Page 104 - JSOM Summer 2019

mission-centric approach to sustaining the health and perfor- TABLE 2 Potential Job Description for HPO-I
mance of Warfighters, decrease rates of injuries, and accelerate • Engages community with a conceptual orientation that is both
return to duty times. The HPO-I is a Warfighter who serves as holistic (including all TFF domains: physical, nutritional, psy-
an integrative performance/health consultant to the line com- chology, social, motivation, medical and dental, environmental,
mander and team members on performance, prevention, and spiritual) and full-spectrum (performance, prevention, and reha-
rehabilitation efforts and helps execute their HPO/TFF CBB. bilitation)
They act as advisors to leadership on organization-centric • Liaisons between unit, installation, and organization resources
and support agencies
health and performance trends. The HPO-I helps direct target-
ing and integration of human performance (e.g., mental per- • Provides HPO and TFF health and performance advisory and li-
aison services that support the unique culture and mission of the
formance specialist, athletic trainer, strength and conditioning organization, its members, and the community
specialist, performance dietician, etc.) and healthcare (e.g. • Works to preserve the mission of the operational and support
clinical psychologist, physical therapist, social worker, reg- communities and their Mission Essential Task Lists (METLs)
istered dietician, etc.) assets. The HPO-I assists in providing • Aids human performance and health care teams in facilitating
targeted education and training in collaboration with instal- custom programming to enhance organizational effectiveness and
lation TFF/HPO teams, based on organizational trends and Servicemember performance at METLs.
mission priorities. We envision the HPO-I at various stages • Informs the targeting of integrative health and performance
of expertise, education, and training—from an entry level teams, resources, and efforts
for enlisted (E4–E6), mid-level (E-7/8; O-3/4), and leadership • Executes health and performance trend analysis, to inform tar-
level (E-9/O-5/6) depending on knowledge, skills, abilities, ed- geting of service delivery, validate program impact, and support
ucation, certifications, credentials, and experiences. Overall, higher headquarters data feedback loop
the HPO-I is available to complement a full-spectrum HPO • Blends technical and tactical expertise to facilitate the implemen-
approach: they are key members of HPO/health teams. Table tation of community-based TFF and HPO frameworks
1 presents selected expected roles of an HPO-I, and Table 2 • Creates and maintains partnerships to inform and sustain HPO/
TFF programming
provides a proposed job description. The role and function of
each HPO-I can be tailored to complement the unique organi- • Identifies and works to reduce occupational and mission related
vulnerabilities and risks
zational framework and mission of each line community. The • Delivers HPO/TFF education and training on a variety of topics to
HPO-I would have a college credit bearing certificate in HPO the unit, installation, and organization
and access to voluntary educational pathways and degrees • Establishes respect and credibility within embedded organization
through the USU/CAHS. by being an ambassador and leader for health and performance,
participating/observing select trainings, and attending socials and
TABLE 1 Key Tasks and Responsibilities of HPO-I events
• Characterizes Warfighter core tasks, skill sets, and unique • Empowers population towards self-care through community in-
strengths and vulnerabilities volvement in service delivery, train-the-trainers programming,
• Helps target education, training, and support agency efforts and other HPO/TFF themed initiatives
• Helps identify/track performance and health metrics
• Assists to inform selection and training of support agency
personnel respond to mission and health-based population trends from
• Assists to improve assessments and career-field selection level I unit level HPO-Is as well as coordinate efforts with the
• Strives to improve communication across line communities and level 3 HPO-I at the established service’s central hub.
support agencies
The senior HPO-I would be a level 3. This senior HPO-I
would assist with integrating multidisciplinary efforts across
HPO-I Levels each service/DoD with regard to the TFF domains and strive
As noted earlier, we envision HPO-I as a tiered position start- to build and maintain the enterprise communities across career
ing at level 1 where the HPO-I would help manage imple- fields to align support structures, staffing, and policies. The se-
mentation of the TFF/HPO CBB plan, assemble, and target nior HPO-I would lead the development of community-based
internal and installation HPO resources for the commander. systems for tracking performance and health trends based on
He/she would liaise with health and performance resources networking with HPO-I levels 1 and 2. Together as a team
and reach back to a headquarters-established hub for HPO-I they would validate the impact that resource targeting has on
capabilities from the level 2 HPO-I and other HPO multidisci- the health and performance of SOF as well as what the ideal
plinary team members. The HPO-I would assist in supporting composition of the multidisciplinary teams should be. Cur-
HPO policies, tracking mission- and health-based population rently in POTFF, one key component is the reliance on men-
trends, and working with the level 2 HPO-I team members to tal health specialists. How do we develop a metric to clearly
consolidate and coordinate upstream efforts (Table 3). demonstrate their value? This would be a discussion across the
HPO-Is at each level who communicate from the “bottom up”
Along those lines, the level 2 HPO-I would be located at a but also integrate from the “top-down” to ensure best prac-
headquarters-established geographic hub and participate in tices are developed and followed and ensure the integration
managing TFF/HPO CBB plans and helping units map, tar- of human performance enhancement and health flow equally
get, and reconcile internal and external HPO resources. This horizontally and vertically. The HPO-I is key to the feedback
is essential for addressing identified gaps and vulnerabilities loop and ensures the priorities of each community are heard
and enhancing requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities. The and demands from above are not imposed unless the HPO-I
level 2 HPO-I would complement the multidisciplinary health sends a signal vertically and seeks assistance. Also, the level 3
and performance teams and assist in supporting and engaging HPO-I assists in shaping community policy on HPO and TFF
the level 1 HPO-I. He/she would also work to reconcile and across career lifecycles (enlistment to retirement).

102 | JSOM Volume 19, Edition 2 / Summer 2019