Army Combat Fitness Test Relationships to Tactical Foot March Performance in Reserve Officers' Training Corps Cadets

The Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), consisting of deadlift, standing power throw, hand release push-up, sprint-drag-carry, leg tuck or plank, and 2-mile run, is the United States Army's new fitness test. The ACFT is designed to measure multiple fitness components required to perform combat tasks. One critical task is the tactical foot march (TFM), where soldiers cover long distances while carrying loads comprised of mission-essential equipment. As the ACFT is meant to predict soldier task performance, determining the relationships between the ACFT and the TFM is important. Data from 29 cadets (♂ = 20, ♀ = 9) from one university Reserve Officers' Training Corps program were analyzed. The ACFT was recorded in raw and scaled scores. The TFM was performed over 6.44 km, with time recorded. Cadets carried a 15.88-kg rucksack, fighting load carrier, 3-L hydration pack, and replica M4 carbine. Independent samples t-tests evaluated ACFT and TFM between-sex differences. Partial correlations, controlling for sex, determined ACFT event and TFM relationships. Male cadets outperformed females in all ACFT tasks (p ≤ 0.039), except the push-up. ACFT total score, leg tuck, 2-mile run, and sprint-drag-carry showed large correlations with the TFM (r = ±0.463-0.531, p ≤ 0.026). Aerobic and anaerobic capacity and upper body/trunk strength were important fitness components for cadet TFM performance.

Examination of the Effectiveness of Predictors for Musculoskeletal Injuries in Female Soldiers

The amount of training days lost to injury during military training has highlighted the need to identify a screening tool to predict injury. One hundred and fifty-eight female soldiers from the Combat Fitness Instructor Course (CFIC) of the Israel Defense Forces volunteered to participate in this study. All soldiers were free of orthopedic and neurologic conditions for at least one month before the study. All participants performed a battery of measurements during the first week of the course. Measures included anthropometric, functional movement screen (FMS), power performances (counter movement jump [CMJ], drop jump, single leg triple hop jump [SLTH], 10-m sprint) and a 2K run. Injury data was collected throughout the 3 month course. Median tests were used to compare between injured/non-injured soldiers. Chi-square and/or logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between various predictors and injury. Percent body fat [%BF] was higher (p = 0.04), distance for SLTH was less for both left and right legs (p = 0.029, p = 0.047 respectively) and 2K run was slower (p =0.044) in injured compared to non-injured soldiers. No differences between groups were noted in total FMS score, however more zero scores in one or more movement pattern were found in the injured group (51.35 % vs. 30.5% p=0.0293). Only %BF, 2K run and SLTH distance were significant predictors of injury (p = 0.05, p = 0.02, p =0.016 respectively). The results of this study indicated that the FMS total score is not a predictor of injury in female soldiers in a CFIC. We found that %BF, SLTH, 2K run time, 10 meter sprint time and zero scores differentiated between injured and non-injured soldiers. In addition, %BF, 2K run and SLTH were each found to be separate predictors of injury. Further research is needed to determine threshold scores that predict injury. Key pointsA total of 145 injuries were reported during the three month Combat Fitness Instructor Course in a female soldiers, 37 of these injuries resulted in absence from at least two days of training.FMS total score is not a predictor of injury in female soldiers in a CFIC. However, a score of zero, which is indicative of pain during movement, could serve as a warning sign for potential injury.%BF, SLTH, 10 meter sprint, 2K run and number of zero scores in FMS appear to differentiate between injured and non-injured soldiersSLTH, 2K run and body fat % are each separate predictors of injury for female soldiers in the CFIC.