PMID- 34850087
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20230518
LR  - 20230519
IS  - 1930-613X (Electronic)
IS  - 0026-4075 (Linking)
VI  - 188
IP  - 5-6
DP  - 2023 May 16
TI  - Comparisons and Intercorrelations of Physical Performance Variables of 
      Operational Preparedness in Special Operations Forces.
PG  - e1109-e1116
LID - 10.1093/milmed/usab425 [doi]
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) deploys teams of 
      operators (OP) and enablers (EN) to accomplish special operations missions. OP 
      and EN are required to train and deploy together to accomplish these missions; 
      however, they have different training and selection pipelines. Advanced strength 
      and conditioning training strategies are applied to both OP and EN to enhance 
      physical preparedness; however, it is unclear how the selection pipeline of these 
      two personnel types affects overall physical preparedness and the relationships 
      between performance variables. The purpose of this study is to gain a greater 
      understanding of the relationships of a wide array of physical preparedness 
      variables in OP and EN in an effort to streamline testing and training 
      strategies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this study, 155 male (82 OP, 73 EN) MARSOC 
      personnel (age: 29.5 +/- 4.9 years, mass: 87.9 +/- 11.1 kg, height: 1.79 +/- 0.07 m) 
      completed a physical preparedness assessment that included a DEXA assessment of 
      body composition (BF%), 27.4 m sprint (30 yd), countermovement jump (VJ), 5-10-5 
      pro-agility (Agility), medicine ball toss (UBP), isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), 
      and a 30 second (AnC) and 5 minute (AC) non-motorized treadmill run. Independent 
      samples t tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Spearman's Rank correlations were used 
      to compare variables between OP and EN. RESULTS: OP demonstrated greater VJ, UBP, 
      IMTP, AnC, and AC (P < 0.05); and significantly lower BF% and agility time 
      (P < 0.05). Measurements of mass, height, body mass index, and 30 yd were not 
      significantly different (P > 0.05). Weak to moderate correlations were seen 
      between anthropometric and performance variables. OP and EN demonstrated similar 
      correlations for most performance and anthropometric variables. CONCLUSIONS: 
      These results suggest that MARSOC OP demonstrate better physical preparedness 
      over EN, while similar trends are observed between performance variables. Tests 
      with moderate to high correlations may be removed from the protocol to account 
      for testing time constraints. Height, weight, and BF% variables are poorly 
      correlated with performance, particularly in OP, questioning their value in 
      physical performance assessments in this population.
CI  - (c) The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2021. All rights 
      reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
FAU - Ross, Jeremy A
AU  - Ross JA
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9800-5704
AD  - Sports Medicine Research Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, 
      USA.
FAU - Winters, Joshua D
AU  - Winters JD
AD  - Sports Medicine Research Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, 
      USA.
FAU - Royer, Scott D
AU  - Royer SD
AD  - Sports Medicine Research Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, 
      USA.
FAU - Hoch, Matthew C
AU  - Hoch MC
AD  - Sports Medicine Research Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, 
      USA.
FAU - Bergin, Reiley
AU  - Bergin R
AD  - Sports Medicine Research Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, 
      USA.
FAU - Morelli, Nathan
AU  - Morelli N
AD  - Department of Physical Therapy, High Point University, High Point, NC 27268, USA.
FAU - Conley, Caitlin
AU  - Conley C
AD  - Sports Medicine Research Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, 
      USA.
FAU - Sheppard, Ryan L
AU  - Sheppard RL
AD  - Marine Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, NC 28542, USA.
FAU - Heebner, Nicholas R
AU  - Heebner NR
AD  - Sports Medicine Research Institute, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, 
      USA.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
PL  - England
TA  - Mil Med
JT  - Military medicine
JID - 2984771R
SB  - IM
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Young Adult
MH  - Adult
MH  - *Athletic Performance
MH  - Muscle Strength
MH  - Exercise Test
MH  - Body Mass Index
MH  - Physical Functional Performance
EDAT- 2021/12/02 06:00
MHDA- 2023/05/18 06:42
CRDT- 2021/12/01 07:24
PHST- 2021/08/03 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2021/09/21 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2021/10/04 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2023/05/18 06:42 [medline]
PHST- 2021/12/02 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/12/01 07:24 [entrez]
AID - 6444241 [pii]
AID - 10.1093/milmed/usab425 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Mil Med. 2023 May 16;188(5-6):e1109-e1116. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usab425.