Identifying Best Bet Entry-Level Selection Measures for US Air Force Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Pilot and Sensor Operator (SO) Occupations

Abstract

In this project, we selected best bet predictor measures to help the U.S. Air Force (USAF) identify early career officers and airmen likely to succeed as a Remotely-Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Pilot (officer) or Sensor Operator (enlisted). We compiled existing information about skills, abilities, and other characteristics (SAOCs) predictive of success in RPA Pilot or SO training and information about the context in which this work is performed. We organized the SAOCs from diverse sources according to the U.S. Department of Labor s O*NET content model to minimize redundancy across constructs and to ensure broad coverage of several different domains of individual differences. Ultimately, 21 critical SAOCs were identified, most of which can be adequately measured with assessments already used by or accessible to the USAF. After considering practical constraints on the entry-level selection process for officers and airmen, we recommended two possible batteries of predictor measures for each position (Pilot and Sensor Operator). Finally, we addressed measurement gaps by developing a measure of time-sharing ability that does not couple cognitive processing and psychomotor tasks and a Person-Environment (P-E) fit measure customized for the RPA work context. The new measures require further evaluation before they can be used to make operational decisions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA554209

Entities

People

  • Cheryl Paullin
  • D. M. Trippe
  • Laurie Wasko
  • Michael Ingerick

Organizations

  • Human Resources Research Organization

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Cognition
  • Cognitive Workload
  • Employment
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Flight Training
  • Ground Control Stations
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Military Research
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychology
  • Reasoning
  • Remotely Piloted Vehicles
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.