MILITARY MEDICINE. 164.6:428. 1999

Fitness, Performance, and Risk of Injury inBritish Army Officer Cadets

Guarantor: Mark P. Rayson. PhOContributors: Georgina E. Har\vood, MSc*; Mark P. Rayson. PhO*; Alan M. Nevill. PhOt

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effective-ness of the Commissioning Course (CC) to develop and main-tain standards of fitness, to assess capability to perform mil-itary tasks, and to determine the relationship between fitnessand risk of injury in 106 British Army officer cadets (OCdts).Aerobic fitness, muscular strength, endurance, and body com-position were regularly assessed. Performance on four repre-sentative military tasks was measured at the end of the CC. Allinjuries in term 1 were documented. Over the CC, changes infitness were generally modest and equivocal. Aerobic fitnessimproved by approximately 10% (p < 0.01), strength by 5 to 9%(p < 0.05 to P < 0.01), and muscular endurance by 55% (p <0.01). Reductions in fat (p < 0.01) and gains in fat free mass(p < 0.05) averaged 3%. The females demonstrated greaterimprovements than the males. The majority of OCdts passedthe representative military tasks, although females in sometrades showed high failure rates. Forty-six percent of OCdtssustained injuries in the first term, resulting in 5% of man-days lost. No gender difference was found in injury rates. Theleast aerobically fit OCdts sustained more injuries than theirfitter counterparts. In conclusion, there is scope for optimiz-ing the effectiveness of the CC to enhance fitness and improvethe focus of physical training on maximizing military taskperformance.

Introduction

D espite increased automation and mechanization in militaryequipment, a high level of physical fitness remains a critical

requirement for soldiers to be able to perform their jobs effec-tively, In a military context, physical fitness is defined as thecapacity to meet the demands of the occupation and of unitmissions, The required levels of physical fitness can be achievedby selecting personnel with the right potential and by appropri-ate physical training (PI1 that complies with the basic principlesof progression, overload, recovery, and reversibility,1 A majorconsideration in the conception, design, and construction of anymilitary fYr program should be both the potential for improve-ment and the transfer of any fitness gains to enhance militaryperformance,1 These considerations are addressed in thispaper,

Three components of physical fitness have been identified asparticularly relevant to military performance: aerobic fitness,muscular strength/power, and muscular endurance,1.2 Bodymass and composition are additional factors that indirectly af-

fect military perfonnance. Military training, therefore, should bedirected at improving these components of fitness.

Several previous studies have evaluated the efficacy of BritishArmy training in improving physical fitness.3-6 But these studieshave focused on basic training in regular anny recruits ratherthan in officer cadets (OCdts), have involved training for a rela-tively short period (typically 6 to 10 weeks), and have focused onaerobic fitness often to the exclusion of the other relevant as-pects of fitness. The only published studies reporting fitnesschanges in male and female OCdts are those of Daniels et al!8in the United States.

The first study by Daniels et al.7 evaluated the effects ofability-grouped training programs on maximum oxygen con-sumption (VO2max) in 60 male and female OCdts during a6-week training program before the commencement of the aca-demic year at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Thetraining program consisted of a 30-min run five to six times perweek. VO2max, which was directly measured at the beginningand end of training using a maximal treadmill test, increased by8% in female OCdts but did not increase in male OCdts. Bothgenders reduced body fat-the males by 2% and the femalesby 3%.

The second study by Daniels et al.8 evaluated 11 male and 7female OCdts from the original 60, on five separate dates overthe ensuing 2-year training program. VO2max (l.min.-I) in-creased by 10% in males and 8% in females, lean body massincreased by 6% in both genders, and body mass increasedby 6% in males and 4% in females. Percent body fat was sig-nificantly reduced only after the first summer of training andthen returned to initial levels. Body mass-corrected VO2ma:"(ml.kg.-I.min.-l) did not change in males during the study, andthe elevated values (10%) seen in females after the initial 6weeks of training had dropped to a 4% gain by the end of the 2

years.The recent drive toward the wider employment of women in

the British Army and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) armies and the introduction of gender-free physical se-lection tests to the British Army on Aplill, 1998, has led to arenewed interest in fitness, capability to perfonn military tasks,the relationships between fitness and risk of injury, and anygender differences that might exist.

This paper reports on an investigation into the gains in fitnessproduced by 44 weeks of military training. The British Anny'sCommissioning Course (CC) for OCdts consists of three tenns of14 weeks each, plus 2 weeks of adveI:lturous training. The CCundergoes a continual process of validation to ensure the ap-propriateness of both the training objectives and methods.

The objectives of this study were threefold: first and prima:rily,to investigate the effectiveness of the 44-week course to developand maintain standards of individual fitness by quantifying

.Optlmal Perfonnance LimIted, Old Chambers, 93-94 West Street, Farnham, Sur-rey GU9 7EB, United Kingdom.

tSchool of Human Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street,Uverpool L3 3AK. United Kingdom.

ThIs manuscrtpt was received for review in April 1998. The revised manuscrtpt wasaccepted for publication in September 1998.

Reprtnt & Copyright @ by Association of Military Surgeons of U.S., 1999.

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Fitness.

Perfonnance, and Risk of Injury429

changes in relevant measures of fitness; second, to detennine ifOCdts could achieve the required standards on four job-relatedmilitary tasks; and third, to assess the relationship betweeninitial fitness levels and lisk of injury.

Methods

Study LocationThe study took place from September 1996 to September

1997 at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, United King-dom.

SubjectsOne hundred six OCdts participated in the study, comprising

68 males (mean age, 22.8 :t: 1.4 years; stature, 1,803 :t: 70 rom;body mass, 77.9 :t: 8.7 kg) and 38 females (mean age, 23.4 :t: 1.7years; stature, 1,668 :t: 49 mm; body mass, 65.5 :t: 5.3 kg).Ethics approval for the procedures was provided by the Univer-sity of Birmingham. Before the commencement of the study, allsubjects underwent medical examinations and written consentto participate was obtained.

I

Physical TrainingAs part of the 44-week CC program, in addition to other

physically demanding lessons, including military exercises anddrill, there were 93 formal JYr periods of 45 minutes. The totalnumber of JYr lessons and the programming of those lessonslargely reflected both experienced opinion of what JYr was re-quired and pragmatic considerations of the time and costs as-sociated with the entire CC.

The objectives of the JYr program were to develop and main-tain standards of individual fitness. Term I included 38 JYrperiods comprising 6 double lessons and 26 single lessons,which tended to focus on basic fitness and battle JYr. Term 2included 26 JYr periods comprising 6 double lessons and 14single lessons, which focused on endurance training and battleJYr. Term 3 included 29 JYr periods comprising II double lessonsand 7 single lessons, which concentrated on preparation for theSandhurst competitions and the military exercises in term 3.

I The 93 JYr periods were broadly classified as conditioning (8),! endurance training (mainly marching) (40), battle JYr (mainlyI assault course) (23), basic JYr (mainly gym skills) (13), and swim-

ming (8). An additional 7, 10, and 11 periods were used toundertake assessments of fitness and competitions for terms I,2, and 3, respectively..

effort run on a flat bitumen course. For both tests, duration ofrunning was recorded in seconds.

Muscular strength/power was assessed using three tests.Static lift strength (SLS) was assessed by the 38-cm uprightpull, as described by Knapik et al.IO This test determines thecomposite force produced by the muscles involved in hip andknee extension and elevation. A Takei dynamometer (Cranlea,

Birmingham, United Kingdom) with liquid crystal display wasused to record force production. One practice attempt and twomaximal efforts were permitted. Maximal force production wasrecorded in kilograms. Dynamic lift strength (DLS) was mea-sured using the incremental lift tesVI to a modified height of1.45 m (Campden Instruments, Loughborough, United King-dom). The initial load lifted (the mass of the carriage alone) was20 kg. Up to 32 2.5-kgweights could be added to the carriage byinserting a pin in the weight stack. Increments of 5 kg were usedinitially, and 2.5-kg increments were used as the subject ap-proached maximum. Maximum load lifted was recorded in kilo-grams. Back extension strength (BES) was measured using acustom-made back extension rig with a digital display unit

(Campden Instruments). Subjects stood upright facing the dy-namometer with a yoke around the shoulders and the hipsagainst a plate. One practice attempt-and two maximal effortswere performed, and maximal force production was recorded in

kilograms.Muscular endurance was measured using two tests: abdom-

inal curls and pull-ups. The maximal duration that a subjectcould sustain a progressive sit-up test was recorded in seconds

(National Coaching Foundation, Leeds, United Kingdom). Themaximum number of pull-ups that could be performed on a

gymnasium beam, performed with the chin brought above thebeam on the "up heave" and with the arms at full extension atthe low position, without rest, was recorded.

Percentage body fat (BF) was determined using an electricalimpedance device (Bodystat 1500, Bodystat, Douglas, Isle ofMan). 12-14 Fat free mass (FFM) was determined as the difference

between body mass and fat mass.

Military Tasks

Previous work15 identified standards on four representativemilitary tasks that British Amy soldiers were required toachieve. The required standards (referred to as levels 1.2. and3). which were endorsed by arms and service directorates. var-ied by trade. The representative military task protocols comprisea single lift. a carry. a repetitive lift. and a loaded march. Thesingle lift entailed progressive maximal lifting of a loaded am-munition box with handles. from the ground to a height of 1.45or 1.70 m (depending on trade). The carry involved continuouswalking up and down a 30-m course at a prescribed pace of 1.5m/s. carrying. for as long as possible. two plastic water canseach weighing 20 kg. The repetitive lift involved lifting a loadedammunition box with handles. weighing 10. 22. or 44 kg (de-pending on trade). from the ground. carrying it 10 m. and liftingit to a height of 1.45 m for 10. 15. or 20 minutes. respectively.The loaded march involved completing an B-mile flat bitumencourse as quickly as possible \\ith a rucksack loaded to 15. 20.or 25 kg (depending on trade).

Fitness Measurements

A battery of tests measuring aerobic fitness, muscular

strength/power, endurance. and body composition was per-formed in the first week of the CC and at the end of each 14-weekterm.

Aerobic fitness was estimated using a progressive 20-m mul-tistage fitness test (MSFT)9 and a 1.5-mile run. The MSFT in-volved

running back and forth along a 20-m track at a speedthat increased from 8 km/h by 0.5 km/h every minute. Runningspeed was indicated by audio signals. OCdts were withdrawnfrom

the test when they could no longer continue or failed tokeep up with the set speed. The 1.5-mile run involved a best-

Military

Medicine, Vol. 164. June 1999

430 Fitness, Performance. and Risk of Injury

in muscular strength were found. OCdts improved in both test,of muscular endurance (p < 0.01): abdominal curls by approx-imately 28% and pull-ups by 48% (males. 28%: females. 86%[p < 0.01)). Body mass decreased by approximately 3%, FFMincreased by 2%, and percent BF was reduced by 3.5% in malesand by 6.3% in females (all p < 0.01). Female OCdts lost signif-icantly more BF than their male counterparts (p < 0.01).

InjuriesFor the purposes of this paper. an injury was defmed as a

medical incident that resulted in attendance at the medicalreception station during term 1. The injuries were recorded in acomputer database by Army medical officers at the medicalreception station and later interpreted by a consultant orthope-dic physician and analyzed by the authors.

Term 2

The 1.5-mile run times showed no change, and the MSFTperformance times deteriorated in term 2 by approximately 3%(p < 0.01). DLS improved in both genders'in term 2 (p < 0.01),with the female OCdts improving to a greater extent (17%) thanthe males (2%) (p < 0.01). Overall, no changes in SLS or BESwere found. However, there was a tendency for the females toimprove SLS to a greater extent than the males (p < 0.05).Female OCdts improved their abdominal curls in term 2 by 2%,whereas male OCdt performance deteriorated by 1%. No signif-icant changes were noted in the other components of fitnessmeasured. Body mass increased by approximately 3% and per-cent BF by 4%, whereas FFM decreased by 1% in male andfemale OCdts.

Statistical Analysis

The statistical package Minitab16 (release 12) was used toanalyze the data. Repeated-measures analysis of variance(ANOVA). one factor between subjects (gender) and one factorwithin subjects (test occasion), was used to compare the fitnessresults. If the overall ANOV A tests proved significant, post hocindependent and paired t tests were used to examine differencesbetween gender and test occasion, respectively. No adjustmentof p values was deemed necessary (e.g., Bonferroni) because allcomparisons were planned. Male and female data are reportedcombined unless statistical differences were found. A two-wayANOV A using gender and injury was used to investigate therelationship between fitness and injury. Statistically significantdifferences were accepted at p < 0.05.

8J

ResultsTerm 3

In term 3. performance on the 1.5-mile run was unchangedand performance on the MSFT improved in male (8%) and dete-riorated in female (3%) OCdts (p < 0.01). SLS and DLS improvedby approximately 3% (both p < 0.05). No improvements in mus-cular endurance were found. Body mass increased by approxi-mately 2%. percent BF was reduced by 2% (p < 0.05), and FFMincreased by 3% in male and female OCdts (p < 0.05).

The fitness results (mean :!: SO) for male and female OCdts oneach test occasion are sho\Vll in Table I. The results from theANOVAs identified significant main effects for both gender andtest occasion for all fitness variables. Consequently. post hoc ttests were performed to establish when changes in fitness statushad occurred.

Term 1

In tenn 1. aerobic fitness ~s measured by both tests improved(p < 0.01). Female OCdts showed greater improvements in per-formance than male OCdts (11 vs. 9% in the 1.5-mile run!p <0.011, and 16 vs. 5% in the MSFT [p < 0.05]). No improvements

Terms 1 to 3

Duling the 44-week CC (i.e., from the start of term 1 to theend of term 3), improvements in all components of fitness wereevident. Aerobic fitness as measured by the MSFT improved by10% for male and female OCdts (p < 0.01). Time to complete the

TABLE I

FITNESS RESULTS AT WEEKS 13.27. AND 40

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432 Fitness, Perfonnance. and Risk of InjulY

TABLE ill

5-MILE RUN TIMES BY GENDER AND INJURY

Mean Run Time(seconds)

558568676730

InjuryNoYes

NoYes

SD12.510.920.716.9

Gender

MaleMaleFemaleFemale

tionship between 1.5-mile run time and injury, with the menand women who sustained injuries having slower run timesthan those who did not (p < 0.05). The results are shown inTable III. No interactive effects of gender were found in thisrelationship.

Discussion

In e,'aluating our primary objective of investigating the effec-tiveness of the CC to develop and maintain standards of indi-vidual fitness, it must be recognized that fitness represents onlyone aspect of the objectives of the CC and only part of the JYrobj ecti"es , The overall objective of the CC is to develop thequalities of leadership, character, and intellect demanded of aBritish Army officer. The implementation of any changes to theCC based on the findings of this study need to bear in mind thebroader context and wider objectives of the CC,

The effectiveness of the JYr program is ostensibly confirmed bythe finding that 91 % of OCdts who completed the CC achievedtheir formal JYr objectives at the first attempt and all OCdtspassed on subsequent attempts. These JYr objectives include thecombat fitness test (an 8-mile loaded march), the commandant'sindividual fitness test (a 3.2-mile loaded march plus assaultcourse), the basic fitness test (1.5-mile run, pull-ups, and sit-ups), plus additional physical skills such as swimming, indoorassault course, and agility.

However, the high pass rate does not in itself mean that theCC was effective in improving fitness, nor does it demonstratethat these OCdts were fit to perform the variety of physical tasksdemanded of their jobs, This study found that although the CCas a whole produced training-related gains in all components offitness that are known to be related to military performance,there were variations in the magnitude and direction of changeand in the rates of progression during the three terms andbetween genders, Although it might be argued that the magni-tude of improvement and the rates of progression in fitness areof little importance given that the training objectives wereachieved, this argument is flawed for several reasons,

First, both fmancial and human resources are limited duringthe CC, as they are in all armed forces in NATO countries, andthere is a drive toward efficiency and optimization of trainingregimens, An optimal training program will involve progressivechanges in fitness to the point at which the fitness objectiveshave been achieved. A maintenance fitness program should beused to maintain desired fitness levels and to prevent a decline, 1

Second, a smooth, progressive fitness gain achieved throughappropriate activities and an appropriate volume of training isassociated with lower rates of injury ,17.18 Despite the reductionsbrought about under the British government's Options for

Change. 19 the Blitish Army faced a shortfall in manpower. At

tlition through injury must be minimized to protect the Army'smost valuable asset.

Third. the training objectives of the CC may not reflect thedepth or breadth of the true demands of soldieling or of fulfillingthe duties required of an officer. Meeting the CC's fYr objectives,therefore, may not be the most appropliate clitelion againstwhich to judge the physical training program.

Analysis of the changes in the different components of fitnessthroughout the CC reveals the lack of smooth progression offitness and the failure to maintain standards of fitness, therebyproviding an insight into when and where modifications to theprogram (both in the fYr and other aspects of the program) mightbe sought.

Aerobic fitness improved by approximately 10% duling thecr. Most of this gain occurred in term 1. when the majolity ofthe running endurance training occurred. and fe\v changes oc-curred thereafter, when the number of fYr peliods was reducedand running endurance training was largely replaced by pro-gressive marching endurance training. It appears that there wasbarely sufficient aerobic training stimulus to maintain aerobicfitness duling subsequent terms.

The improvements in aerobic fitness in term 1 are largelycomparable with those improvements seen duling basic militarytraining in several NATO countlies1.20 and with those seen dur-ing OCdt training in the United States!8 The greater initialgains in aerobic fitness in female OCdts relative to their malecolleagues in this study and the studies of Daniels et al.? prob-ably reflect both a lower initial level of fitness and a greater lossin body fat (see below). The decline in fitness levels of femaleOCdts in the later stages of training also mirror the findings ofDaniels et al.,8 suggesting that the stimulus for increasing aer-obic fitness early duling longer military training courses is notsustained and that greater attention needs to be paid to main-taining aerobic fitness levels, especially in females.

Strength gains were modest and equivocal. improving by be-tween 0 and 9% duling the CC, with most of the improvementoccurling in terms 2 and 3, perhaps as a result of the cumula-tive effects of battle fYr. which included some strength-relatedactivities such as rope and wall climbing. The modest increasesare not unexpected given the lack of emphasis afforded tostrength training in the Blitish Army in general4.6 and in the CCfYr program in particular. However, this lack of emphasis issurplising in light of the importance of strength-related materialhandling activities reported for the U.S. Army,21.22 the CanadianForces,23 and more recently the British Army. IS

No strength data are available for comparisons with otherOCdt populations. The improvements observed in this study donot compare favorably with strength gains achieved dulingmuch shorter basic military training courses in other NATOcountries,l in which improvements were typically 5 to 15%.However, they are in broad agreement with improvements doc-umented during British Army basic training, in which meanchanges were 7%20 and 2%.6

Muscular endurance as measured by abdominal curls im-proved by 18% in male OCdts and 44% in female OCdts duringthe cr. Pull-ups, the other test of "endurance," was more a testof strength in the female OCdts, in that few of them couldachieve more than one or two repetitions. The percentage im-

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Fitness. Perfonnance. and Risk of Injury433

provement for the female OCdts, therefore, is misleading. Bothabdominal curls and pull-ups are part of the CC Term FitnessAssessment, which, as the name suggests, is conducted eachterm. OCdts practiced these tests, although did not train forthem in any systematic or sustained manner. The greater im-provements in these test scores demonstrate the potential forfitness gains during the CC with more structured and focusedJYf. Again, most of the improvements were achieved during term1. This was probably a function of the greater potential for gainsassociated with lower initial levels of fitness and the greaterconcentration of JYf lessons and a greater training intensityearly in the 44-week program.

There are no comparative muscular endurance data on OCdtsin the literature. A comparison with changes in abdominal curls

I and pull-ups during recent British Army basic training studies

showed improvements of 37% for abdominal curls in a mixed-gender group and 11% for pull-ups in men.2o

Body mass, BF, and FFM all exhibited fluctuating changesduring the CC. Although body mass was the same at the end ofthe CC as at the beginning, changes did occur during the threeterms. The 3% decrease in body mass seen in term 1 was com-pensated for by a similar increase in term 2, and term 3 wit-nessed a further 2% increase, resulting in OCdts ending the CCheavier than they began. A recent study in the United Kingdomshowed no change during 10 weeks of basic training,20 althoughno data exist on OCdts.

Changes in BF were also neither smooth nor systematic dur-ing the year, although the net result was a reduction of approx-imately 3% during the CC. Term 1 witnessed a substantial lossof BF, especially in the females (6%), the loss corresponding tothe most physically demanding and hectic term. However, term2 saw an increase in BF in men back to baseline levels, and term3 witnessed a further reversal of the trend. There is no obviousexplanation for these fluctuations in terms 2 and 3, althoughthe general pace of life at the academy after term 1 was notice-ably more relaxed. BF was reported to be reduced initially in thestudies by Daniels et al.,7 although their 2-year studt sawlevels return to baseline by study end. A recent British Armybasic training study reported losses of 4.5% in female and 0.5%in male recruits.20

FFM increased by approximately 3% during the CC, account-i ing for most of the gain in body mass. although again the trends, reversed during the year. Term 1 saw an increase of 2%.. term 2,

saw a slight downward turn, and term 3 saw a further increasej of 3%. As discussed above, the absence of any systematic

strength training means that the observed gains in FFM aredifficult to link to the JYf program. A possible explanation for thenet gains might be found in the increasing physical maturation

, of the OCdts: FFM is reported to increase until around the age of

30.24 A recent study of British Army basic trainees saw a 5%increase in FFM20 during the 10 weeks using the same measure-ment techniques. Daniels et al.s reported a 6% increase inOCdts of both genders.

The results from the representative military tasks indicatethat the majority of OCdts achieved, and many surpassed, theminimum physical requirements set by their arms and services.Only the level-l tasks (single lift, carry, and repetitive lift) re-sulted in some failures. The small failure rates in the men (6 and5% in the level-l single lift and repetitive lift. respectively) pro-

vide no cause for concern, but the failure rates in the femaleOCdts (100, 25, and 50% in the level-l single lift, cany, and

repetitive lift, respectively) suggest that a sizable proportion offemales in the physically demanding trades do not have the

required physical capabilities to meet the standards set by theirarms and services.

There are three potential solutions to this problem. First,redesign the tasks so that the physical standards, and the phys-ical demands on which they are based, are reduced. Second,

impose physical selection standards on entrants that will en-sure that the required output standards can be achieved giventhe stimulus provided by the existing 44-week cr. Or third,improve the effectiveness of the CC to produce larger gains infitness and physical performance to bridge any deficit betweenthe capabilities of the OCdts and the requirements of their jobs.A modified PT program with an increased emphasis on resis-tance training to increase strength, especially in the upper body,would partly mitigate the projected failure rates on the repre-sentative military tasks in female soldiers in the physically de-manding trades in the British Army.6

The 46% incidence of injury in OCdts in the fIrst 14 weeks oftraining and the 5% loss of available man-days are not dissim-ilar to statistics published for other military training regimens inother countries. I However, the fmding that the incidence of

injury in male and female OCdts was similar is contrary toreported fmdings that suggest that the incidence of injuryamong female recruits is approximately double that among malerecruits. 1.25

The reasons for this discrepant finding are uncertain. Oneplausible explanation is that male and female OCdts on the CCtrain in single-gender platoons and must meet "gender-fair"physical standards. This is in noticeable contrast to basic train-ing in the British Army, in which male and female recruits areintegrated in mixed-gender platoons and, as of April I, 1998,common gender-free physical standards are applied at entryand exit.

Given the differences between genders in the various aspectsof fitness,24 especially in upper body strength,26.27 a segregatedtraining program makes it easier to tailor the intensity of thetraining stimulus to the fitness of the individual. This is espe-cially true in squad activities such as running and marching, inwhich ability groups offer a greater potential for optimizing thetraining stimulus and reducing the risk of injury .28

A number of risk factors for injury relating to fitness andlifestyle have been identified in recruits.I.25.27.29 These factorsinclude low activity levels before commencing training, low aer-obic fitness and muscular strength, high body mass index. highand low body fat, smoking, alcohol consumption, and previousinjury.

The size of the data set in this study was small, and thesensitivity of the all-cause injury data was rather weak for thistype of analysis. Notwithstanding these limitations, we wereable to substantiate the association between aerobic fitnesslevels as measured by the 1.5-mile run and the risk of all-causeinjury in this population of OCdts. This fmding substantiatesthe rationale for aerobic fitness standards for entry into theBritish Army not only to ensure operational effectiveness butalso to manage the risk of injury in soldiers.

While this study was being conducted, both the PT objectivesfor the CC and the British Army's fitness strategy and policy

Military Medicine. Vol. 164. June 1999

1

434 Fitness. Perfonnance. and Risk of Injury

were under review. The fonnulation of new policy is hindered bya lack of understanding of the physical requirements of soldier-ing in general and more specifically of soldiers of different ranksand in different trades. Greater international efforts to under-stand and quantify the physical demands of soldiering are re-quired. This infonnation should underpin the fonnulation ofphysical selection standards and JYr objectives for all armedforces

personnel. .

Conclusion

The findings from this study suggest that the CC was effectivein inducing gains in most components of fitness that are rele-vant to military performance, but the changes were generallymodest and equivocal. Aerobic fitness, muscular endurance,and body composition showed small favorable improvements,but there was minimal improvement in muscular strength,probably because of a lack of any formal strength training in theprogram. There is scope for optimizing the effectiveness of theCC to develop and maintain fitness.

The majority of OCdts achieved the minimum physical re-quirements set by their arms and services. However, a sizableproportion of female OCdts in the physically demanding tradesfailed to meet the standards. If female OCdts are to meet thesestanrlards, either the military tasks must be redesigned, appro-priate physical selection standards must be implemented, or theIYr must be made more effective. Strength training is noticeablyabsent from the IYr program, and its inclusion offers scope foroptimizing military task performance.

All-cause injury rates in OCdts were high, with 46% of OCdtssustaining injuries in the first 14 weeks of training, but thesefigures were in line with those from other military training pro-grams. The incidence of injury in male and female OCdts wassimilar. An association between aerobic fitness levels and risk ofall-cause injury in this population of OCdts was found, substan-tiating the desirability for mcluding aerobic fitness assessmentin the selection procedures.

AcknowledgementThis work was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Defence.

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