Use of Physical Fitness Assessments in Tactical Populations

Abstract

Physical fitness assessments for tactical occupations (e.g., military, law enforcement, and emergency services) can include predictive tests of anaerobic power, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, muscular power, strength, agility, and/or simulated occupational tasks. Not only can these tests be used to assess the ability of someone to undertake the job role but they can be used to determine injury risk, training failure, and/or general health. This review discusses different uses for physical fitness assessments and considerations for their use in tactical populations.

Body Composition, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, and Vitamin D are Associated with Army Combat Fitness Test Performance

“…Physical fitness assessments are widely used by the military and other service organizations to assess and verify personnel job-task capabilities, optimize physical training and performance, assess general health and well-being, and mitigate injury risk [ 1 ]. Since 1980, the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) has served as the physical fitness assessment to ensure soldiers are physically capable and prepared to deploy and support combat operations [ 2 ].…”

Profiling the New Zealand Police Trainee Physical Competency Test

“…Considering these sex and age-related differences, it is important to note that the occupational tasks required by police officers are sex and age neutral, being that a given task does not change with the sex or age of the officer. As such, typically, occupational assessments are based around the ability of a person to complete required occupational tasks regardless of sex or age ( 50 ). As an example, if the job requirement is to lift and carry a 13 kg artillery shell, the weight of the shell will not change with the lifter's sex or age.…”

Intellectual Potential, Personality Traits, and Physical Fitness at Recruitment: Relationship with Academic Success in Police Studies

“…The increasing diversification of police duties allows for precise definition of duties that require minimum physical fitness standards and those that require different standards for job performance (i.e., officers in cyber security, interrogation, forensics, and anti-corruption). This diversification allows occupational task centered models of physical fitness assessment where needed (i.e., more physically demanding roles) and human-centered assessments (i.e., sex and age adjusted physical fitness) to be employed where performance does not depend of physical fitness (Orr et al, 2021). These two approaches correspond to well-established health-related and performance-related physical fitness domains as described by the American College of Sports Medicine (Riebe et al, 2018).…”

“…To this end, and to ensure that police officers are physically capable of performing all occupational requirements safely and successfully, physical fitness assessments have been a mandatory part of the recruitment process (Anderson et al, 2001). Moreover, minimum standards for these assessments aim to ensure that every officer, regardless of sex, is physically fit enough to perform job tasks safely, (Gumieniak et al 2011; Orr et al, 2021; Shephard and Bonneau, 2002). These physical requirements have been recognized as an objective barrier to the entry of women into uniformed police service (Silvestri & Tong, 2020).…”