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To ensure its service members have the requisite physical fitness to serve, the Department of the Air Force (DAF) has established a variety of medical and physical standards. The DAF also recognizes that building a more comprehensive understanding of how different factors influence exercise habits, test preparation, and the perceived importance of fitness is critical to promoting a ready and deployable force. The authors evaluate Air Force (AF) data relevant to the Tier 1 fitness assessment (FA) from all AF-FAs completed by active duty officers and enlisted personnel from fiscal year (FY) 2005 to FY 2018 to examine the fitness of the AF's active component. The Tier 1 FA consists of four components: a 1.5-mile run or 2.0-kilometer walk, designed to measure cardiorespiratory fitness; an abdominal circumference (AC) measurement for body composition; and push-ups and sit-ups, which assess muscular fitness. In this study, the authors explore the relationships between component fitness scores with career and health outcomes and examine airmen's perceptions of current fitness policies and the culture of fitness across the DAF. They conclude by recommending several strategies to improve the rationale for and the validity and acceptance of the AF-FA.

The U.S. Air Force asked the RAND Corporation to assist its development and validation of gender-neutral tests and standards for battlefield airmen (BA) specialties. The Air Force has conducted an extensive validation study of occupational relevance of physical fitness tests and standards. Following the fitness test validation study, one enlisted specialty (Tactical Air Control Party [TACP]) and one officer BA specialty (Air Liaison Officer [ALO]) moved forward with an implementation plan to further evaluate a set of recommended tests and continuation standards. This study describes RAND's assistance to the Air Force on two fronts: (1) conducting a preliminary evaluation of potential issues and concerns that might influence implementation effectiveness and (2) developing a framework for evaluating the implementation of occupationally relevant and specific tests and standards. This work provides the foundation for ongoing review and evaluation of Air Force fitness tests and standards, which are designed to ensure that airmen are capable of performing critical physical tasks associated with their assigned specialties.

The Air Force uses the Strength Aptitude Test (SAT) to determine whether recruits meet the fitness levels needed to perform the duties of various Air Force specialties with physical strength requirements. However, the SAT was developed in the early 1980s and has not been revalidated since then. In the interim, the duties associated with many Air Force Specialty Code classifications may have changed, and new ones have been added. These changes require a reevaluation of the SAT's utility and effectiveness for qualifying recruits into these specialties. This study evaluates the status and validity of the SAT in a series of studies and summarizes the studies RAND has completed independently and one study conducted in conjunction with HumRRO, which provided the additional data necessary to develop some courses of action for the Air Force to follow to ensure airmen can meet job-related physical requirements.

This study is one of a series designed to support Air Force leaders in promoting resilience among its Airmen, civilian employees, and Air Force family members. It examines the relationship between psychological fitness and resilience, using key constructs found in the scientific literature that address self-regulation, positive affect, perceived control, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and optimism. Supporting or increasing the levels of the key measures of psychological fitness identified in this study may facilitate resilience and can protect Airmen, civilian employees, and Air Force families from the negative effects of stress. The study also reviews construct measures, well-being, and resilience outcomes as well as interventions designed to promote the psychological fitness constructs.

This study is one of a series designed to support Air Force leaders in promoting resilience among its Airmen, civilian employees, and Air Force family members. It examines the relationship between behavioral fitness and resilience, using key constructs found in the scientific literature that relate to sleep, alcohol use, and tobacco use. Supporting or increasing the levels of the key measures of behavioral fitness identified in this study may facilitate resilience and can protect Airmen, civilian employees, and Air Force families from the negative effects of conduct, routines, and habits that are detrimental to fitness. The study also reviews behavioral fitness construct measures and resilience outcomes as well as interventions designed to promote behavioral fitness.

This final overarching study in a series documents research and recommendations RAND offered to the Air Force to help strengthen the development of a new office responsible for monitoring and promoting resilience among Air Force Airmen, civilian employees, and Air Force families. Efforts to boost resilience have become an important military response to suicide and other markers of distress and poor health. The study reviews the concepts and measures of resilience, resilience factors, hardiness and flourishing. It describes how resilience and the military's Total Force Fitness concepts are related. The study brings together highlights from the eight companion studies on each Total Force Fitness domain and characterizes types of Air Force data that could be used to track resilience.

Military occupations can be physically demanding, yet few attempts have been made to determine the physical readiness of today's airmen to perform their jobs. Although the Air Force conducts fitness testing of all its airmen, these tests and standards are not based on validated job requirements. As part of a broader Air Force effort to measure the physical readiness of airmen to perform their jobs, this study describes a methodology for establishing physical fitness standards for four physically demanding Air Force occupational specialties-combat controller, pararescue, special operations weather team, and tactical air control party. Airmen in these specialties are collectively known as battlefield airmen. The authors sought to identify the physically demanding tasks required of battlefield airmen and ways in which fitness standards might be established to ensure that individuals in these specialties are able to perform these tasks. They reviewed the research literature and relevant military documents, conducted focus groups and interviews with battlefield airmen and other subject matter experts, and analyzed the movement patterns and physical abilities associated with each task. They found a high demand across the four specialities for strength and muscular and cardiovascular endurance, followed by agility, anaerobic power, and equilibrium, whereas they found flexibility to be less critically important. The authors recommend that a validation study be conducted next, to (a) ensure that tests measure important physical abilities required for successful mission or job performance, (b) ensure that performance on tests is a good indicator of mission or job performance, and