Photo By Chief Petty Officer Jeff Atherton | 201028-N-AP176-1032 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Oct. 28, 2020) An explosive ordnance disposal...... read more read more
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Mission ready gear requires proper care and maintenance to extend its operational life. For the U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) force, the most critical ‘hardware’ is its personnel; EOD operators, Navy divers, and supporting rates.
U.S. Navy EOD is the world's premier combat force for eliminating explosive threats so the fleet and nation can fight and win wherever, whenever, and however it chooses. Getting up close and personal with armed ordnance means the EOD community is ready to take necessary risks. But hard training, long hours, and a lot of physical work requires the Force to identify necessary risks, and more importantly, unnecessary risks in combat.
An effective high-risk EOD combat training pipeline has saved countless lives. In fact, non-combat casualties – musculoskeletal and psychological injury, disease, illness - are the major contributors to the loss of combat power in the EOD force.
Launched in July 2020, EOD STRIKE aims to advance and protect Navy EOD force health and wellness by reducing the risk of non-combat casualties that take operators out of the fight or training. About 75% of these non-combat casualties come from musculoskeletal injury and behavioral concerns. In order to decrease these non-combat casualties through a culture of health and wellness, STRIKE currently employs two strength and conditioning coaches, two certified athletic trainers, a physical therapist, a nurse case manager, and an embedded mental health team. These professionals bring more than 100 years of cumulative experience in musculoskeletal and behavioral wellness to the EOD force’s man, train, and equip missions.
Senior Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Silas Sutterby, who after 21 years of service and nine deployments, was one of the first Sailors to be seen by the athletic training team.
"They were able to look at me and saw that had some old injuries from prior training cycles and deployments," he said. "They created a plan on the spot for me to come back over a specific number of weeks and months to get me back into a better position where I could function effectively each day at work."
In order to shape a culture that prevents the kind of injuries that Sutterby experienced, platoons commence their training cycle, or optimized fleet response plan (OFRP), with a one-week STRIKE indoctrination course. The platoons are evaluated during four additional touchpoints in their training cycle; pre-unit level training, post-unit level training, pre-deployment, and post-deployment. STRIKE provides instruction on exercise science, regeneration and recovery, performance nutrition, and guided meditation, in addition to physical and cognitive baselines that identify and monitor issues throughout the operator’s career.
"This is how STRIKE will have the most impact on the force," said Master Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Bert Marley, EOD Group Two readiness and training leading chief petty officer. "STRIKE provides physical and cognitive assessments for the entire team and develops a training plan that focuses on what that team requires to be successful in their workup. They will also have access to a mobile app that serves as a focal point for workouts, data, and communication between participants and coaches."
Beyond the indoctrination week, STRIKE is a platform to support healthy adaptation to stress and adversity across the entire force. Everyone is personally responsible for the impact they have on each other and the STRIKE culture.
"Human beings are complex, and everyone reacts to stress slightly differently," said Dr. Alex Dryden, lead psychologist at EODGRU2, who heads behavioral services and education for STRIKE. "We want our service members to learn and practice functional strategies for overcoming adversity and complex challenges. How we react and process even small events can slowly build up over time, and it's important to identify and intervene before it becomes a problem. This program stresses the importance of physiological and psychological wellness through the integration of mindfulness practices, mental strength and conditioning and strategies for optimizing psychological performance."
Under the Navy EOD Strategic Vision 2030, STRIKE and the Tactical Human Performance Program (THPP) are identified as key lines of effort to develop the force. THPP is a human performance improvement process that is incorporated into the qualification training pipeline for EOD operators and Navy divers at Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Florida.
"STRIKE is a leadership process that provides the essential tools for our warfighters to take care of themselves and to look out for each other on and off the battlefield," said Capt. Richard Hayes, commodore, EOD Group Two. "This initiative will result in a more capable force. Our people are our platform, sensor, and weapon system, and STRIKE will make them more resilient and combat effective."
For more news from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2, visit www.navy.mil/local/eod2/.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2021 13:46 |
| Story ID: | 391504 |
| Location: | VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 2,980 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, STRIKE Takes Aim at EOD Force Resiliency, by PO1 John Barry, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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