USAARL conducts research and development on health hazards of Army aviation, tactical combat vehicles, selected weapons systems, and airborne operations. Assesses the health hazards from noise, acceleration, impact, and visual demands of these systems and defines measures to offset hazards. It assesses stress and fatigue in personal operating aviation systems and develops countermeasures. It assists in development of criteria upon which to base standards for entry and retention in Army aviation specialties. USAARL assists other U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command laboratories and institutes in research on the bioeffects of laser systems, medical defense against chemical agents, impact of continuous operations on individual and crew performance, development of improved means of patient evacuation and in the test and evaluation of medical equipment used in aeromedical evacuation. It assesses current life support equipment to identify causes of failure and devises improved design. USAARL assists the combat developers and materiel developers of new Army aviation and tactical combat vehicle systems to recognize and eliminate health hazards as early as possible in the developmental cycle. It conducts collaborative research with Department of Defense and federal agencies on medical research and development issues of common concern.