The Army requires tough, resilient and resourceful soldiers and teams, able to prevail in the broadest range of environments, threats and circumstances. Human Performance (HP) in Army seeks to support soldiers and teams to reach their potential in order to strengthen our warfighting capability.
Human Performance (HP) in Army seeks to support its people across three domains: Mind, Body and Teams. This article takes a deep dive into the Mind Domain, highlighting relevant initiatives and emerging research.
What is the Mind Domain?
There’s more to warfighting than physicality and working well in a team. The mind domain seeks to build cognitive readiness and psychological wellbeing in our soldiers. It focuses on education, problem solving, and mental skills training. These interventions are aimed at enabling faster, more ethical, and more effective decision-making whilst also increasing learning capacity, resilience under stress, and reduced risk of psychological injury.
To achieve these outcomes, performance criteria have been established as observable behaviours and attributes, which, if present, are likely to support the development and maintenance of Combat Behaviours. The four mind domain performance criteria are:
Resilient: The capacity to recover from stress and adversity.
Self-aware: The capacity to understand how one’s thoughts, feelings, behaviours, beliefs and values influence individual and team outcomes.
Mentally agile: The ability to quickly and effectively anticipate and adapt to uncertain or changing situations.
Ethically & morally aware: The capacity to understand the legal, moral, and cultural frameworks of the operating environment.
Deep dive into the Mind Domain – Foundation Training
A number of programs currently exist which provide foundation level mind domain training that targets one or more of the above Performance Criteria.
BattleSMART (2-3 hours)
The ADF Centre for Mental Health (ADFCMH) offers BattleSMART, one of five modules offered as part of the Keep Your Mates Safe – Peer Support Program. It is a preventive program designed to enhance an individual’s ability to cope effectively with increased stress and adverse events in their lives. The program also prepares Defence members for the specific challenges they are likely to face. It promotes both individual and collective performance through the enhancement of individual coping capacities.
To access BattleSMART, please contact mmhp.promotions-training@defence.gov.au
For more info, visit ADCMH – Programs (DPN link)
Reset (2 days)
Complementing the themes of self-management and skills building applied through the BattleSMART continuum, Reset builds confidence and teaches practical strategies to manage challenging life experiences. Reset focuses on enhancing the core skills that support mental fitness, boost performance, and enhance quality of life. Topics covered include sleep, anger, reactions, and thinking. Reset helps Defence members adapt more easily to the challenges of military life and provides a crucial socialisation role that can reduce stigma and improve help seeking behaviours.
To access Reset, please contact mmhp.promotions-training@defence.gov.au
For more info, visit ADCMH - Programs
Army Combat Mindset Program (ACMP)
ACMP offers a suite of psychological skills training programs aimed at improving individual and collective resilience and performance. ACMP consists of 10 modules (1.5-2 hours long) that can be delivered as standalone products based on unit need. Modules include:
- Communication and Conflict Resolution
- Emotional Regulation
- Sleep and Fatigue Management
- High Performing Teams
- High Performing Individuals
- Attention Focus Training
- Decision Making and Cognitive Bias
- Combat Stress
- Learning and Skills Acquisition
- Human Factors in Warfare
This program is slated for release in the latter half of 2024. To access ACMP, please contact your local Army Psychology Support Team.
WorldView Workshop (1.5 hours)
The WorldView Workshop is an exercise in philosophical exploration. It is designed to encourage participants to investigate their beliefs and values, which ultimately drive their behaviour. The WorldView Workshop helps participants commence their journey towards developing moral and spiritual fitness.
To access WorldView, please contact your local chaplain.
The Mind Domain – Emerging Research
There are currently two mind domain research programs underway in collaboration with DSTG and university partners:
Cognitive Fitness 2 (CF2) – Delphi Study Translation
The team at DSTG, in collaboration with Monash University, have identified ten cognitive factors that determine optimal performance in dynamic and high-pressure environments. These CF2 drivers include:
- Attention
- Performance Monitoring
- Arousal
- Goal Selection
- Response Selection
- Flexible Updating
- Active Maintenance
- Self-knowledge
- Interference Control
- Shifting
Expanding on these findings, researchers are now aiming to develop and validate a comprehensive battery of established and innovative testing protocols to measure these CF2 factors. DSTG researcher Dr Eugene Aidman explains that “this will inform decisions about investment in future selection, training and operational support solutions”.
AUSMURI Attention Control
Attention control refers to individuals' capacity to choose what they pay attention to and what they ignore. The team at DSTG, in collaboration with UNSW and UQ, are seeking a deeper formal understanding of the neural and psychological bases of Attention Control and have the exploitation of this understanding to develop training techniques that will enhance this foundational capability.
Conclusion
The inherent challenges of a service career place significant pressure on our ability to raise, train, and sustain our military capabilities and personnel. Investing in HP mind domain programs and research can lead to numerous benefits for the cognitive readiness and psychological wellbeing of our people.
For any questions or further information on all things HP, reach us on hqforcomd.hpo@defence.gov.au.
