Building a more comprehensive understanding of how different factors influence exercise habits, test preparation, and the perceived importance of fitness is critical to promoting a ready and deployable force. Therefore, the Department of the Air Force (DAF) engaged the RAND Corporation to evaluate the validity and perceived relevance of the U.S. Air Force's (AF's) fitness assessment (FA) to support the readiness and deployability of airmen and guardians by examining the possible impact of the

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... -FA on military career and future military health experience. To address this objective, we examined the empirical associations between AF-FA scores and various health-related and professional outcomes. We also conducted interviews with DAF commanders and military personnel to identify perceptions of current policies, objectives, communication, and leadership support for fitness and exercise. During the production of this report, the DAF made changes to the AF-FA, which are not reflected in our data analysis or interviews with subject-matter experts. The research reported here was commissioned by the AF's Force Management Policy Directorate (AF/A1P) and conducted within the Workforce, Development, and Health Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE as part of a fiscal year 2020 project, "Fitness Standards to Support Readiness and Deployability." The RAND Corporation is committed to the ethical and respectful treatment of RAND research participants and complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, also known as the "Common Rule." The research described in this report was screened and, if necessary, reviewed by RAND's Human Subjects Protection Committee, which serves as RAND's institutional review board (IRB) charged with ensuring the ethical treatment of individuals who are participants in RAND projects through observation, intervention, interaction, or use of data about them. RAND's Federalwide Assurance (FWA) for the Protection of Human Subjects (FWA00003425, effective until June 22, 2023) serves as our assurance of compliance with federal regulations. The views of any unnamed sources are solely their own and do not represent the official policy or position of any department or agency of the U.S. government.