Deakin aims to put our soldiers on inside track

THE Department of Defence has teamed up with Deakin University’s Centre for Sport Research to better prepare soldiers for battle.

The project will see Australian soldiers using some of the tools and techniques used by elite athletes.

Co-director of the Centre for Sport Research and project leader Associate Professor Paul Gastin said the initiative would apply the theories of elite athlete performance management to military training, monitoring and modelling of the load, adaptation and performance of soldiers.

“Whether you’re a professional athlete or a trained soldier, it’s a very physically and mentally demanding job, and maintaining peak performance comes down to the same thing — effectively managing load and recovery,” Associate Professor Gastin said.

“The data we will be gathering will help inform the Army’s training loads and combat preparation to ensure that Australian soldiers are in peak condition and preventable injuries are reduced.”

Hundreds of Army recruits will be fitted with technology to measure their physical performance, monitor physiological responses and also provide self-report measures related to stress, fatigue and recovery.

“We know that during basic training there is a high incidence of injury, dropout, and physical and mental stress,” Associate Professor Gastin said.

“Like athletes, each soldier is an individual with unique psychophysiological characteristics where one-size-fits-all training programs and interventions do not work.

“But we have the knowledge and technology to modify training to individual requirements.”