Reliability of FORCE COMBAT™: A Canadian army fitness objective

Area of Science:

• Military science
• Exercise physiology
• Human performance

Background:

• The Canadian Army's FORCE COMBAT™ is a critical physical employment standard.
• This standard includes a loaded march and a physical employment standard circuit.
• Establishing reliability and understanding measurement error are crucial for accurate assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the number of practice attempts needed for FORCE COMBAT™ reliability.
• To identify the minimal detectable change (MDC) for the FORCE COMBAT™ test.
• To inform optimal testing protocols for Canadian Army personnel.

Main Methods:

• A within-participant design was employed with 33 Canadian Army members.
• Participants completed multiple trials of the FORCE COMBAT™ or its circuit component.
• Reliability was analyzed using six statistical factors, focusing on variability between trials.

Main Results:

• Four statistical factors indicated that one maximal effort practice attempt is sufficient for reliability.
• Performance variability between the first and second trials supports this finding.
• The minimum detectable change was determined to be 89.18 seconds with 95% confidence.

Conclusions:

• Canadian Army members should undertake one maximal effort FORCE COMBAT™ practice attempt before formal testing.
• Individuals finishing within 89 seconds of the target time should be offered a full re-test.
• These findings enhance the reliability and fairness of the FORCE COMBAT™ assessment.