Soldier performance management: insights from boots on ground research and recommendations for practitioners

Abstract

Theoretically, the serial measurement of biomarkers to monitor physiological responses to military training could be used to mitigate musculoskeletal injury risk and better understand the recovery status of personnel. To date, the cost and scalability of these initiatives have impeded their uptake by defence organisations. However, advances in technology are increasing the accessibility of a range of health and performance biomarkers. This paper presents a synthesises of findings from the literature and discussions with informed stakeholders to provide contextually relevant advice for future efforts to monitor military personnel, together with key considerations to ensure actionable outcomes from the data captured. The aim of this review is, therefore, twofold; first, to demonstrate how wearable devices and biomarkers have been used in defence research to assess the context-specific, occupational demands placed on personnel; and second, to discuss their potential to monitor military workloads, optimise training programming and understand soldier adaptation to multi-stressor environments