Photo By Emily Swedlund | GROTON, Conn (Mar. 14, 2025). A Sailor holds a paper copy of the Submarine Environment...... read more read more
GROTON, Conn. – The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory’s (NSMRL) Naval Psychological Readiness and Human Performance (NPRHP) team are expanding administration of the Submarine Environment Fit (SUBFIT) assessment to include all enlisted submariners.
The SUBFIT assessment includes a tailored, non-clinical measure of personality traits, behaviors, and attitudes identified as important to success during submarine duty. Currently, it is administered to enlisted Sailors and officers who are entering Naval Submarine School (NAVSUBSCOL), to ensure all prospective submariners meet the necessary requirements for success in the submarine environment.
The SUBFIT assessment is an updated iteration of the Submarine Screener (SUBSCREEN), a tool used to screen prospective submariners from 1987 to 2020. In September 2017, the Navy Medicine, Submarine Force (SUBFOR), and Naval Reactor communities came together to discuss the actions needed to update the submarine screening process. This set the stage for the development of SUBFIT, and the SUBFOR began administering the assessment to NAVSUBSCOL students in April 2022.
“SUBFIT was created from the ground up, with the goal of retaining as many incoming submariners as possible,” said Dr. Dominica Hernandez, an applied psychologist with NSMRL. “Heavily focusing on the development of Sailors translates to having an undersea force that is resilient and ready for the fight.”
“We really want to maximize the effectiveness of the Sailors we have,” added Dr. Justin Handy, a cognitive psychologist with NSMRL. “So that means developing our Sailors on an individual level, which we hope will eventually impact the entire SUBFOR culture.”
NSMRL has been analyzing SUBFIT data to identify characteristics that may lead Sailors to leave the force early—an event known as unplanned loss (UPL)—with the goal of reducing UPLs by individualized mentoring for each submariner early in the career continuum.
In October 2024, NPRHP began a pilot expansion of SUBFIT to include enlisted Sailors on select submarines. Following the success of this pilot effort, SUBFOR leadership requested SUBFIT be administered to all enlisted Sailors, with a target completion date of September 2025.
“Unplanned losses are a key concern for SUBFOR leadership, and SUBFIT efforts to reduce these losses are appreciated,” said Cdr. Colin Young, Submarine Force Atlantic (SUBLANT) Medical Officer. “We just completed a successful pilot program, and NSMRL did a great job working with each crews’ leadership on strategies to reduce unplanned losses. SUBFOR leaders are excited to determine whether SUBFIT will help mitigate this problem.”
NSMRL, part of Navy Medicine Research & Development and based out of Groton, Connecticut, sustains the readiness and superiority of U.S. undersea warfighters through innovative health and performance research and works to lead the world in delivering science solutions to ensure undersea warrior dominance.
For 250 years, Navy Medicine, represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian healthcare professionals, has delivered quality healthcare and enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea and ashore.
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2025 14:57 |
| Story ID: | 493042 |
| Location: | GROTON, CONNECTICUT, US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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