Development of a multidimensional military readiness assessment

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Military Medicine
• Human Performance Assessment

Background:

• Accurate evaluation of injured service member return-to-duty capability is critical for mission success and safety.
• Current assessments often lack comprehensive physical and cognitive challenge in a military-relevant context.
• Virtual reality (VR) systems offer promising simulation and data capture for multidimensional performance evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce REDOp2, an improved iteration of the Readiness Evaluation During simulated Dismounted Operations (REDOp) assessment.
• To address limitations of the original REDOp assessment.
• To enhance the measurement of physical and cognitive performance for military return-to-duty evaluations.

Main Methods:

• Development of REDOp2, building upon the previous REDOp assessment within the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN).
• Focus on overcoming specific limitations identified in the original REDOp.
• Streamlining the assessment process to challenge and measure a broader range of performance domains.

Main Results:

• REDOp2 offers a more comprehensive and streamlined approach to assessing physical and cognitive performance.
• The new iteration addresses key limitations of the original REDOp assessment.
• The assessment is designed for use in facilities equipped with CAREN systems.

Conclusions:

• REDOp2 represents a significant advancement in virtual reality-based military performance assessment.
• The system has the potential to provide effective, thorough evaluations for wounded service members prior to return to duty.
• Further steps are suggested for implementation readiness to ensure team and mission safety.