Eliminating Avoidable Helicopter Seating-Related Injuries to Improve Combat Readiness and Mission Effectiveness

For decades, helicopter crews have reported suffering back, neck and leg pain they believe is related to service in helicopters. This presentation reviews testimony from nearly 10,000 helicopter crew members who have described their experiences with pain and injuries suffered during and after their military careers. The study quantifies, for the first time, the scope of this problem across the very large community of present and former military helicopter crewmembers, links the problem to associated direct and indirect costs, and discusses remedial designs or actions to reduce or eliminate the problem. Sponsored by the Department of Defense, Office of the Under Secretary (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), the study discusses impact of this problem on combat readiness, mission effectiveness and safety. The report from this study was reviewed and approved by a Blue Ribbon Panel comprised of flag and general officers from all five military Services and a DoD civilian who leads medical science and technology efforts.