Soldier Performance Research Project: Armor Field and SIMNET Tests
Abstract
The Phase II Armor Soldier Performance Research Project (SPRP) evaluated the effects of mental ability on the collective performance of armor crews in a high combat realism field exercise and a platoon tactical exercise in the Simulation Networking (SIMNET) system. One hundred twenty M1 tank commanders and drivers were formed into reconstituted tank crews as part of a third day of the war scenario. The TCs and drivers were paired as a function of four mental category groups as determined by the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). The results of the Field and SIMNET tests showed combat effectiveness to be clearly related to the mental ability of both the TC and driver. Differences in performance as a function of mental ability were not only found for the overall performance measures, but for pre-combat, command and control, communications, call for fire, grid coordinate determination, and encoding/decoding tasks. Regressions analyses demonstrated that the mental categories of both the TC and driver were related to crew performance, with TC and driver AFQT scores accounting for 19% of the test variance. Skills Qualification Test (SQT) scores were also highly correlated with performance on the Armor SPRP tests. Furthermore, combat leaders will have greater confidence in quality crews, which will facilitate the execution of bold decisive actions. Given that combat is a series of battles in which these tasks must be performed over and over, the cumulative effects of mental ability will substantially impact combat effectiveness. Higher quality soldiers equate to higher enemy attrition and higher unit survival.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA214345
Entities
People
- Gary S. Elliott
- James P. Hamill Jr.
- Scott E. Graham
- Sylvia E. Smithh
- William T. Leet
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences