Dawes, Jay

Orr, Rob Marc

Schram, Ben

Singh, Jaslyen

Strader, Jessica

Thomas, Rhiannon

English

Purpose: Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) personnel are highly-trained individuals who possess skills that exceed capabilities and training level of general law enforcement or military personnel. To be selected into a specialist unit, candidates must typically complete some form of selection testing which assesses the candidate’s ability to meet a stringent physical fitness standard and as well as their suitability for specialist service.The aims of this critical review were to identify, critically appraise and to synthesise the findings of current literature on the use of fitness testing to predict specialist personnel selection and to present their findings. Methods: A systematic review was completed from three (Pubmed CINAHL and Medline) databases known for publishing studies or relevance to this field. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. All studies were critically appraised using the CASP cohort study checklist with the interrater agreement calculated via Krippendorff’s Alpha coefficient. The final Critical Appraisal Scores (CAS) of the CASP were calculated by the averaging of the three rater scores for each paper (out of twelve).Results: The mean CASP score of the eight selected studies was 10.8 ±1.4 points (range 8-12 points). The Krippendorff’s alpha indicated a strong agreement between the three raters (kalpha = 0.733). It was found in four out of the eight studies that push-ups, pull-ups and/or sit-ups were statistically significant predictors of successful selection. Additionally, five studies reported that aerobic fitness measures were indicative of success (bleep test, 2-mile run and loaded pack march). Conclusion: The literature review concluded there were conflicting results as to what fitness measures could predict selection into the specialist team. This may be due to the specifics of the selection process where different requirements may influence the fitness measures of importance (e.g. pack march a greater indicator if the selection processes includes a high volume of loaded walking). However, upper body and trunk strength and endurance were identified as successful predictors of successful selection as was aerobic capacity. Additional research is required to develop a battery of fitness assessments, specific to each unit, to improve the selection process for specialist tactical personnel

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Bond UniversityResearch RepositoryThe use of fitness testing to predict survivability in selection of specialist tactical personnelThomas, Rhiannon ; Strader, Jessica; Singh, Jaslyen; Orr, Rob Marc; Schram, Ben; Dawes,JayPublished: 01/03/2019Document Version:Peer reviewed versionLink to publication in Bond University research repository.Recommended citation(APA):Thomas, R., Strader, J., Singh, J., Orr, R. M., Schram, B., & Dawes, J. (2019). The use of fitness testing topredict survivability in selection of specialist tactical personnel. Poster session presented at Rocky MountainAmerican College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting 2019, Denver, United States.General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright ownersand it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.For more information, or if you believe that this document breaches copyright, please contact the Bond University research repositorycoordinator.Download date: 22 Aug 2019                                                                                                          The Use Of Fitness Testing To Predict Survivability In Selection Of Specialist Tactical PersonnelINTRODUCTIONMETHODS• The mean CASP score of the eight studies was 10.8 ±1.4, thescores ranged from 8 to 12, with the most rater disagreement onQuestion 11.• The Krippendorff’s alpha indicated a strong agreement betweenthe three raters (k = 0.733).• Of the 8 studies included, 7 included military special forces and 1specialist police.• It was found in 4 out of the 8 studies analysed that push-ups,pull-ups and/or sit-ups were statistically associated withsuccessful selection (see Table 1) [2, 4, 5, 6].• Of the 8 studies reviewed, 5 studies reported that aerobic fitnessmeasures were indicative of success (bleep test, 2-mile run andruck/pack march) (see Table 1) [2, 3, 5, 7, 9].• A three-step approach was used to locate all relevant studies toinform this critical review (see Figure 1).• The first step was a search of three different key databases(Pubmed, CINAHL and Medline) using dedicated search terms.• Once all relevant articles were obtained, duplicates wereremoved. The articles were then screened by title and abstractfor relevance by three reviewers (JS, JS and RT) to reduceselection bias with the following inclusion criteria:i. Must contain tactical personnelii. Must contain a selection or specialist training process, andiii. Must contain a fitness measure• Articles were excluded based on the following exclusion criteria:i. Non-specialistii. Not selection based, oriii. Did not include a measure of selection outcome• All studies were critically appraised using the CASP cohort studychecklist with the interrater agreement calculated viaKrippendorff’s Alpha coefficient.• The final Critical Appraisal Scores (CAS) of the CASP werecalculated by the averaging of the three rater scores for eachpaper (out of 12).1. National Tactical Officers Association, SWAT Standards For Law Enforcement Agencies.2008.2. Teplitzky, M.L., Physical performance predictors of success in Special Forces assessmentand selection. 1991, Army Research Inst for the Behavioral and Social SciencesAlexandria VA.3. Vrijkotte, S., et al., Refining Selection for Elite Troops by Predicting Military TrainingOutcome. Aerosp Med Hum Perform, 2017. 88(9): p. 850-857.4. Carlson, M.J. and S.P. Jaenen, The development of a preselection physical fitness trainingfor Canadian Special Operations Regiment applicants. J Strength Cond Res, 2012. 26Suppl 2: p. 2-14.5. Hunt, A.P., R.M. Orr, and D.C. Billing, Developing physical capability standards that arepredictive of success on Special Forces selection courses. Mil Med, 2013. 178(6): p. 619-24.6. Orr, R., et al., Selecting the Best of the Best: Associations between Anthropometric andFitness Assessment Results and Success in Police Specialist Selection. Int J Exerc Sci,2018. 11(4): p. 785-796.7. Allsopp, A.J. and A. Shariff, Improving the selection of candidates for Royal Marinerecruit training by the use of a combination of performance tests. J R Nav Med Serv,2004. 90(3): p. 117-24.8. Pleban, R.J., H.L. Allentoff, and T.J. Thompson, Preliminary assessment of selectedpredictors of special forces qualification course success. 1989, Army Research Inst forthe Behavioral and Social Sciences Alexandria VA9. Zazanis, M.M., et al., Prescreening Methods for Special Forces Assessment and Selection.1999, Army Research Inst for the Behavioral and Social Sciences Alexandria VA.• Specialist personnel, like police officers serving in SpecialWeapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams or military Special Forces arehighly-trained individuals who play a vital role in both nationaland international operations. Their skills usually exceed thecapabilities and training level of general law enforcement ormilitary personnel [1].• In order to be selected into a specialist unit, candidates musttypically complete some form of selection testing which assessesthe candidate’s ability to meet a stringent physical fitnessstandard and as well as their suitability for specialist service [2].• Given the benefit of specialist selection fitness testing, butpotential conflicts in findings, the aims of this critical review wereto identify, critically appraise and to synthesise the findings ofcurrent literature on the use of fitness testing to predict specialistpersonnel selection and to present their findings.KEY REFERENCES1Bond Institute of Health and Sport, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia,  2Tactical Research Unit, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 3University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA 80918Contact: rorr@bond.edu.auRESULTS & SYNTHESISRhiannon Thomas1 , Jessica Strader1, Jaslyen Singh1, Robin Orr1,2, Ben Schram1,2 and Jay Dawes3.Table 1. Reported physical fitness measures associated with successful selection.Figure 1. PRISMA flow chart depicting screening and selection process for critical review.CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONSFrom the literature reviewed, there were conflicting results as towhich fitness measures are associated with successful selectioninto a specialist force. Upper body and trunk strength andendurance were identified as being associated with successfulselection. Possessing a high aerobic capacity and the ability tocarry load over a longer distance were also of importance.Measures that are most associated with success may be coursespecific.Records identified through database searching(n = 1476)(PUBMED n = 1185)(MEDLINE n = 202)(CINAHL n = 89)Additional records identified though Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)(n = 3)Records after duplicates removed(n = 1283)Records screened(n = 1283)Full-text articles assessed for eligibility(n = 37)Studies included in qualitative synthesis(n = 8)Records excluded(n = 1246)Full-text articles excluded, with reasons(n = 29)Reason: Not special forces(n = 25)Not selection based (n =  3)Did not include a measure of selection outcome(n = 1)IdentificationIncludedEligibility Screening2019 RMACSM Annual MeetingMarch 1st - 2nd 2019

The use of fitness testing to predict survivability in selection of specialist tactical personnel

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The use of fitness testing to predict survivability in selection of specialist tactical personnel

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