Introduction to Readiness, Resiliency & Recovery
Booz Allen Hamilton’s Tactical Athlete Leadership Board brings together stakeholders from across the human performance industry, from the leading voices of academic research, to industry practitioners, to representatives of forward-thinking technology firms, with the goal of exploring how advancements can help sustain the tactical athlete of today while preparing them for the needs of tomorrow.
Who are tactical athletes? From Marines to Soldiers, Airmen to Sailors, first-responders to analysts - there are many kinds of personnel working in the tactical environment, each having diverse role expectations and each, in turn, possessing unique demands when it comes to their performance. We use the term tactical athletes to represent all of these personnel in an attempt to be as inclusive as possible, as to not leave out essential occupations.
No matter the operational demands of the particular occupation, the Board has spent the 2021 calendar year discussing three key themes of human performance that are common across the landscape of all tactical athletes: readiness, resiliency and recovery.
These three themes apply across the five domains of human performance training as defined by Booz Allen and help represent crucial phases in the performance cycle of a tactical athlete: from pre-operational activity to activity during an operational period and finally any post-activity clean-up, as well as the recommencement of the cycle.
The Board has discussed the fundamental, and at times difficult, role that technology plays across these themes. We need to always be cognizant of not overloading human beings with copious amounts of sensors and technology, so that the act of collecting data does not interfere with the actual goals of training. When considering technology solutions, the Board placed emphasis on being deliberate about what we are measuring and how it matters to commanders and leaders who are attempting to get the job done. Above all, the Board clearly favored technology that was immediately actionable.
As Jannell MacAulay from Warriors Edge brought forward, we may need to collect data around training in order to adjust and optimize the preparation process, but in doing so, there is a stark difference between historical data analysis and real-time data analysis. Providing real-time feedback to optimize any processes and support training efforts is preferable.
Mat Chacon from Doghead Simulations highlighted the importance of never losing sight of the mindset of the individual, which - along with the belief that you should train as you fight - is arguably the most important element of performance. In other words, when training, the team needs to recognize that there is space for them to fail and learn. This consideration becomes a critical factor when thinking about how technology can play a role.
In summary, the broad definitions and interconnectivity of the 3 Rs, as well as the consideration of how each factor applies across the different domains of human performance training, has provoked substantial conversation across the Board. In our next article, we’ll explore the first R - Readiness - deeper and talk about how it is balanced with preparation throughout training as well as what types of technology solutions help facilitate that conversation.