Faculty Articles
Title
Military Readiness: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Marksmanship and Visual Acuity
ISBN or ISSN
1735-1537
Publication Title
Military Medicine
Volume
174
Issue
4
Date of original Performance / Presentation
April 2009
Publication Date / Copyright Date
4-1-2009
First Page
398
Last Page
402
Abstract
The United States military relies on visual acuity standards to assess enlistment induction and military occupational specialty eligibility, as well as to monitor soldiers' combat vision readiness. However, these vision standards are not evidence based and may not accurately reflect appropriate standards for military readiness or reflect a correlation between visual acuity and occupational performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between visual acuity and marksmanship performance using a single blind trial with the Engagement Skills Trainer 2000. Marksmanship performance was evaluated in 28 subjects under simulated day and night conditions with habitual spectacle prescription and contact lenses that created visual blur. Panel Poisson regression using an independent correlation structure revealed significant differences (p < 0.001) as visual acuity decreased from 20/25 to 20/50. We conclude that marksmanship performance decreases as visual acuity decreases. We believe that this relationship supports the use of a visual acuity requirement.
Disciplines
Medical Specialties | Medicine and Health Sciences | Osteopathic Medicine and Osteopathy
NSUWorks Citation
Wells, K. H.; Wagner, H.; Reich, L. N.; and Hardigan, Patrick C., "Military Readiness: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Marksmanship and Visual Acuity" (2009). Faculty Articles. 385.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_com_faculty_articles/385