Military personnel are responsible for the defense of the nation, and military service is physically and mentally demanding. Successful adaption to military service requires a high degree of physical and psychological health and fitness, aptitude for specialized education and training, and the personal resources to uphold good order and discipline and tolerate the hardships associated with military service, including combat. Unsurprisingly, many individuals fail to complete their first assignment, and for the majority, this is a result of adjustment and behavioral issues. Consequently, the U.S. military uses employment-screening procedures to evaluate an individual’s trainability and potential to successfully adapt to the unique demands of military service. Personnel are screened prior to entry into service to determine eligibility for critical and sensitive positions as well as to determine suitability for high-risk, specialized military duties (e.g., Special Operations Forces [SOF]). This article describes the processes typically used to screen candidates at each of these points, with an emphasis on psychological standards and screening methods.
Psychological Screening for Entry Into Military Service
The U.S. Department of Defense sets by directive the minimum qualification standards for entry into service to ensure that recruits are able to successfully adapt to service and perform military duties. Individuals desiring to enter military service must meet exacting aptitude, medical and physical, and conduct/behavioral standards. Requirements for some of the branches of the Armed Forces may be more restrictive than the minimum standards, especially with respect to drug and alcohol use and character and conduct problems.
Aptitude
Screening for aptitude has been employed in military entry procedures since World War I and grew out of the exigencies of having to screen large numbers of draftees for the war. Intelligence tests, newly developed at that time, allowed for rapid and effective ability screening. The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), derived from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, is now used to assess eligibility to enlist and facilitate appropriate career placement. Educational level and AFQT scores predict training success and completion of a service term and are used together to determine eligibility for service. For example, an individual who has not completed high school is ineligible for military service unless that person scores at or above the 31st percentile on the AFQT. Certain military occupational specialties involving highly technical training are not open to individuals scoring below specified AFQT scores. Of note, the AFQT is used for enlistment purposes only; there is no one specific aptitude measure used for appointment as an officer in the military.
Medical and Physical Standards
All service members must be medically, psychologically, and physically fit for deployment regardless of job classification, as all may be required to put themselves in harm’s way. Each of the services has established medical standards, and applicants are screened for disqualifying medical and mental health conditions with a general medical examination at entrance. There is no psychiatric evaluation; rather, mental health is screened by a medical history form completed by applicants. History of severe mental health disorders, such as psychoses, severe mood and anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders are disqualifying, as are history of conduct disorder and suicide attempts. Some disqualifying mental health conditions may be eligible for waiver, but such waivers are difficult to obtain.
Currently, there is no formal testing for physical fitness at entry, but all recruits must meet minimum height and weight standards. All individuals are required to pass stringent physical fitness tests to successfully complete basic military training.
Conduct and Behavior
Military service requires discipline as well as the ability to conform oneself to rules and standards. Applicants are screened for past legal and conduct issues in order to minimize the entrance of individuals who are likely to be a security risk, or may disrupt moral, good order, and discipline. Services collect fingerprints at entry and conduct a criminal background investigation. U.S. Code (Title 10 §504) prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from entering military service. In exceptional circumstances, this may be waived; however, individuals convicted of a sexual offense are prohibited from entering service. A pattern of antisocial behavior reflected by repeated legal encounters or conduct problems reflecting difficulty conforming to legal or moral standards, immaturity, or poor impulse control may also render an individual unfit for military service. Any pattern of drug or alcohol abuse or dependency is medically disqualifying. Illegal drug use that is habitual, or involves drugs other than marijuana, as well as a positive test for certain illegal drugs during the enlistment process is disqualifying for military service and requires review and waiver to enter service.
Screening for Special Military Duties
There are some jobs within the military that require specially screened personnel because of the skills and training and the psychological competencies required to perform them successfully. Military aviation is a prominent example. Others require access to classified programs and information.
Military Aeronautics
Pilot training is the most expensive training in the military, and military aircraft are among the most technologically advanced and expensive pieces of equipment in the nation’s arsenal. Pilots in the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps are all commissioned officers, whereas the U.S. Army uses both commissioned officers and warrant officers. All commissioned officers are required to have a bachelor’s degree. Educational requirements differ for warrant officers, who are not required to have a college degree upon entry into flight school.
Regardless of education, all pilot applicants in the military must demonstrate flight-training aptitude. This is assessed using specially developed aviation selection test batteries tapping a number of cognitive abilities relevant to flying (e.g., spatial, psychomotor, mechanical). These tests have been shown to predict success in flight training. In addition, pilot candidates must be medically qualified for flight duties, and pilot candidates must pass special medical evaluations. There are no specific psychological screening measures used, but flight surgeons assess interest in, and psychological suitability and motivation for, military aeronautics in their medical evaluation of pilot candidates.
Critical and Sensitive National Security Positions
Certain positions within the U.S. military involve duties that are sensitive and critical to national security. The positions include access to classified information and programs (Personnel Security Programs) as well as those associated with nuclear weapons (Personnel Reliability Program; including nuclear submarine duties and nuclear missile operations and defense). Personnel must obtain and maintain a security clearance in order to perform these duties, and special screening is required to ensure that such individuals are psychologically stable, reliable, and trustworthy.
An extensive background investigation is used to determine eligibility for entry and continued participation in these jobs. In some instances, polygraph examination may also be required.
Personnel complete the Questionnaire for National Security Positions to begin the investigative process known as a Single Scope Background Investigation. This intensive investigation involves a personal interview covering personal, sexual, and criminal conduct; finances and credit; alcohol and drug use; psychological conditions; and importantly, foreign interests and allegiance to the United States. Agents conduct checks of employment, education, organizational affiliations, and criminal records. They also interview coworkers, friends, neighbors, and employers.
Adjudicative guidelines are used to determine eligibility requirements for a security clearance, which is a prerequisite to qualifying for any of these high-reliability positions. An individual may be disqualified if findings from the investigation reflect a recent or recurrent pattern of poor judgment or irresponsible or unstable behavior. Of note, historical or current mental health counseling is not a basis for ineligibility but will result in further inquiry to assess risk factors relevant to suitability for these programs. In addition to the screening requirements, individuals are continuously monitored for their continued suitability for such duties.
Screening for Suitability for Special Military Units
Although all military personnel might be expected to deploy into harm’s way, there are certain specialized personnel (e.g., SOF, bomb disposal personnel) who routinely perform high-risk missions under conditions of extreme threat, often with dire consequences for mission failure. Some, such as SOF personnel, deploy frequently to hostile environments and operate highly autonomously, with little tactical or logistical support. These forces often confront novel, complex, and ambiguous military situations requiring them to be tactically competent and agile. They are specially selected and highly trained, possessing technical and psychological competencies beyond those of their peers. Among the essential competencies required for successful SOF personnel are high stress tolerance, emotional stability, adaptability to rapidly changing demands, teamwork, and sound judgment and decision-making.
Assessment and Selection (A&S)
Personnel who volunteer for these special military assignments must complete stringent A&S programs. These assessment programs represent the most intensive physical, medical, psychological, and occupational screening efforts in the U.S. military. The methods used by A&S programs descend from those used by the Office of Strategic Services to screen clandestine intelligence operatives during World War II. Modern military A&S programs are physically and psychologically rigorous events designed to both screen out those who are unsuited for the work and identify those with the most potential to perform effectively in the job.
A&S programs are structured to mimic the harsh operational environments these military personnel will find themselves in and use demanding physical events (e.g., obstacle courses, ruck marches, swims) as situational tests. In addition to these physical challenges, sleep and food deprivation are used to test performance under extreme physiological and psychological depletion. These rigorous physical demands assess tolerance for hardship, perseverance, and effective performance under stress. Assessment methods also include detailed psychological evaluations (cognitive ability tests, personality tests, and psychological interviews) and situational tests (team and individual). The use of situational tests (or simulations) closely follows the assessment center model, with tasks designed specifically to assess the unique job demands and competencies required for success in a given position. Thus, the content of these tasks differs in A&S programs for various specialized personnel depending upon unique mission and job requirements. However, the psychological screening processes used in various military A&S programs to assess suitability are similar and comprise interviews, cognitive tests, and personality tests.
Psychological Interview
The interview informs the overall assessment of suitability focusing specifically on the candidate’s psychological and emotional stability, training and performance potential, and behavioral and security risks. Interviews often focus on motivation for the job; learning capacity as reflected in past academic and military training and job performance; lifestyle and relationship stability; legal, moral, and ethical behavior; and psychological competencies, including resilience and emotional stability.
Cognitive Testing
The training and operational requirements for these positions demand strong cognitive and intellectual abilities. As in the general work world, cognitive ability proves to be a strong predictor of future training and job performance success in personnel for special military missions. In A&S programs, assessment of cognitive ability is most commonly accomplished using group- administered, well-validated, and usually brief measures of general cognitive ability, such as the Wonderlic Personnel Test or the General Ability Measure for Adults.
Personality Tests
Personality tests are used in the detection of psychopathology to screen out unsuited individuals and in the assessment of general personality traits thought to be important in the work world in general (e.g., conscientiousness) and in the performance of high-risk military duties. Given that emotional stability is a major competency required for success in high-risk military operational personnel, A&S programs routinely incorporate clinical personality instruments. Clinical instruments (e.g., Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) assist in the detection of psychopathology and are generally used to screen out individuals who are unsuitable for assignment. Tests of personality traits, such as the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised (which corresponds to the Five Factor Model of Personality), are often used to assess desirable personality qualities for success.
References:
- Cardona, R. A., & Ritchie, E. C. (2007). U.S. military enlisted accession mental health screening: History and current practice. Military Medicine, 172, 31–35. doi:10.7205/MILMED.172.1.31
- Christian, J. R., Picano, J. J., Roland, R. R., & Williams, T. J. (2010). Guiding principles for selecting high-risk operational personnel. In P. T. Bartone, B. H. Johnsen, J. Eid, M. Violanti, & J. C. Laberg (Eds.), Enhancing human performance in security operations: International law enforcement perspectives (pp. 121–142). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
- Department of Defense. (2017). Department of Defense instruction 1304.26: Qualification standards for enlistment, appointment, and induction. Retrieved from http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/ DD/issuances/dodi/130426p.pdf
- Department of Defense. (2017). DoD manual 5200.02: Procedures for the DoD Personnel Security Program (PSP). Retrieved from http://www.esd.whs.mil/ Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/520002_ dodm_2017.pdf
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. (2011). 2011 national gang threat assessment–Emerging trends. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/ publications/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment