Integrating Holistic Human Performance and Sports Science Methods into Military Operational Readiness Evaluations

Madison R. Grigg, Scott M. Galster, Andrew G. Thompson
Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26505

Presentation Category: Health Sciences (Poster Presentation)

Student’s Major: Biomedical Engineering

Improving warfighter performance and resiliency is a top priority for the United States military. The idea behind implementing a holistic performance approach is to not only consider the physiological aspects of health and performance but also the cognitive, psychomotor, and recovery elements, which often go overlooked. By training warfighters in combat relevant situations that encompass every aspect of holistic performance, we can better predict how they will react, perform, and recover in real world situations. The HITT (High Intensity Tactical Training) Championship is a highly competitive event where United States Marines compete in tactically relevant challenges to test their operational abilities as warfighters. In 2019, the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (WVU RNI) helped design and implement a noninvasive biomonitoring system, individual capability readiness assessments, and subjective queries capable of assessing the psychophysiological workload of warfighters and predicting challenge outcomes. With the data collected, we expect to identify specific training methods and psychophysiological markers that can accurately predict all sides of holistic performance and provide the most resource efficient methods for operational readiness training.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: a West Virginia SURE program