Reliability Analysis of Time to Complete the Obstacle Course Portion of the Load Effects Assessment Program (LEAP)

This report documents a study conducted on an obstacle course that is part of a new battery of physical tests for assessing effects of military clothing and equipment on the performance of service members. Activities performed on the course include running, crawling, and balancing. The battery, referred to as the Load Effects Assessment Program (LEAP), emanated from work by the U.S. Marine Corps to identify an objective method for quantifying effects of service members loads on execution of combat-relevant movements and tasks. The U.S. Marine Corps and Army and Canadian and Australian military establishments are using or planning to use the LEAP. This study was conducted to establish the reliability of time to complete the LEAP obstacle course. Participants, 19 U.S. Army enlisted men, were scheduled for one session per day for five days. The first session was an orientation that included familiarization with the obstacle course and having the men traverse the course at 50 and at 75 of maximal effort. Testing was conducted at the four remaining sessions and consisted of a participant expending 100 of maximal effort to complete the obstacle course twice at each session, for a total of eight trials. The men wore a basic uniform, a helmet, and combat boots. Time to complete the entire course was recorded, as were times to complete segments of the course. Statistical analysis indicated that course completion time stabilized after four trials. An intraclass correlation coefficient computed on the data for Trials 5 and 6 demonstrated a high degree of relative reliability of the course completion time measure, ICC(2,1) = 0.93. The standard error of measurement and the limits of agreement were relatively low, indicating a high degree of absolute reliability, SEM = 7.21 and 95 LOA = -0.78 s 19.97. It was concluded that practice is required before consistent performance can be achieved on the obstacle course. 01 Jan 0001, 01 Jan 0001, NATICK/TR-17/002