Page 52 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Winter 2015

Comprehensive Performance Nutrition
for Special Operations Forces

Karen A. Daigle, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS; Christi M. Logan, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN;
Russ S. Kotwal, MD, MPH

ABSTRACT
Special Operations Forces (SOF) training, combat, and practical recommendations are also provided to assist
contingency operations are unique and demanding. Per- Special Operators and SOF medical providers.
formance nutrition within the Department of Defense
has emphasized that nutrition is relative to factors re- Much of the nutrition information available to SOF is
lated to the desired outcome, which includes success- extrapolated from traditional sport. Human physiol-
ful performance of mentally and physically demanding ogy and environmental conditions between sport and
operations and missions of tactical and strategic impor- Special Operations are fundamentally the same; how-
tance, as well as nonoperational assignments. Discussed ever, the circumstances and context of SOF training,
are operational, nonoperational, and patient categories combat, and contingency operations are unique and ar-
that require different nutrition strategies to facilitate duous, both mentally and physically. A Special Opera-
category-specific performance outcomes. Also presented tor’s performance during a mission-defining moment
are 10 major guidelines for a SOF comprehensive perfor- can quite literally be the determining factor between
mance nutrition program, practical nutrition recommen- life and death, as well as mission success or failure. Be-
dations for Special Operators and medical providers, cause of the relative nature of the word “performance,”
as well as resources for dietary supplement evaluation. the Department of Defense Food and Nutrition and
Foundational health concepts, medical treatment, and Dietary Supplements Committees have defined perfor-
task-specific performance factors should be considered mance nutrition as “nutrition’s contribution to the sus-
when developing and systematically implementing a tainable execution of cognitive and physical actions by
comprehensive SOF performance nutrition program. the human body to the greatest degree attainable under
When tailored to organizational requirements, SOF unit- specified conditions and objectives.” The inclusion of
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and culture-specific nutrition education and services can “under specified conditions and objectives” empha-
optimize individual Special Operator performance, over- sizes that nutrition for performance is relative to the
all unit readiness, and ultimately, mission success. factors related to the desired outcome, which includes
successful performance of mentally and physically de-
Keywords: nutrition; performance; military; Special Opera­ manding operations and missions of tactical and stra-
tions Forces; human performance optimization tegic importance, as well as successful performance of
garrison and support activities through nonoperational
assignments.
Introduction
This relativity of performance nutrition dictates that
Performance nutrition is a critical component of hu- individual Special Operators will not always be catego-
man performance optimization. Although performance rized as operational. In general, Special Operators will
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nutrition includes eating patterns, food categories and transition in and out of one of three categories during
dietary supplements, the concept extends well beyond their careers: operational, nonoperational, or patient
these seemingly synonymous topics. The intent of this (Figure 1). The category in which a specific Special
article is not to provide individuals with specific guide- Operator is placed depends upon current duty assign-
lines, but rather to present a concept and framework ment and illness and injury status. For example, the
for developing and implementing a comprehensive per- specific performance outcome and, therefore, nutrition
formance nutrition program within Special Operations strategy for a Special Operator serving in a nonphysical
Forces (SOF). As there are currently very few board- staff assignment (nonoperational) or recovering from a
certified sports dietitians with tactical SOF experience, combat-induced injury (patient) will be quite different

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