Page 90 - JSOM Summer 2025

expression. As such, our holistic, humanistic infrastructure does to catastrophic injury. In other words, the reception of art en-
not ignore the value of technique, but it does not make technical ables the recovery of unconventional resilience after the hu-
perfection the evaluative criteria of practical performance. man experience of war.

Having placed the SOF medic’s human experience—not mech- Conclusion: The Pragmatic Value of a Holistic,
anistic learning—center stage, our findings illustrate that med- Humanistic Infrastructure
17
ical-martial skills can be understood as a dancer that relies
on fluid kinesthetic reasoning to interpret, problem-solve, and The pragmatic value of our holistic, humanistic infrastructure
i
respond amid real-time practical performance. Comparing the is that it enables cohesive integration of our theory develop-
SOF medic’s practical performance to the artistry of a dancer, ment at all levels of unconventional resilience. As the medi-
helps elucidate the main aspect of our theory development; cal-martial profession matures, this infrastructure will support
namely, that movement is the essence of all human perfor- the development of an energetically nimble culture. This agil-
13
mance. Moreover, dancers, like SOF medics, constantly ity trait organizes the kinesthetic and proprioceptive elements
refine their technical ability to express dynamic freedom of of everyday experience around the ability to attune, interpret,
movement, which—in its purest performance state—is ex- and appropriately respond to the nuanced rhythmic patterns
perienced as a revitalizing manifestation of flow in real-time entailed in SOF missions. An energetically nimble professional
18
performance. Since we based our theory development on community predicated on the SOF medic’s practical wisdom,
movement, unconventional resilience, like dance, has the “po- born from catastrophic injury exposure, will also enable fluid
tential to open up physical ways of creation, forms of action, integration of SOF medicine into the SOF mission.
and options for transformation.” 18(p60)
Author Contributions
Classifying medical-martial skills as the foundation of artistic EAJ conceived of this study and wrote the protocol. SLH ob-
performance in a social kinesphere also elucidates a critical tained funding and IRB. JD acted as liaison to the Air Force
hypothesis that has emerged from this study. Dancers structure Special Operations community in specific the 24 Special Op-
their dynamic freedom of maneuver around nuanced attune- erations Wing and Special Operations Surgical Teams. JD also
ment to and interpretation of beat structures and rhythmic orchestrated all approvals for field observations. EAJ recruited
patterns in music. This ability to express dynamic freedom participants, collected and analyzed interview, data, and drafted
of maneuver through a refinement of musicality provides a the initial taxonomy of themes. JD served as AFSOC medical
structure that allows ambiguity to foster connection to one- expert during data analysis process. EAJ and JP wrote the first
self, other dancers, and an audience. As such, we hypothesize draft of this paper. JWB provided substantive feedback to sec-
19
that organic beat structures ground, orient, activate, attune, ond draft. JB served as military medical expert in redacting
and synergize real-time performance in SOF medicine across findings. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
all levels of unconventional resilience. If this hypothesis is ac-
5
curate, then training the ability to rhythmically pattern beat Disclosures
structures involved in medical-martial skills will be essential Jay Baker, Jennifer Patton, Jared Wyma-Bradley, John Dorsch,
to developing, maintaining, and enhancing unconventional and Sarah L. Huffman have no financial relationship to this
resilience. study. Erika Ann Jeschke served as the Senior Lead Research
Scientist on this project and was paid through the following
Tactical Function of Art contracting companies: Parsons Corporation, ABSS Solutions,
During data collection, the research team noticed that the vast Inc. / 1st American Systems and Services, LLC, Innovative Em-
majority of participants maintained at least one intimate re- ployee Solutions (IES), SURVICE Engineering.
lationship with a professional artist. So, we began to ask the
question: “What form of art do you like?” The responses were Disclaimer
both unexpected and overwhelming: The Public Affairs Office, United States Air Force 60th Med-
ical Group at Travis, AFB has approved this publication for
universal distribution. The AFRL’s Institutional Review Board
I love art. Is that weird that I love art? It could be mu-
sic, painting, or prose. It could be science, cooking, or approved the study as an exempt protocol (# FWR20200104)
woodworking. Art is an individual’s way to express their in August 2020. The information, content and/or conclusions
personal interpretation of an environment. I remember do not necessarily represent the official position or policy of
being saturated with painting, after painting, after paint- AFRL-USAFSAM, the Department of Defense, or the U.S.
ing walking through museums in Europe. The beauty was Government.
so therapeutic. Recently, I saw a Van Gogh exhibition and Funding
realized he was a lot like me. The story was all in his paint- This research is sponsored by funding (# FU 20-042) from the
ings. Gosh, I don’t even know why I went down that path Air Force Research Lab-U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace
of conversation, other than I just started thinking about Medicine (AFRL-USAFSAM) through the Studies and Analysis
art and how much I love art.
Program.
This finding suggests that the personal reception of art also References
plays a tactical role in supporting practical performance. Re- 1. Lepecki A. Of the Presence of the Body: Essays on Dance and
ception of art seems to allow the SOF medic to connect to and Performance Theory. Wesleyan University Press; 2004. Accessed
unleash deeply held energies that emerged from the exposure August 8, 2024. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=
i. We believe this holistic, humanistic metaphor better describes the practical performance of the SOF medic, team, and organization than the
biomechanical, reductive metaphor that describes practical performance in relationship to a robot that relies on rigid algorithmic reasoning
to interpret, problem-solve, and respond amid real-time performance.

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