Assessing Fitness for Military Enlistment: Physical, Medical, and Mental Health Standards (2006)
Chapter: Front Matter
Assessing Fitness for Military Enlistment
Physical, Medical, and Mental Health Standards
Paul R. Sackett and Anne S. Mavor, Editors
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
The study was supported by Award No. M67004-00-C-0030 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Marine Corps. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Youth Population and Military Recruitment.
Assessing fitness for military enlistment : physical, medical, and mental health standards / Committee on the Youth Population and Military Recruitment ; Paul R. Sackett and Anne S. Mavor, editors.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-309-10079-8 (full book)—ISBN 0-309-65580-3 (pdfs) 1. United States—Armed Forces—Recruiting, enlistment, etc.—Standards 2. Soldiers—Health and hygiene—United States. 3. Youth—Health and hygiene—United States. 4. United States—Armed Forces—Medical examinations. 5. Manpower—United States. I. Sackett, Paul R. II. Mavor, Anne S. III. Title.
UB333.N382 2006
355.6′1—dc22
2005036191
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Copyright 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2006). Assessing Fitness for Military Enlistment: Physical, Medical, and Mental Health Standards. Committee on the Youth Population and Military Recruitment: Physical, Medical, and Mental Health Standards, Paul R. Sackett and Anne S. Mavor, editors. Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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COMMITTEE ON THE YOUTH POPULATION AND MILITARY RECRUITMENT: PHYSICAL, MEDICAL, AND MENTAL HEALTH STANDARDS
PAUL R. SACKETT (Chair),
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
DAVID J. ARMOR,
School of Public Policy, George Mason University
NOREEN M. CLARK,
School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
MARK J. EITELBERG,
Graduate School of Business and Public Policy, Naval Postgraduate School
BARBARA C. HANSEN,
Obesity, Diabetes and Aging Research Center at the College of Medicine of the University of South Florida, Tampa
PAUL F. HOGAN,
The Lewin Group Inc., Falls Church, VA
WILLIAM S. MARRAS,
Institute for Ergonomics, Ohio State University
STEPHEN W. MARSHALL,
Department of Epidemiology and Orthopedics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
RUSSELL R. PATE,
Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia
GARRISON RAPMUND,
Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University
THOMAS L. SCHWENK,
Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
WILLIAM J. STRICKLAND,
HumRRO, Alexandria, VA
STEPHEN B. THOMAS,
Center for Minority Health and Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
KAREN D. WAGNER,
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas, Galveston
ANNE S. MAVOR, Study Director
WENDY E. KEENAN, Senior Project Assistant
BOARD ON BEHAVIORAL, COGNITIVE, AND SENSORY SCIENCES
ANNE C. PETERSEN (Chair),
W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, MI
STEPHEN J. CECI,
Department of Human Development, Cornell University
EUGENE K. EMORY,
Department of Psychology, Emory University
ANTHONY W. JACKSON,
Asia Society, Los Angeles
ELISSA L. NEWPORT,
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester
MICHAEL L. RUTTER,
Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, London
JAMES W. STIGLER,
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
CHRISTINE R. HARTEL, Board Director
Acknowledgments
The committee is grateful for the many individuals who contributed information to this report and who were helpful throughout the study process (see Appendix C for a complete list of contributors). We would particularly like to thank Jeffrey Hoyle, Ohio State University, and Jennifer Grubb, University of South Carolina, for their contributions to the review and analyses of the military literature on musculoskeletal injury and fitness. The committee extends its gratitude to Bruce Jones, U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Injury Prevention, for his extensive briefings and assistance in data retrieval and analysis related to military fitness and injury and to Deborah Gebhardt, Human Performance Systems, Inc., for the information she provided on physical, medical, and mental health screening for civilian employment. We would also like to thank Margot Krauss and David Niebuhr for their informative presentations of findings from studies conducted at the Accessions Medical Standards Analysis and Research Activity.
The committee is most grateful to Curt Gilroy, director of accession policy, and Jane Arabian, assistant director for accession policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), for their interest and encouragement and in providing support for the study.
Staff of the National Research Council has contributed to this report in many ways. We would especially like to thank Wendy Keenan, the committee’s senior project assistant, for her indispensable work in organizing meetings, arranging travel, and compiling agenda material. We are also indebted to Christine McShane, who edited and significantly improved the report.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Wm. Cameron Chumlea, Departments of Community Health and Pediatrics, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH; G. Bruce Copley, Consultant, Flemington, NJ; Matthew J. Friedman, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, White River Junction, VT; Robert R. McMeekin, Consultant, Bethesda, MD; Ann Quigley, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security; Manmohan Ranadive, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Department of the Army, Ft. Detrick, MD; Hendrick W. Ruck, Human Effectiveness Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory; Brian J. Sharkey, Technology and Development Center, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, MT; and Martin F. Wiskoff, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Monterey, CA.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Johanna Dwyer, Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Appointed by the National Research Council, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Paul R. Sackett, Chair
Anne S. Mavor, Study Director
