ABSTRACT
Heavy lifting and lifting and carrying accounts for about 90% of the physically limiting tasks of Army jobs (Sharp et al., 1980). Unlike most industrial situations, soldiers in a field environment are unable to make use of automated lifting aids. While some task redesign is possible, the strength demands cannot be completely removed. For example, use of a shoulder harness may facilitate a soldier’s stretcher carrying ability, but will not aid in lifting the wounded soldier from the ground into the ambulance. With this in mind, it is important to know the lifting strength of the Army population to assist in the recruitment and placement of soldiers. The purpose of this paper is to describe the maximum lifting strength of a large sample of U.S. Army men and women, and to examine variations in strength with age, body composition and career status.
