operations. These standards are regulated by the FAA, EASA, & other regulatory agencies global. See "FAA Accreditation 101" for more data.