Predicting Soldier Performance of the Casualty Evacuation

Abstract

Casualty evacuation from a wheeled vehicle is a common and life-saving Soldiering task that requires high levels of muscular strength and endurance. While completing a simulated casualty evacuation would be the best method for assessing a new recruit’s potential to perform the task, the use of physical fitness tests to predict their potential is more time efficient and may mitigate injury risk. PURPOSE: To determine the effectiveness of physical fitness tests (PFT) to assess an individual’s physical capabilities to perform a casualty evacuation. METHODS: While wearing a fighting load weighing approximately 71 lbs, 608 men and 230 women Soldiers evacuated a weighted haul bag through a simulated tank hatch on a platform. Weights for the haul bag started at 50 lbs and increased to 210 lbs by 10, 20 or 30 lb increments. Soldiers were stopped when they could no longer safely lift the bag or reached 210 lbs. Soldiers also performed 14 PPT while wearing shorts, t-shirts and athletic shoes. The PFTs included: dumbbell squat lift (SL), handgrip (HG), Upright Pull (UP), Illinois Agility test (IA), arm ergometer (AE), 9 kg powerball throw (PBT), isometric bicep curl (IBC), 2 kg medicine ball put (MBP), 20 m sled drag (RP), standing long jump (LJ), 300 m sprint (300), Beep test (BT), push-ups, and sit-ups. RESULTS: A stepwise multiple regression was used to develop the following equation (SEE = 21.1 lbs): 82.182 + 0.473 (SL-lbs) + 0.083 (HG-lbs) + -136.0 (IA-min) + 0.064 (UP-lbs) + 0.083 (AE-RPM). Approximately 62 percent of the variability in the prediction (i.e. R2) of casualty evacuation performance can be explained by the combination of the 5 PFTs. The SL, HG, UP and AE were all positively correlated with performance of the casualty evacuation while the IA was negatively correlated (p ≤ 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: A Soldier’s potential to complete the casualty evacuation can be predicted by the combination of the 5 PFTs in this model. Using these simple PFTs to assess physical capabilities for a physically demanding task would be more time efficient and safer.