Page 120 - JSOM Spring 2020

and researchers as equal-share stakeholders. The MHS’s larger is co-owned by the participating community so that the CBB
realignment efforts to support Operator CTs and unit METLs blueprint or report is accessible to leadership, CF members,
also remain challenged due to various factors, including: si- and installation support services. A guiding principle of the
loed efforts with limited crosstalk among policy makers, CBB is to build it as a translational tool for multiple stake-
health organizations, and Operational customers, and perfor- holders. The CBB emphasizes a balanced collaboration to en-
mance optimization and health sustainment not directly sup- sure (1) the communities are invested in the process and the
porting CTs and unit METLs. Most importantly, to accurately results, (2) deliverables are a true reflection of their perfor-
inform P&H programming, Operator and unit operationally mance enhancement and health sustainment priorities, and (3)
centric needs must be clearly articulated. Once these needs are deliverables also support their CTs and unit METLs to em-
clearly identified, resources can be appropriately aligned and power the community to align service delivery and advocate
validated to ensure a robust operational return on investment. for their own needs when researchers exit the field.

In this article, we propose the Human Performance Optimi- As CF stakeholders, leadership, Operators, P&H support
zation and Total Force Fitness Capabilities Based Blueprint teams, researchers, and policy makers have unique perspectives
(CBB) and Targeting System that actions the DoD Joint Re- and are demarcated from one another by distinct sociocultural
quirements Oversight Council’s Memorandum and addresses differences, including different professional cultures, values, pri-
5
the gaps noted above to provide SOF leaders and their diverse orities, practices, and ways of framing P&H. These differences
Operator career fields (CFs) the initial starting point to in- can contribute to fragmented and siloed efforts. Building func-
form their realignment efforts. Using examples from a CBB tional cooperation among these stakeholders requires a bridg-
workshop with US Air Force 1U Sensor Operators, we pro- ing mechanism to assist in systematic and productive boundary
vide an overview of the CBB and its community-based engage- crossing between these professional cultures or “sites.” To build
ment methodology and discuss its use as a translational tool a tool that these stakeholder groups can use independently and
to bridge the divide between performance and health (P&H) in cooperation with one another, the CBB process and result-
service delivery, and its potential for closing the gap between ing blueprint is designed to act as that bridging tool or bound-
medical readiness and mission readiness. ary object. Boundary objects “both inhabit several intersecting
worlds and satisfy the informational requirements of each of
HPO as a Community Effort and Translational Tool them ... [They are] both plastic enough to adapt to local needs
and the constraints of the several parties employing them, yet
The HPO and TFF CBB and Targeting System was developed to robust enough to maintain a common identity across sites.” 10
assist human P&H sustainment support teams to rapidly and dy-
namically align support services to optimize CT and unit METL Boundary objects like the CBB foster collaboration across
capabilities, and this can apply directly to SOF. As SOF mission “sites” and facilitate boundary crossing to connect and mo-
sets continue to evolve with the changing landscape of warfare, bilize multiple actors across diverse professional cultures. 11–13
CF CTs and their associated occupational demands, needs, and “Boundary objects are able to coordinate different groups
risks also evolve and change. For P&H services to remain in without a consensus about their aims and interests. If they are
step with the diverse needs of their Operator customers and for both open to interpretation and valuable for various scientific
SOF leadership to make informed decisions about resource al- disciplines or social groups, boundary objects can be highly
location and targeting, SOF community stakeholders must first useful as a communication tool in order to bridge scientific
clearly identify CF- and unit-specific human P&H needs unique disciplines and the gap between science and policy.” The use
14
to the diverse CTs and METLs of their communities. Identifying of the “human weapon system” concept is an example of a
SOF Operator needs, through their CTs and unit METLs, is boundary object. It grafts common understanding of items like
the first step to being able to allocate resources effectively and “fueling,” “maintenance,” and “the depot” from a mechanical
demonstrate an operational return on investment. point of view onto concepts and terms like “nutrition,” “pre-
ventive/restorative care” and “the Medical Treatment Facility,”
SOF Operators, in particular, are heavily researched popula- for example, making medical goals and terminology versus op-
tions, which has led both to incredible developments in sci- erational goals and terminology mutually translatable. HPO,
ence and significant research fatigue for these populations. In if understood and operationalized consistently the same way
an already full “playing field” of researchers and fatigued op- across stakeholder groups, can also act as a boundary object. 2,14
erational communities, the CBB process operationalizes HPO
to be unobtrusive and adaptable while prioritizing SOF CF The CBB is a systematic application of HPO and its four tenets
knowledge, voices, and participation in the tradition of com- through the use of a Rapid Qualitative Inquiry (RQI) frame-
munity-based participatory research (CBPR) principles and work. An RQI framework allows for rapid and intensive data
practices. Such practices build trust and understanding be- collection across the range of TFF domains (i.e., psychological,
6–9
tween diverse stakeholders and facilitate equitable governance social, spiritual, physical, nutrition, environmental, medical)
over the project. The CBPR approach also facilitates more to highlight the P&H priorities of a SOF Operator through his
rapid and thorough data collection through continual quality or her CF CTs and unit METLs, while at the same time avoid-
checks and engagement by the “community” from the partic- ing common issues around research fatigue and equitable re-
ipating CF. search collaborations. These priorities provide clear human
9
P&H targets to improve the precision of resources directed at
The CBB workshop itself can take as little as 1 week, with a optimizing SOF Operator CT performance, sustaining Opera-
month of intensive preparation at the beginning of the proj- tor health, and extending Operator CF longevity.
ect with CF stakeholders and a month to prepare and dis-
seminate the results collaboratively after the workshop. This As with any methodology, RQI has obvious advantages as
helps ensure the process can be deployed quickly and that it well as limitations. An RQI framework allows for rapid data

114 | JSOM Volume 20, Edition 1 / Spring 2020