Military Scales

This section contains scales developed for the assessment of U.S. Army Aviators. This work was sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI). You can find out more about ARI by checking their web site .

The technical report that describes the development and initial evaluation of these scales is also available here. If you plan on completing some of the scales listed below, DO NOT read the technical report before you complete the scales.

Army Hazardous Event Scale (A-HES)

Fortunately, accidents are fairly rare events. However, frequently things happen during flights that we might consider close-calls or just hazardous events. These are instances in which something happens that does not result in an accident or incident, and probably does not even get reported. However, had circumstances been a bit different (for example, had you been a bit lower on fuel, a bit heavier, a little slower to react, etc.) then things might have turned out very differently.

The A-HES measures how many times over the last 24 months a pilot has experienced 36 different hazardous events. This number is important because pilots who experience more hazardous events also experience more accidents. (Look here for a chart that shows how hazardous events are related to accidents.)

To assess your level of risk, complete the A-HES and compare your score to the risk chart.

Expert Ratings of the Army Hazardous Events Scale Items

As part of our ongoing evaluation of the A-HES, we would like to know how risky those 36 different hazardous events are. Knowing how the events compare in terms of risk will allow us to improve the scale. It may also allow the Army to develop interventions to reduce the number of very dangerous events.

Army Aviators attending the US Army Aviation Safety Course are invited to take part in this evaluation. Your task is to read each of the hazardous events and rate the level of risk for the event. In this case, risk means the likelihood of an accident (any category) occurring during or because of the event. This should only take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Participation in this study is limited to Army Aviators attending the US Army Aviation Safety Officer Course.

Click here to begin the ratings.

Army Locus of Control Scale (A-LOC)

Locus of control refers to how much you feel you are in control of situations and how much you feel that what happens is due to luck or other outside influences. Pilots typically report that they feel that they are very much the masters of what happens to them. However, there is a great deal of variation, and some pilots place a lot of emphasis on luck or fate. This scale measures your locus of control, and compares you to other Army Aviators who participated in the origninal study. The results will also show how much your beliefs may place you at a greater risk of being in an accident.

Click here to take the A-LOC.