ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the impact of three protective ensembles on the performance of common soldier tasks such as shooting, grenade-throwing, and individual movement techniques, and cognitive readiness and cognitive performance. It focuses on the human factors and equipment compatibility issues identified during research efforts conducted at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Human Research and Engineering Directorate's (HRED) Known Distance (KD) Range, Wirsing Course, and Shooting Performance Facility. The chapter suggests that implications for the design and development of soldier protective ensembles, and recommendations for future work. It investigates the effects of encapsulation on mission performance of dismounted soldiers and select methodologies that will be used for future research of encapsulation effects on mission performance. The chapter concludes that the methodology used to evaluate the encapsulation systems was sensitive enough to detect differences in performance both between non-encapsulated and encapsulated systems, and for comparisons between encapsulated systems.
