Page 86 - JSOM Summer 2025

An Ongoing Series

Unconventional Resilience

A Holistic, Humanistic Infrastructure of Integrated Performance

Erika “Ann” Jeschke, PhD *; Jennifer Patton, MSN ; Jared Wyma-Bradley, MD ;
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Jay Baker, MDiv ; John Dorsch, DO ; Sarah Lynn Huffman, PhD 6
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ABSTRACT
Building off our findings discussed at the strategic, operational, 2) elucidate Aristotelean constructs that influence our notion
and tactical levels of unconventional resilience, we conclude of integrated performance and human motivation within the
this series by developing a holistic, humanistic infrastructure medical-martial profession; 3) allegorize the SOF medic’s
of integrated performance in Special Operation Forces (SOF) practical performance in relationship to a dancer to highlight
medicine. This infrastructure will explicitly acknowledge the medical-martial artistry—not mechanism—as the essence of
human motivational context of practical performance and peak performance. We conclude by gesturing to the pragmatic
provide credibility to the medical-martial profession by ac- value of our holistic, humanistic infrastructure.
knowledging cultural values, norms, skills, and standards en-
tailed in an emerging professional code of the Warrior Medic. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Institutional Review
Board approved the study as an exempt protocol. To capture
Keywords: unconventional resilience; SOF medic; integrated intricacies within the cultural ethos of SOSTs, data were col-
performance; flow; art lected through individual, open-ended interviews with six par-
ticipants from each of the four clinical specialties represented
in a SOST. Additionally, focus groups and field observations
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were performed across the two SOST detachments to capture
Introduction
team and organizational dynamics. All identifying names,
We conclude this exegesis of findings from our ethnographic genders, locations, medical specialties, and military ranks
study titled, “The Impact of Catastrophic Injury Exposure on were removed. To further protect privacy and maintain con-
Resilience in Special Operations Surgical Teams (SOST).” This fidentiality, themes described herein do not reflect individual
final paper provides a holistic, humanistic infrastructure that commentaries. All quotes are constructed from various SOST
will integrate the major aspects of our performance theory, medic narratives that code under the theme discussed. As such,
which provides a cultural representation of unconventional quotes are an aggregate analysis, which not only draws a holis-
resilience after catastrophic injury exposure. Infrastructures tic blueprint of the entire data set but also represents the co-ed
shape the way human phenomenon are evaluated, interpreted, composition of the organization. While data in this paper fo-
and understood. As such, infrastructures are substantive be- cus specifically on SOSTs, these findings are likely relevant to
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cause they pattern the solutions offered to explain and respond all SOF medics because the study focused on the phenomenon
to real-world human challenges. of catastrophic injury exposure in austere environments. 2
Combining the main attributes of unconventional resilience, Our approach to infrastructure development may be disrup-
our comprehensive performance theory will introduce holistic tive because it evaluates the SOF medic’s practical skills as the
humanism as an infrastructure well suited to organize and pro- most important aspect of change agency by which performance
vide meaning to the Special Operation Forces (SOF) medic’s, possibilities are transformed in real time. As such, pragmatic
team’s, and organization’s experience of catastrophic injury power to change the performance space amid SOF missions
exposure. To achieve our goals, we: 1) re-animate the con- lies with those who utilize everyday pressures to attune and
nection between conventional and unconventional resilience; respond to organic beat structures across the deployment

*Correspondence to stlamazonia@gmail.com
1 Dr. Erika “Ann” Jeschke is affiliated with the SURVICE Engineering, Becamp, MD. MAJ Jennifer Patton, Air Force Institute of Technology,
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Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Jared Wyma-Bradley is the Director of Spiritual Care at Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute, Washington,
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DC. COL Jay Baker is affiliated with the U.S. Army Corps, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA. Col (Ret) John Dorsch is affiliated with the Uni-
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versity of North Carolina Southeastern, Lumberton, NC. Lt Col Sarah L. Huffman is affiliated with the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace
Medicine-Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH.
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