Service members must meet U.S. Department of Defense standards to ensure that they are fit to serve. However, the services set standards for specific career fields. To meet critical needs, the Air Force seeks to better align personnel to certain fields (those with higher technical levels but lower physical demands). The authors explore the implications to Air Force culture of tailoring standards to expand or limit the pool of qualified personnel.

Tailoring Medical Standards for Air Force Personnel

Sean Robson, Maria C. Lytell, Miriam Matthews, Carra S. Sims, Tracy C. Krueger, Spencer R. Case, Katherine Costello, Sydne J. Newberry

ResearchPublished Apr 8, 2021

Service members must meet medical standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure that they are fit to serve in the U.S. military. However, the individual services establish additional standards for specific career field categories. To meet critical skill needs in the future, the U.S. Air Force is interested in better ways to assess and align personnel to career fields. Part of that interest focuses on tailoring medical standards to meet the needs of highly technical career fields with fewer physical demands. Tailoring medical standards involves the systematic development of alternative standards (or tests) or exemptions for one or more medical conditions for individuals or groups of individuals who otherwise meet all other requirements for military service. Although tailoring medical standards may help the Air Force and specific career fields meet manpower requirements, such changes may not be uniformly supported across the Air Force. Given these concerns, the Air Force is exploring alternative ways to assess and align personnel to career fields and jobs using medical standards, such as weight and hearing. As part of this project, the authors examined potential barriers in Air Force culture that could affect the successful implementation of tailored medical standards. This report describes the analysis of these barriers, which could limit the effectiveness of any effort to tailor medical standards. The survey also addressed perceptions related to other medical conditions (such as asthma or depression) and potential uses for genetic testing.

Key Findings

DoD policies on medical standards may present policy barriers to Air Force–tailored medical standards

  • DoD policy on worldwide deployment requirements limits the extent to which the Air Force can have airmen not meet certain medical standards even if they can complete their core occupational tasks.

In general, subject-matter experts questioned the value of tailoring medical standards

  • Requirements for deployment serve as a significant barrier.
  • The need for tailored medical standards was not apparent; experts cited the waiver process as having sufficient flexibility to tailor standards to individual cases.
  • Airmen in leadership positions who have met relaxed standards might not be perceived as effective or command respect.

Lowering standards might result in lower acceptance of coworkers

  • Survey findings revealed potential cultural barriers and suggested that relaxing medical standards might not be equally accepted by airmen.
  • Perceptions toward an airman not meeting weight standards were more negative than toward an airman with a hearing condition.
  • Concerns about an overweight coworker related to perceptions of fairness (the need for accommodation), stereotypes, and the ability to maintain self-discipline.
  • Concerns about hearing impairment focused on performance, safety, and putting coworkers at risk.

Survey results found mixed support on the use of genetic testing

  • Airmen were not fully supportive of the use of genetic testing to screen and assign airmen to specific occupations.

Recommendations

  • The Air Force should carefully proceed with any plans to further implement genetic testing or biomarkers into the accession process. First, consider a voluntary program on a trial basis that would use results to inform applicants of health risks but not to influence selection, classification, or other personnel decisions.
  • The Air Force should balance potential concerns about fairness with underlying cultural concerns when considering policy changes. Communication, systematic and transparent decisionmaking, and training and education would be essential to implementing tailored medical standards.
  • The Air Force should evaluate the potential benefits and consequences of fully tailored medical standards. Before pursuing the implementation of tailored standards, use trial tests with various options, such as limited-term waivers for a temporary condition and permanent waivers for a permanent condition, to assess the potential benefits and consequences.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2021
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 86
  • Paperback Price: $25.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-1-9774-0659-0
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RR-A571-1
  • Document Number: RR-A571-1

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Robson, Sean, Maria C. Lytell, Miriam Matthews, Carra S. Sims, Tracy C. Krueger, Spencer R. Case, Katherine Costello, and Sydne J. Newberry, Tailoring Medical Standards for Air Force Personnel, RAND Corporation, RR-A571-1, 2021. As of September 11, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA571-1.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Robson, Sean, Maria C. Lytell, Miriam Matthews, Carra S. Sims, Tracy C. Krueger, Spencer R. Case, Katherine Costello, and Sydne J. Newberry, Tailoring Medical Standards for Air Force Personnel. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA571-1.html. Also available in print form.
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The research reported here was commissioned by Major General Robert I. Miller and conducted by the Manpower, Personnel, and Training Program within RAND Project AIR FORCE.

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