In 2009, the U.S. Special Operations Command announced that Humans are more important than hardware. But with wearables revolutionizing sports medicine and athletics, the distinction between humans and hardware is less relevant than ever. This means that investing in wearable technology for special operations forces is now the best way to put humans first.
What might this look like? With a small population of elite warfighters in high-stress environments, Special Operations Command can lead the force in determining which wearable devices are worth the investment. The Preservation of the Force and Family program, which is already in place to improve the holistic health of special operations forces, can spearhead efforts to distribute, monitor, test, and best utilize wearables for the entire military.
A Wearable Revolution
In the last two decades, sports medicine and sports science have advanced dramatically. Athletes are now bigger, faster, and stronger due, in part, to advancements in technologies that allow them to train smarter. A critical facet of this revolution is wearable technology that offers athletes immediate and continuous feedback on an increasing number of health and performance metrics. The wearable trend started with simple Global Positioning System-enabled devices measuring steps taken in a day and heart-rate monitors allowing users to train in specific heart-rate zones. However, wearable technology is now quickly outpacing older, more expensive, and more invasive technologies. New Apple Watches, for example, allow users to bypass hospital visits by serving as both an electrocardiogram to monitor heart health and a pulse oximeter to measure blood oxygen levels in 10 seconds. Wearables rapid development is providing valuable new tools for physical therapists and healthcare professionals and eliciting optimism about the future of individualized self-care.
This revolution hasnt gone unnoticed by the Department of Defense, which is testing wearables across different military branches. The U.S. Air Force recently began using the Oura Ring, a technology worn on your finger, to more accurately determine pilots flight readiness in the morning based on their overall sleep score. Previously, pilots flight readiness was determined by hours in bed rather than the quality of sleep. However, Oura Rings offer the ability to both measure sleep quality and potentially improve sleep, making pilots fitter to fly. Additionally, the U.S. Navy regularly tests various wearable devices at the Naval Postgraduate School Human and Systems Integration laboratory to study and improve crew rest, while the U.S. Army tests wearables to study soldiers resiliency in harsh winter conditions. As wearable technology continues to progress, so do the applications and opportunities to improve service members sleep, fitness, and overall health.
Wearables Potential in Special Operations
In 2012, Special Operations Command adopted the Preservation of the Force and Family strategy. The goal was to optimize and sustain mission readiness, longevity, and performance, thereby maximizing the estimated $1.5 million investment that the military makes in each member of special operations. The strategy seeks to provide precise preventative interventions and emphasisizes holistic health across five domains: physical, cognitive, psychological, social and family, and spiritual.
Wearable technology is already improving individual physical fitness and should be a critical component in enhancing operator health across every all of these domains. Wearables currently track a host of physical and biological metrics and use algorithms to generate useful approximations of additional metrics, including sleep quality, readiness, and stress. Many wearable interfaces offer coaching to nudge users towards healthier behaviors. Leading wearables, including the Oura Ring, Apple Watch, and Whoop Strap, offer nuanced sleep and activity coaching based on users unique metrics and trends. Put simply, wearables can tell you when you are overworked and need a break.
In an organization like Special Operations Command, which demands long hours under highly stressful conditions, having a tool that provides an objective measurement of readiness is uniquely valuable. Operators are specially selected and trained for resilience to adverse physical and mental conditions. Constant adaptation to a changing environment, however, comes at a cost. But this advantageous adaptation can produce allostatic load, leading to chronic physical maladies including pain, fatigue, and compromised immunity. Reduction of allostatic load first requires identification of increased stress. Enter wearables. Wearables can provide feedback on a host of biological metrics correlated with stress, including heart-rate variability, resting heart rate, and sleep quality. This makes it possible to identify chronic physiological stress, implement nuanced interventions, and prevent the difficulties associated with allostatic overload.
Wearables can also bring benefits in the cognitive and psychological domains. The Oura Ring encourages users to monitor body signals through practices such as guided mindfulness and breathing protocols. As shown by ongoing studies at Texas A&M, mindfulness meditations and associated breathing exercises can reduce stress and improve mental health. This can be particularly useful to special operations forces in reducing combat mental illness. Paired with blast gauge data or baseline cognitive tests such as the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics, wearables may also allow the early identification and treatment of traumatic brain injury.
Mitigating Concerns
In a profession where chronic stress is so abundant that it produced the term operator syndrome, why are wearable technologies not already commonplace? For one thing, there isnt a one-size-fits-all wearable. While one wearable specializes in sleep, for example, it may not be as effective at measuring physical activity. Concerns over operational security also dampen wearable enthusiasm in the Defence Department. And for good reasons in 2018, the fitness and location tracking application Strava infamously illuminated the location of multiple overseas military bases. Similarly, privacy risks regarding collected data can cause hesitation in an increasingly connected and data-driven world. Data security and patient confidentiality are paramount concerns with aggregated health information collected from wearables, and have legal implications under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. While data is routinely stripped of identifiers, including names and addresses, it can become re-identifiable when correlated with other datasets.
Special Operations Command has an important role to play in helping to address these security and privacy concerns. Letting the Preservation of the Force and Family program lead the development of wearables can help by removing military commanders from the loop, preventing mandatory use and giving participants the power of consent. Personnel associated with this program are also trained and certified to handle protected health information, reducing the risk of a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violation and relieving military commanders of such a burden. Assigning random user identifications can help to avoid the disclosure of personal data. Preservation of the Force and Family personnel can further prevent the re-identification of anonymous users by isolating the wearables data, thereby preventing their merging with larger military data sets.
While there are simple ways to mitigate the known concerns over wearables, there will always be risks, especially with the early adoption of technology. These risks should be explored, preferably in a small and competent population, to best identify and understand wearables capabilities and limitations. Implementation and open dialogue will enable the force to exploit wearables significant potential to improve holistic health.
Wearables Are Coming!
In any technological revolution, there will be resistance to adopting new technology, especially in large organizations like Special Operations Command. Nevertheless, wearable technology has taken the world by storm. Large corporations have adopted wearables into healthcare policies, and wearable tech is an $81.5 billion industry. With a smaller population that is often presented with high chronic stress, Special Operations Command has the opportunity to lead the U.S. military in the use of wearable technology. By leveraging the recent revolution in wearables, programs such as Preservation of the Force and Family can bring humans and hardware together in the safest and smartest way possible.
Maj. Kevin Butler and Maj. Frank Foss are Army Special Forces officers currently pursuing a masters in Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School. Between them, they have over a dozen combat and operational deployments to the Central Command and Southern Command.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the views of the authors alone. They do not reflect the official position of the Naval Postgraduate School, the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or any other entity within the U.S. government and the authors are not authorized to provide any official position of these entities.
Image: U.S. Army (Photo by Sgt. Apolonia Gaspar)
Originally posted here:
Humans and Hardware: How Special Operations Can Pioneer Wearable Technology - War on the Rocks
- UNM researcher is advancing HIV Prevention and Health Equity for Native Americans - Albuquerque Journal - November 16th, 2024
- CVS Health expands access to primary care services at select MinuteClinic locations - CVS Health - November 16th, 2024
- Decrease in syphilis diagnoses among gay men most likely linked to preventive antibiotic use - NBC News - November 16th, 2024
- Breakthrough T1D Leads Effort to Make Screening for T1D Part of Recommended Preventive Services in the US - cnhinews.com - November 16th, 2024
- Pakistan Has The Worlds Highest Diabetes Prevalence - And Lacks Focus On Prevention - Health Policy Watch - November 16th, 2024
- Herbal medicine shows great potential in treating and preventing dementia - Earth.com - November 16th, 2024
- Health and Wellness Market to Grow by USD 1.93 Trillion (2024-2028), Driven by Rising Focus on Health Programs, AI-Powered Report Highlights Market... - November 16th, 2024
- Care for body and mind. And important prevention. - KODA Storyboard - November 16th, 2024
- The 8th World Integrative Medicine Congress - Preventive Care as a Priority, Universal Health for All - openPR - November 16th, 2024
- World Pneumonia Day 2024: 6 symptoms of pneumonia in the elderly - Health shots - November 16th, 2024
- Mercks Clesrovimab (MK-1654), an Investigational Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Preventative Monoclonal Antibody, Significantly Reduced Incidence... - October 22nd, 2024
- New Strategies to Extend the HIV Treatment Cascade for CVD Prevention - Infectious Disease Special Edition - October 22nd, 2024
- Shea fights breast cancer with family support - nwestiowa.com - October 22nd, 2024
- Cancer hospitals' cancer prevention plansand what's foiling them - Newsweek - October 22nd, 2024
- The Wright Medicine: Breast Cancer Awareness Month a time to tout preventive measures - Valley Advantage - October 22nd, 2024
- Prevention and Management of Urolithiasis With Parsley and Barley Among the Hail Population, Saudi Arabia: Is It Fact or Not? - Cureus - October 22nd, 2024
- Leveraging Patient Data for Early Healthcare Interventions: Insights from Gerard Hanratty of Browne Jacobson - Healthcare Digital - October 22nd, 2024
- Why Wes Streetings prevention agenda is sinister - The Spectator - October 22nd, 2024
- An injectable HIV-prevention drug is highly effective but wildly expensive - NBC News - September 13th, 2024
- Top preventive health tips your internist wants you to know - American Medical Association - September 13th, 2024
- National Falls Prevention Week: Turning awareness into action - McKnight's Long-Term Care News - September 13th, 2024
- UToledo Health Mobile Clinic Takes Preventative Care on the Road - UToledo News - September 13th, 2024
- Twice-Yearly Injection Cuts HIV Risk by 96%, But Will Cost Cut Access? - The Mercury - Manhattan, Kansas - September 13th, 2024
- Von der Leyen to ramp up EU healthcare union and focus on preventative treatment - MedWatch - September 13th, 2024
- Kate Middleton's preventative chemotherapy explained: The gruelling drugs that are proven to stop disease retu - Daily Mail - September 13th, 2024
- Personalised prevention in England - The Health Foundation - September 13th, 2024
- Stay on top of your fur baby's health: the importance of scheduling routine vet visits - FoxReno.com - May 17th, 2023
- Preventive healthcare - May 9th, 2023
- What Is Preventive Health and Why Is It Important? - May 9th, 2023
- What Is Preventive Medicine & Why Do We Need It? | AUC - February 16th, 2023
- Preventive Medicine | Journal | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier - December 3rd, 2022
- Migraine - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic - December 3rd, 2022
- Functional Medicine of Idaho | Preventative Root Cause Medicine - December 3rd, 2022
- These 2 Staten Island nurses believe IV hydration drips and vitamin shots are key to long-term health - SILive.com - December 3rd, 2022
- CNBCTV-18 and IIM-K's India@2047 Leadership Series: Challenges and opportunities in the fintech and healthcare sectors - Forbes India - December 3rd, 2022
- As N.W.T. mulls health coverage changes, petition calls for preventative HIV drug to be free - CBC.ca - September 20th, 2022
- EU regulator backs wider use of AstraZeneca COVID therapy - Reuters - September 20th, 2022
- Choose integrative medicine for health and wellness - Technique - September 20th, 2022
- The high hospital bills we make victims of rape and sexual violence pay - Vox.com - September 20th, 2022
- 4 Anti-Aging Products Youre Using All Wrong, According To Skincare Experts - SheFinds - September 20th, 2022
- Why Now is the Time to Double Down on Virtual Care - HIT Consultant - September 20th, 2022
- Tell Giselle: The price of good help is priceless - Wilkes Barre Times-Leader - September 20th, 2022
- Heron Therapeutics Announces U.S. FDA Approval of APONVIE (HTX-019) for the Prevention of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) - BioSpace - September 20th, 2022
- Pickleball injuries are on the rise: 5 preventive tips to keep you on the court - The Manual - September 20th, 2022
- The next big social movement and other takeaways from our regular meeting - POLITICO - September 20th, 2022
- 15 Mushrooms and How to Use Them in Vegan Cooking - VegNews - September 20th, 2022
- Use of honey in the management of Chemotherapy | CMAR - Dove Medical Press - September 20th, 2022
- Celebrity Strategy Consultant Predicts What Will Be The Most Impactful Area In The Pharmaceutical Industry - Forbes - September 20th, 2022
- C2C Care Course The Preservation of Our Global Photographic Heritage: Here, There and Everywhere - aam-us.org - August 3rd, 2022
- Loneliness: Causes, Effects And Prevention Forbes Health - Forbes - August 3rd, 2022
- Prevention and wellness is the new model, a leader from Henry Ford Health System says - Becker's Hospital Review - August 3rd, 2022
- FACT SHEET: White House Summit on Building Lasting Eviction Prevention Reform - The White House - August 3rd, 2022
- Getting Back to Employer Health and Wellness Programs - Cone Health - August 3rd, 2022
- Do ICDs Still Work in Primary Prevention Given Today's HF Meds? - Medscape - August 3rd, 2022
- Alzheimer's-defying brain offers clues to treatment, prevention - Harvard Gazette - August 3rd, 2022
- Wind-fanned lightning fire prompted precautionary evacuation notices near Medical Springs Sunday evening - Baker City Herald - August 3rd, 2022
- Experts discuss importance of cancer screenings and early detection - Merck - August 3rd, 2022
- King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research to test samples for monkeypox - The Hindu - August 3rd, 2022
- Consolidated guidelines on HIV, viral hepatitis and STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations - World - ReliefWeb - August 3rd, 2022
- Dr. Sanjay Gupta: While monkeypox cases rise, why are we waiting for the cavalry to rescue us? - CNN - August 3rd, 2022
- SCYNEXIS Announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration - GlobeNewswire - August 3rd, 2022
- Governor Whitmer declares August 2022 as Breastfeeding Month, highlights additional breastfeeding observances - Michigan (.gov) - August 3rd, 2022
- New student education program supports drug and alcohol abuse prevention - The Ohio State University News - July 25th, 2022
- Suicide prevention training for health care providers a first step in longer-term efficacy - University of Washington - July 25th, 2022
- Pharmalittle: Congress may miss deadline to pass FDA user-fee bill; ViiV is urged to lower price for its HIV prevention drug - STAT - July 25th, 2022
- Prevention of Bipolar Disorder Episodes: Is It Possible? - PsychCentral.com - July 25th, 2022
- GAO Found Gap in Dirty Bomb Prevention - Government Technology - July 25th, 2022
- Florida man in apparent medical distress crashes car through beach crowd before hitting the water - CNN - July 25th, 2022
- Study: Preventive care scarce in LGBTQ+ community - - Medical Marketing and Media - July 25th, 2022
- The rise of preventive insurance purchases in India - ETHealthWorld - July 25th, 2022
- Why Are My Feet Always Cold? Cold Feet Causes and Treatment - Prevention Magazine - July 25th, 2022
- Agency looking to open overdose prevention site in Saint John amid 'poisoned' drug supply - CBC.ca - July 25th, 2022
- UVA Expert Offers Insight on the Use of Dietary Supplements for Cancer Prevention - UVA Today - July 25th, 2022
- Alzheimer's: Targeting key protein in blood may slow progression - Medical News Today - July 25th, 2022
- NPPC, FAS focused on ASF prevention in the Philippines - MEAT+POULTRY - July 25th, 2022
- Implementation of IPT in people living with HIV | RMHP - Dove Medical Press - July 25th, 2022
- NL starts preventive vaccination against monkeypox in Amsterdam, The Hague - NL Times - July 25th, 2022
- Precautionary measures you can take against brain haemorrhage - Times of India - July 25th, 2022
- Acid Reflux and Liver Disease: Signs, Symptoms and Prevention - Healthline - July 25th, 2022
- What to do if you get an allergic reaction: symptoms, causes, and prevention - Fox News - July 25th, 2022