Major Emma Williams is a physiotherapist in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps.

In her speech, MAJ Williams discusses Human Performance Optimisation (HPO) across army and her experiences as a physiotherapist. She brings her perspective as an army physiotherapist and expertise on translating research findings into practice and so, improve processes in the Army moving forward.

On the individual level, the small changes make a big difference. This involves: eating better, training better, recovering better, and dealing with stress better. The aim is behaviour change to enhance the performance of individuals – and ultimately teams – so Army can better fight adversaries.

MAJ Williams goes beyond the simplistic model of Human Performance (HP) and dives into the reality of complex HP. She does this by explaining an ongoing study on physical performance and resilience involving serving members.

The presentation took place at the Human Performance Optimisation Symposium hosted by 1 Brigade at the Darwin Convention Centre on 16 September '22.