This study investigated the injuries sustained by an Australian specialist police division. Injury records spanning four-years were analyzed. The role being performed when the injury occurred, injury cause, body part injured, and injury-related costs were quantified. The percentage of personnel injured multiple times was documented. One hundred and thirty eight personnel reported injuries, 58 of these on multiple occasions. This resulted in 229 injuries and 76 claims being raised. Half of the injuries occurred during operational policing tasks, however training activities accounted for >30% of injuries. The most common injury was strain/sprain, and upper body injuries were 2.5-times more common than lower-body or torso injuries. 1107 shifts were lost, and injuries cost the organization $487,159 (Australian Dollars) over the four-year period. The injury costs (both financial and in manpower) may prompt policy makers to review the current training and post-injury rehabilitation protocols.

Current military operations require soldiers to carry heavy external loads that are widely acknowledged to impair the ability to move tactically on the battlefield. However, to date, the effect of load on susceptibility to enemy fire (the probability of being hit) has not been examined. Nineteen soldiers completed a break contact simulation (five 30-m sprints commencing every 44 seconds) and a fire and movement simulation (sixteen 6-m bounds commencing every 20 seconds) in each of the 5 load conditions (ranging from 9.8 to 30.1 kg). For each simulation, the impact of load on exposure time and peak movement velocity was examined. In addition, the 6 fastest and 6 slowest soldiers (determined by exposure time in the heaviest condition) were parsed into subgroups to examine interindividual differences in response to load. Susceptibility for the 2 subgroups was modeled using exposure time for the 2 simulations and the assumed reaction time, shooting cadence, and shooting accuracy of the enemy. Susceptibility increased as a function of load for both the break contact and fire and movement simulations and became more pronounced when the participant population was parsed into fast and slow groups. When the impact of personal protection systems was isolated and analyzed, it was found that not only were the slower participants more vulnerable (as a result of not wearing the personal protection system) but also more susceptible than the faster participants who carried 11.2 kg more load. Large interindividual differences in response to external load have meaningful consequences for battlefield susceptibility, and it is therefore critical that personnel are afforded tailored training such that they maximize their proficiency in the execution of tactical combat movements.

This project was based on the premise that decisions concerning the ballistic protection provided to defence personnel should derive from an evaluation of the balance between protection level and its impact on physiological function, mobility, and operational capability. Civilians and soldiers participated in laboratory- and field-based studies in which ensembles providing five levels of ballistic protection were evaluated, each with progressive increases in protection, mass (3.4–11.0 kg), and surface-area coverage (0.25–0.52 m2). Physiological trials were conducted on volunteers (N = 8) in a laboratory, under hot-dry conditions simulating an urban patrol: walking at 4 km·h−1 (90 min) and 6 km·h−1 (30 min or to fatigue). Field-based trials were used to evaluate tactical battlefield movements (mobility) of soldiers (N = 31) under tropical conditions, and across functional tests of power, speed, agility, endurance, and balance. Finally, trials were conducted at a jungle training centre, with soldiers (N = 32) patrolling under tropical conditions (averaging 5 h). In the laboratory, work tolerance was reduced as protection increased, with deep-body temperature climbing relentlessly. However, the protective ensembles could be grouped into two equally stressful categories, each providing a different level of ballistic protection. This outcome was supported during the mobility trials, with the greatest performance decrement evident during fire and movement simulations, as the ensemble mass was increased (–2.12%·kg−1). The jungle patrol trials similarly supported this outcome. Therefore, although ballistic protection does increase physiological strain, this research has provided a basis on which to determine how that strain can be balanced against the mission-specific level of required personal protection.

Many police organisations incorporate specialist policing roles where incumbents are tasked with providing operational response capabilities above and beyond the general duties policing role. The current research utilised subjective job task analysis methods to identify and characterise the physically demanding, frequently occurring, and operationally important tasks, as well as the dominant fitness component for each task, inherent to specialist policing roles in an Australian policing organisation. This was achieved through engagement with subject matter experts and online survey responses from specialist police incumbents. In total, 11 criterion tasks were identified, which covered a range of physical capacities including muscular strength, muscular endurance, and aerobic power. The most physically demanding tasks included those with an arrest component, requiring high muscular strength and power capacities. Having identified the criterion tasks, three operational scenarios were constructed, which incorporated each of the 11 tasks in different operational contexts. The criterion tasks and composite scenarios will allow practitioners within specialised police units to develop evidence-based strategies, including physical selection procedures and physical training programs, specific to the demands of their work.

An examination into the effects of carried military equipment on the performance of two tactical combat movement simulations was conducted. Nineteen Airfield Defence Guards performed a break contact (five 30-m sprints) and a fire and movement simulation (16 6-m bounds) in five load conditions (10-30 kg). Heavier loads significantly increased movement duration on the break contact (0.8%/kg load) and fire and movement (1.1%/kg). Performance deterioration was observed from the beginning to the end of the series of movements (bounds or sprints) with deterioration becoming significantly greater in heavier load conditions. Inter-individual variation between slower and faster participants showed a range in load effects; 0.6, 0.8%/kg for fast and 1.0, 1.4%/kg for slow (break contact, fire and movement, respectively). Velocity profiles revealed that the initial acceleration and peak velocity were the primary determinants of performance. As the duration of these tactical combat movements reflects periods of heightened vulnerability, these findings highlight important implications for commanders. Practitioner Summary: Increasing amounts of carried military equipment impairs the performance of tactical combat movements. Examination of inter-individual variation in velocity profiles identified that the initial acceleration and the peak velocity achieved during sprints and bounds are key determinants of overall performance.