Page 105 - JSOM Summer 2019

TABLE 3 Potential Content Aligned to Develop HPO-I CSAs
Area Sample Content Supporting Core Competencies
• HPO and TFF history and fundamentals for enhancing Warfighter lethality and operational readiness
• HPO/TFF Capability-Based Blueprint (CBB) and assessing community performance and health needs
• Military culture and diversity and analyzing career field Mission Essential Task Lists (METL)
• Planning, implementing, and managing organization HPO/TFF CBB framework
HPO-I Core
Track Content • Operational community health and performance trends and the targeting of health and performance resources
• Measuring impact of health and performance service delivery on Warfighter lethality and operational readiness
• Developing a holistic orientation and integrating multidisciplinary health and performance team’s efforts
• Developing interpersonal and organizational consultative skills
• Evidence-based strategies for building strong team and leadership strategies that impact team cohesion
• Tactical performance nutrition
• Basics of sports medicine and injury prevention
• Basics of physical training: Endurance, strength and conditioning
• Tactical endurance, strength and conditioning
HPO-I Elective • Fundamentals of application of psychology to enhance job and task performance
Track Content
• Fundamentals of effective and persuasive communication in interpersonal and organizational communication
• Fundamentals of Human Systems Integration (HSI) relevant to core task leveraging human factors to improve
performance and mitigating risk
• Fundamentals of spirituality. Forging an identity. Leveraging individual beliefs, core values, purpose, hope and
meaning to optimize health, well-being, and performance across diverse scenarios

HPO-Centric Education obtain a college degree, that ultimately will support post-ser-
CHAMP at USU has the capability to educate and train mili- vice job opportunities. Enlisted personnel from each service
tary personnel in the scientific and fundamental applications could be educated and trained as HPO-Is/extenders and at the
of TFF and HPO, which are key to realignment efforts to same time obtain college credits toward a degree while serv-
support the mission and priorities of the SECDEF: providing ing with their unit as part of a larger HPO team. Importantly,
lethal warfighting assets to combatant commanders. Through HPO/TFF education and training would serve as a motivator
a relationship with the USU College of Allied Health Science for self-health and provide the knowledge, skills, and under-
(CAHS), CHAMP can equip SOF personnel with the right standing of basic HPO/TFF elements. Students would be ori-
combination of education, training, and experiences critical ented in a way that moves beyond medical readiness toward
to preserving the lethality of their Operators and institutional mission readiness.
competencies. Indeed, HPO-centric education will enable SOF
personnel to identify and fulfill the mission readiness needs One other action approved in the DCR articulated that TFF
and gaps of a unit, in concert with their assigned POTFF re- education must be presented as a Special Area of Emphasis
sources. Together they will find a way to mobilize resources for Joint Professional Medical Education—this, too, applies
that reach the target populations “in need” before a stressor or to SOF medical assets. Few healthcare providers are trained
“bang” occurs. Additionally, HPO-centric education is unique or educated in HPO, and such education must be both inte-
in that it brings together the siloed and fractured domains of grated and experiential—the language must be learned, and
health and performance, as they are currently addressed in the metrics must be defined. A curriculum addressing such issues
MHS. Instead, HPO-centric education positions SOF person- would emerge from discussion with the SOF Operators and
nel to address the total fitness of unit members, to learn how current SOF medical and POTFF assets. It is a shift of cul-
to formulate a holistic perspective on potential performance ture—from treating a problem to finding a solution before a
degraders, and to explore skills, concepts, and theories about problem emerges. HPO is a continuous process—it is not a
how to approach and address such issues in a comprehensive program—and it involves and requires continuous learning as
way to improve SOF performance outcomes. new information and technologies unfold.

Aligning with the 2015-2020 DoD Voluntary Education Stra- Summary
tegic Plan, HPO-centric education through USU/CAHS can
offer a pathway toward a college degree by providing courses Preserving and optimizing SOF Operator and unit lethality re-
with associated credits while also enabling commanding offi- quire a paradigm shift that calls for systemic changes within
cers to have access to personnel within the unit who can assist leadership, Operator, and support agency components. HPO
in identifying and mitigating performance risks. In particular, education and training are the next step in this evolving pro-
SOF medics will have the opportunity to obtain college cred- cess, to synergize current realignment of policy and business
its for their training at the Joint Special Operations Medical practices with complementary training and education. The
Training Center through USU/CAHS and extend their training successful implementation of the solutions provided here has
in human performance. Currently, CHAMP and USU/CAHS the potential to enable a number of positive changes for lead-
are working with service communities and identifying partners ership, providers, and Operators. First, SOF Operators have
to ensure HPO-I education and training programs will address an increased likelihood of recognizing the unique require-
clearly identified HPO/TFF gaps. The proposed education is ments and exposures of their career field to preserve their ca-
intended to blend with career and educational pathways, com- pabilities and mitigate occupational risk factors over a career
plement organizational framework, and allow for a route to lifespan. Second, leaders would be better equipped to improve

Optimizing Warfighter Lethality | 103