Win- win as AIS, Army team up
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Indigenous recruiter Corporal Donna Hayes said the ADF wanted its personnel to reflect the make- up of Australia’s population.
“We’re striving towards a more diverse organisation by incorporating indigenous pathways,” she said.
“They bring a different range of skills and their culture as well, so we’re trying to integrate that into our defence force.”
Across the country, six other air force Indigenous Liaison Officers were also appointed in Brisbane, Darwin, Canberra and Newcastle. THE Australian Army and Australian Institute of Sport will share facilities and knowledge in a partnership that will aim to improve human performance.
The focus will be on advancing the cognitive and physical capabilities of Australian Defence Force personnel and elite athletes.
Chief of Army Lieutenant General Rick Burr said the collaboration was an investment in maximising Diggers’ potential.
“Army continuously looks at how we can get the best out of our people. This partnership with the AIS focuses on what we can achieve to continually improve human performance,” Lieutenant General Burr said.
The key components will be mental health and wellbeing, performance under pressure and in- jury and illness prevention.
“Our people are our most important capability, and to enhance our performance we need to be constantly working to improve,” Lieutenant General Burr said.
“Through co- operation and knowledge sharing with the AIS, a respected world leader in elite sport, we will give our people the best possible chance to out- think and outperform any adversary.”
AIS director Peter Conde said the Army provided the ultimate mentoring example when it came to preparing its people for performance under pressure.
“The AIS sees this as an opportunity to develop our sports, athletes and coaches to help them convert more podium potential into medal success,” he said.
“At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Australia had more athletes finish just outside the medals, in positions four to eight, than any other nation.
“When people think of Army and sport, the image is often of boot camps to build resilience.
“This partnership will be far more advanced, exploring education opportunities, mentoring, familiarisation techniques and strategies to deal with pressure.”
Mr Conde said he hoped the program would develop our athletes to reach peak performance.
“We anticipate this program will benefit some 120 athletes, coaches and performance teams in the next two years before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics,” he said.
The first activities under this program are proposed for November.