Page 92 - JSOM Fall 2018

TABLE 3 Possible Cognitive Agility Training Scenario 2: Deployed, states from focus to openness), no previous efforts, to our
Indigenous Challenges knowledge, have attempted to apply these concepts to human
Environment: Operator is in a deployed location with the potential relationships, emotionally charged situations, and their of­
for combat action in the region; however, all indicators are that the ten challenging dynamics. It will be necessary to develop the
village the Operator is in is secure. She or he is involved in a key same or similar types of robust training scenarios to develop
leader engagement in which there is discord between the indigenous
leadership present. The Operator’s purpose for this engagement is cognitive agility, cognitive flexibility, EI, and “successful in­
to gain the support of both tribal leaders who are present. The un­ telligence” for SOF Operators as have been used previously
derlying tension between the two leaders is an unresolved issues re­ in preparation for complex combat operations. The positive
garding water rights, which could be solved easily by a US engineer outcomes from such a training regimen should allow the Op­
unit nearby, if brought to light. In addition, the Operator’s team is
supported by a conventional unit led by a prior enlisted 03 with erator to navigate between times of stress followed by a period
significant combat experience. of recharging to recover, and hopefully with a resulting endur­
Operator tasks: ance that will allow the SOF Operator to successfully optimize
1. Gain support of the both leaders. performance across the important everyday life domains of
2. Address the concerns of the 1st Lieutenant (CPT) to avoid an psychological, social/family, and spiritual fitness.
inappropriate, overreaction to the situation in the village.
Role player actions: Disclaimer
The opinions or assertions contained herein are the collective
Older leader: Attempts to monopolize the situation and dominate views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or
the conversation. He is clearly attempting to prevent the younger
leader from speaking. as reflecting the views of the Uniformed Services University,
Younger leader: Is clearly more thoughtful and articulate, and is re­ the US Special Operations Command, or the Department of
spectful of the older leader’s status but is showing frustration by the Defense.
constant interruptions.
CPT: Continues to interrupt the meeting with concerns regarding the Disclosure
security situation in the village. However, there are no signs of any The authors have indicated they have no financial relation­
groups gathering with weapons and the people in the street appear ships relevant to this article to disclose.
to be engaged in activities of daily life.
Learning objective: In this scenario, it is critical to have a high degree Author Contributions
of cognitive flexibility to manage the relationship dynamics in an JR served as lead author on this article. LM helped with the
open attention state but toggle to a focused state to fully understand
the situation with the CPT and make an appropriate decision regard­ literature review, prepared the scenarios, and contributed to
ing the security situation. To spend the appropriate amount of time the writing of this article. PAD participated in all aspects of
to uncover the real reason for the discord between the two leaders the study and preparing the article. All authors approved the
and resolve it, it will be necessary for the Operator to switch back final version.
and forth between these competing concerns.
Actions on Debrief: The Operator will discuss their perspective on References
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