Photo By Cpl. Henry Rodriguez II | Sheldon Dunlap, a strength and conditioning specialist with Marine Forces Special...... read more read more
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HAWAII – One aspect of life that all branches of the armed forces tend to put an emphasis on is physical fitness. From daily physical training, to the fitness tests of each branch, service members are expected to be above the average in terms of health and fitness.
This is especially true at Marine Forces Special Operations Command, as well as the other special operations forces under the purview of U.S. Special Operations Command. MARSOC dedicates time and money to ensure that their Marine Raiders are in top condition, both physically and mentally. Programs available through MARSOC Preservation of the Force and Family are geared toward assessing and training those performance markers.
Recently, Sheldon Dunlap, one of MARSOC’s strength and conditioning specialists, spent some time with Marine Raiders in the field to assess where their programming can improve and how it currently assists in keeping the formation at peak performance.
“It’s really about validating and evaluating for me,” said Dunlap. “Seeing that what we are programming for our guys is useful as well as seeing where else we can add things.”
Dunlap has programmed training for Marine Raiders specifically designed around mountain and jungle conditions. This was his first opportunity to see how they can apply in real scenarios.
“I’ve done both the jungle and mountain programs and they were both great, challenging programs,” said a critical skills operator. “Sheldon’s done a great job designing them around what conditioning our bodies need in these specific environments.”
In addition to the physical aspects, Dunlap is also working with his fellow MPOTFF team back home to get a grasp of the full spectrum of performance needs for a team.
“I’m taking notes on how the teams communicate under pressure to relay back to our cognitive performance specialists and potential injuries to work out with our sports medicine team and our corpsmen,” he said. “Even beyond the strength work that I develop, anything our team can do to help the guys perform more effectively, I’m keeping an eye out for.”
Dunlap was given the opportunity to participate in training such as jungle mobility, rope and rappel work, and fieldcraft, so that he can fully grasp life in austere conditions and the physical and mental requirements for the Marine Raiders to be at their best while deployed.
Whether in the gym or in the jungle, Marine Raiders tailor their training to be effective in any situation.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2023 08:48 |
| Story ID: | 452882 |
| Location: | HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 468 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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