Executive Summary From the National Strength and Conditioning Association's Second Blue Ribbon Panel on Military Physical Readiness

Abstract

The National Strength and Conditioning Association's tactical strength and conditioning program sponsored the second Blue Ribbon Panel on military physical readiness: military physical performance testing, April 18-19, 2013, Norfolk, VA. This meeting brought together a total of 20 subject matter experts (SMEs) from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and academia representing practitioners, operators, researchers, and policy advisors to discuss the current state of physical performance testing across the Armed Services. The SME panel initially rated 9 common military tasks (jumping over obstacles, moving with agility, carrying heavy loads, dragging heavy loads, running long distances, moving quickly over short distances, climbing over obstacles, lifting heavy objects, loading equipment) by the degree to which health-related fitness components (e.g., aerobic fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition) and skill-related fitness components (e.g., muscular power, agility, balance, coordination, speed, and reaction time) were required to accomplish these tasks. A scale from 1 to 10 (10 being highest) was used. Muscular strength, power, and endurance received the highest rating scores. Panel consensus concluded that (a) selected fitness components (particularly for skill-related fitness components) are currently not being assessed by the military; (b) field-expedient options to measure both health-based and skill-based fitness components are currently available; and

International consensus on military research priorities and gaps — Survey results from the 4th International Congress on Soldiers’ Physical Performance

“…18 A Blue Ribbon Panel on military physical performance testing, sponsored by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, rated muscular strength, power, and endurance as important fitness components to accomplish selected military tasks. 10 These findings are in agreement with the current study, where physical training programs for strength and endurance were ranked among the top 10 priority areas.…”

“…The strong agreement on what were the most important priority areas suggests that more attention needs to be given to these critical areas. Physical demands in operational environments 2 ,12,13 and measuring physical performance/fitness [8][9][10]14 have been identified as important priority areas in previous publications as well.…”

“…7 Also, poor performance on health-and skill-related fitness assessments has been shown to be associated with higher injury risk, 9 but skill-related fitness components are not being assessed by military populations. 10 The 4th ICSPP was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 2017. Similar to the 3rd ICSPP, a survey was completed by registrants of the 4th ICSPP.…”

Comparison of characteristics and outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention in military and non-military men

“…Living in a military environment as a unique job and lifestyle may highly affect physical and mental status of military personnel12; because of regular sports programmes, military men may have better physical fitness compared with general population 13. In the present study, military men had lower BMI, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia that could be reflectors of better physical fitness in this patient group—on the other hand, younger age and higher prevalence of hypertension in military men showed that factors other than physical fitness may play a role in CAD.…”

A balance and proprioception intervention programme to enhance combat performance in military personnel

“…The lower extremities, particularly the ankle joints, require optimal functioning during repeated movements on unstable surfaces, especially when accompanied by a significant amount of external weight 11. When assessing nine common military tasks among military services worldwide, PB ability was found to be one of the most important skill-related fitness components 14. PB and proprioceptive intervention programmes were found to be of significant importance for optimising military physical readiness and for preventing musculoskeletal injuries to the ankle and torso of young combat soldiers 14 15.…”