Air assaults commonly occur during nighttime. While this offers a strategic advantage from an operational standpoint, it is well documented that night jumps, or landings with vision reduced, increases risk for musculoskeletal injury. [1-3]
When vision is limited, or completely removed, an individual must increase reliance on their somatosensory and vestibular inputs for knowing where their body is and control of its position.
Air assaults will continue to occur at night. Training landing without visual inputs is crucial not only for mitigating musculoskeletal injury but optimizing ability to immediately engage upon landing.
I approach training to decrease visual dependence for landing control by first decreasing peripheral visual inputs and then removing vision completely.
Decreasing Peripheral Vision
Eyes Straight Ahead
I start by focusing vision straight ahead with a landing exercise like a depth drop. This still allows some peripheral vision for landing awareness but removes attention from directly staring at one’s feet.
Eyes Overhead
I further decrease peripheral visual inputs by looking overhead with the depth drop. This decreases peripheral visual inputs even further, without completely removing vision.
I also like to add in a target for visual focus with these exercises. I do this to train ability to keep target focus with the landing deceleration force. The ability to keep the target in focus with that rapid deceleration is a function of the vestibular system, specifically the vestibulo-ocular reflex.
Maintaining target focus during deceleration allows the individual to engage with targets rapidly and accurately.
Remove Vision
Eyes Closed
Finally, I progress to complete visual removal by simply keeping eyes closed with the depth drop. This significantly loads the somatosensory and vestibular systems, with the functioning and fast processing of their information impacting performance and risk of injury.
Training to reduce dependence on vision for control of landing impacts performance during nighttime air assaults, but it can also impact precision of landing when jumping down from a Stryker or rappelling.
Optimizing the somatosensory and vestibular systems can have a significant impact on maintaining readiness and lethality in a variety of conditions and should be considered an important piece of the performance puzzle.
References:
- Stannard, J., & Fortington, L. (2021). Musculoskeletal injury in military special operations forces: a systematic review. BMJ Mil Health, 167(4), 255-265.
- Knapik, J., & Steelman, R. (2016). Risk factors for injuries during military static-line airborne operations: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of athletic training, 51(11), 962-980.
- Chu, Y., Sell, T. C., Abt, J. P., Nagai, T., Deluzio, J., McGrail, M., … & Lephart, S. M. (2012). Air assault soldiers demonstrate more dangerous landing biomechanics when visual input is removed. Military medicine, 177(1), 41-47.