The Greeks had a reputation for being great warriors. Particularly the Spartans. It is said that Spartan boys would start their military training at just age 7. The difference in military training from then, compared to current day, is obviously very different. Perhaps the largest difference is the equipment, and technology used now, compared to the hand to hand combat faced by the Greeks. Regardless, physical training of tactical athletes is crucial to a nation’s security, and the effectiveness of its armed forces. This article will look into the methods for the training of armed forces, and critically evaluate the effectiveness of current methods.
The modern-day tactical athlete must be able to withstand a high level of both physiological, and psychological stress. Due to such high demands, a high level of physical readiness is of critical importance to the modern-day tactical athlete, and can mean the difference between life, and death (Nevin, 2018). Demands a tactical athlete may face can include long patrols over a variety of different terrains, carrying loads at times over 50kgs. More explosive actions, involving sprinting, changing direction, jumping, etc, which may be as a result of contact from enemy forces, requiring a large degree of athleticism. They may also be required to medically extract injured personnel, physically carrying comrades from the battlefield, often under stresses such as enemy fire (Dean, 2008). Nevin (2017) concluded that the heaviest stressors leading to impaired physical, and mental health, are heavy loads being carried, fatigue, sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, poor recovery, environmental factors such as extreme weather conditions, and psychological stressors associated with combat. Although many of these stressors are unavoidable, especially on operations, approaches can be taken to minimise the effect of the stressors on military personnel, particularly during training exercises. One suggestion based on the above evidence, would be to prioritise the quality of food rations for soldiers. Another very clear and obvious step that can be taken to improve physical, cognitive, and tactical performance, as well as reducing the risk of injury, would be to ensure every tactical athlete is in peak physical condition to reduce the above symptoms as effectively as possible. Of course, there are a large number of operational roles within the military, and this must also be taken into account. For example, a special forces operator will need far higher physical fitness levels compared to a medic.
Perhaps one of the biggest issues facing military personnel is the high number of muscular skeletal injuries. In a paper by Nindl (2012), the author discussed the negative impacts of muscular skeletal injuries in the armed forces. The author states that up to half of the MSI affecting armed forces personnel, were due to physical training and sports activities. He also goes on to state that between the period of 2001-2006, over 30,000 medical evacuations were due to non-battle related injuries, predominantly due to physical training and sports. Hauret et al. (2010) astonishingly states that the number of medical evacuations for non-combat injuries, far outweighed incidents of medical evacuations for battle related injuries such as bullet and shrapnel wounds. This has obvious operational consequences, however there are also substantial financial consequences for governments as well, such as medical bills, and lost training time for recruits, etc. According to Wise and Trigg (2020), the most common injury sites for MSI’s in the infantry were knee (19%), ankle (15%) and back (13%). The activities most heavily associated with risk of injury were running, lifting heavy objects, and patrolling under load.
With these figures in mind, injury prevention strategies may be the most important aspect of training the tactical athlete. Flanagan et al. (2017) concluded that having higher levels of physical fitness may help reduce the risk of injury and improve all round performance in military personnel. To strength and conditioning coaches, this seems a very logical statement, as the use of physical training and its clear performance enhancing benefits, both physically, psychologically, and also its effect on injury prevention, have been implemented in elite sport to great effect for a long time. Thus, training the tactical athlete, can be very similar to training any other athlete, in that there is a needs analysis of the physical and psychological stressors, specific movements, specific risks involved, and even specific roles of that soldier, similar to specific positions for an athlete. From here training decisions can be made.
Resilience is a term often associated with tactical athletes. Due to the huge aforementioned physical, and psychological demands, both mental and physical resilience may be the most important characteristic for soldiers to complete operations successfully. Resilience has been defined as ‘the mental, physical, emotional and behavioural ability to face and cope with adversity, adapt to change, recover, learn and grow from setbacks’ (Nevin, 2017). Studies have shown the link between physical fitness and mental resilience (Silverman et al. 2014). These findings suggest that a good strength and conditioning program won’t only benefit a soldier’s ability to remain injury free, and perform better physically, it could also help with soldier’s mental health and resilience as well.
Traditionally, militaries have adopted physical training strategies which place a large emphasis on endurance. This has led to a lack of development in movement skills, and strength/power qualities (Nevin, 2017). This emphasis on endurance, and neglect of strength qualities, may be a factor for the MSI epidemic facing the armed forces. Furthermore, poor nutrition, and lack of sleep, combined with high levels of endurance training, will add to the already large amount of stress.
Based on the evidence, Military personnel would benefit greatly from a tailored strength and conditioning plan, adopted to their specific role in the army, as well as based on their current strengths, and weaknesses, susceptibility to injury, etc. The program should focus on the following areas: injury prevention, movement skills specific to operational needs, the tolerance of loads (progressively increased in a periodized fashion), aerobic capacity qualities, mobility. Programs must also be flexible to cater for fatigue levels, and differences in training when on operation compared to at a training base, due to the high amounts of stress potentially faced during operation. Evidence has shown that concurrent strength and endurance programs have the ability to improve military specific tasks such as load marching and casualty extractions (Hendrickson, 2010). Due to the broad spectrum of physical and mental capacities a tactical athlete requires, programmes should be tailored, and concurrently train multiple physical abilities at the same time. It has been suggested by Nevin (2017), that there may be great benefits in the use of daily undulating periodisation. This would seem a practical approach due to the at times unpredictable nature of operations, and training for military personnel. This would allow for some days to be harder physically, others perhaps more tactical and weapons training, etc, and then also allow specific days for more rest, and recovery, which evidence shows many soldiers lack.
It is clear that a soldier needs a broad range of physical and mental skills and capacities, and that the specific stressors they must endure are unique, and far higher than many other populations. A holistic approach must be taken to training the modern-day soldier, encompassing physical, psychological and tactical factors. Similar to athletic sports, soldiers should go through periods of training, and transition, with factors taken into account such periods directly after operation, or periods leading up to operation, etc. These could be comparable to off season, or pre-season in sports. It may also be of benefit to educate soldiers on factors affecting recovery, such as sleep hygiene, nutrition and potentially relaxation techniques to reduce anxiety.
Much has changed since the days of the Greek warriors, however the basic human natures, and stressors, remain very similar.
References
Dean, C. E. (2008). The Modern Warriors Combat Load – Dismounted Operations in Afghanistan. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 40(Supplement), 60.
Hauret, K. G., Jones, B. H., Bullock, S. H., Canham-Chervak, M., & Canada, S. (2010). Musculoskeletal Injuries. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38(1).
Hendrickson, N. R., Sharp, M. A., Alemany, J. A., Walker, L. A., Harman, E. A., Spiering, B. A., … Nindl, B. C. (2010). Combined resistance and endurance training improve physical capacity and performance on tactical occupational tasks. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 109(6), 1197–1208.
Nevin, J. (2018). The tactical athlete: optimising physical preparedness for the demands of combat.
Nindl, B.C. (2012). Strategies for Enhancing Military Physical Readiness in the 21st Century.
Wise, S. R. & Trigg, S. D (2020). Optimizing heath, wellness, and performance of the tactical athlete.
