Photo By Spc. Joshua Cowden | Ray Bear, 3rd Special Forces Group THOR3 human performance coordinator, presents...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. – A packed conference room at the Iron Mike Conference Center on Fort Bragg was the site for hundreds of industry professionals and Army leaders April 29-30, 2019, for the XVIII Airborne Corps 2019 Human Performance Optimization Symposium.
The crowd included a vast array of civilians and Soldiers, and the presenters included a wide variety of leaders and experts in both the civilian world of training and performance as well as the Department of Defense. Speakers included former NFL football player John Welbourn, former Army Ranger Nate Palin, project manager at the National Strength and Conditioning Association; Lt. Col. Andrew Contreras, physical therapist at Womack Army Medical Center and many more experts in the field of human performance.
“The goal of an event like this is to really start the education process on a larger scale,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Kardouni, director of human performance optimization with XVIII Airborne Corps. “Educating our Soldiers as large groups in the Army is particularly important when we have so many common areas that we need to improve on.”
There was a wide variety of topics throughout the two days of presentations including athleticism, Soldier readiness, the impact of sleep, diet and nutrition; and rehabilitation and proper training techniques.
Kardouni was key in organizing the 2019 Human Performance Optimization Symposium and the timing was key. With the Army Combat Fitness test rolling out Army-wide in October, education on human performance optimization is more important than ever, he said
“I think by most accounts, people will tell you the ACFT is a more well-rounded test for the components of physical fitness that we expect from Soldiers,” Kardouni said. “So I think as the ACFT develops and gets rolled out, what we are going to see is a more holistic approach to physical fitness.”
Injury avoidance and reduction was a key point of emphasis for many of the day’s presentations.
“Injury avoidance is paramount,” said 1st Sgt. William Ziegler, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. “When you have a Soldier that’s injured, they are taken out of the fight and often unnecessarily because of the lack of knowledge. Focusing on how to prevent an injury versus fixing an injury is key. Utilizing mobility and nutrition; all of these things play a major role in overall health and wellness that will keep Soldiers from becoming injured.”
According to Army Doctrine Publication 7-0, Readiness is the Army’s top priority and training is the most important activity units do to achieve and maintain readiness. Events like these bring to light the ways units can effectively improve training and continue maintaining high levels of readiness.
“A multi-faceted approach is going to help improve Soldiers overall holistically,” Kardouni said. “Not just as far as performance but in general health as well. We are still looking at all the specifics of performance, but what we do know is a multi-faceted approach through strength coaches, sports psych interventions, nutrition and rehabilitation all come together to help overall performance.”
This is just the start of the education process and more events like this will be held in the upcoming future, Kardouni said.
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.02.2019 20:23 |
| Story ID: | 320423 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NC, US |
| Hometown: | FAYETTEVILLE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | FORT LIBERTY, NC, US |
| Hometown: | SPRING LAKE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 216 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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