Evaluation Of The Strength Aptitude Test And Other Fitness Tests To Qualify Air Force Recruits For Physically Demanding Specialties

The Air Force uses the Strength Aptitude Test (SAT) to determine whether recruits meet the fitness levels needed to perform the duties of various Air Force specialties with physical strength requirements. However, the SAT was developed in the early 1980s and has not been revalidated since then. In the interim, the duties associated with many Air Force Specialty Code classifications may have changed, and new ones have been added. These changes require a reevaluation of the SAT's utility and effectiveness for qualifying recruits into these specialties. This report evaluates the status and validity of the SAT in a series of studies and summarizes the studies RAND has completed independently and one study conducted in conjunction with HumRRO, which provided the additional data necessary to develop some courses of action for the Air Force to follow to ensure airmen can meet job-related physical requirements.

The previous edition of the International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors made history as the first unified source of reliable information drawn from many realms of science and technology and created specifically with ergonomics professionals in mind. It was also a winner of the Best Reference Award 2002 from the Engineering Libraries Division, American Society of Engineering Education, USA, and the Outstanding Academic Title 2002 from Choice Magazine. Not content to rest on his laurels, human factors and ergonomics expert Professor Waldemar Karwowski has overhauled his standard-setting resource, incorporating coverage of tried and true methods, fundamental principles, and major paradigm shifts in philosophy, thought, and design. Demonstrating the truly interdisciplinary nature of this field, these changes make the second edition even more comprehensive, more informative, more, in a word, encyclopedic. Keeping the format popularized by the first edition, the new edition has been completely revised and updated. Divided into 13 sections and organized alphabetically within each section, the entries provide a clear and simple outline of the topics as well as precise and practical information. The book reviews applications, tools, and innovative concepts related to ergonomic research. Technical terms are defined (where possible) within entries as well as in a glossary. Students and professionals will find this format invaluable, whether they have ergonomics, engineering, computing, or psychology backgrounds. Experts and researchers will also find it an excellent source of information on areas beyond the range of their direct interests.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) faces short-term and long-term challenges in selecting and recruiting an enlisted force to meet personnel requirements associated with diverse and changing missions. The DoD has established standards for aptitudes/abilities, medical conditions, and physical fitness to be used in selecting recruits who are most likely to succeed in their jobs and complete the first term of service (generally 36 months). In 1999, the Committee on the Youth Population and Military Recruitment was established by the National Research Council (NRC) in response to a request from the DoD. One focus of the committee's work was to examine trends in the youth population relative to the needs of the military and the standards used to screen applicants to meet these needs. When the committee began its work in 1999, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force had recently experienced recruiting shortfalls. By the early 2000s, all the Services were meeting their goals; however, in the first half of calendar year 2005, both the Army and the Marine Corps experienced recruiting difficulties and, in some months, shortfalls. When recruiting goals are not being met, scientific guidance is needed to inform policy decisions regarding the advisability of lowering standards and the impact of any change on training time and cost, job performance, attrition, and the health of the force. Assessing Fitness for Military Enlistment examines the current physical, medical, and mental health standards for military enlistment in light of (1) trends in the physical condition of the youth population; (2) medical advances for treating certain conditions, as well as knowledge of the typical course of chronic conditions as young people reach adulthood; (3) the role of basic training in physical conditioning; (4) the physical demands and working conditions of various jobs in today's military services; and (5) the measures that are used by the Services to characterize an individual's physical condition. The focus is on the enlistment of 18- to 24-year-olds and their first term of service.

"Prepared for the United States Air Force."