MOPs & MOEs

We did a contracting episode a few weeks ago where we aired out a few grievances mostly focused on how strength and conditioning coaches in contracted roles with the military are treated. In that conversation we acknowledged that we have limited experience with contracting, and we were open to having an expert come on and set the record straight. 

As it happens, this week’s guest is exactly the kind of expert we were looking for.

Chris Larkin is LMR Technical Group CEO and Cofounder and his background covers enlisted and officer service in Air Force Special Warfare and extensive involvement in military human performance in multiple different roles.

Chris spent 28 years total in the Air Force as an enlisted Combat Controller and Special Tactics Officer, starting to advocate for military human performance initiatives even before commissioning.

He served as the first Squadron Commander at the Special Tactics Training Squadron and helped establish the Combat Athlete Program (which pre-dated SOCOM POTFF) working with AF Research Lab and USAFA Human Performance Lab.

He had HPO specific facilities built at the STTS and 23 Special Tactics Squadron – some of the first built in the DoD and even ran one of the first ever Human Performance Symposiums (bringing in industry, academia, and other military units to help solve HPO problems). He wrote his thesis at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) on “Combat Fitness a Concept Vital to National Defense” and was an Operational Squadron commander when POTFF came to AFSOC and even deployed HPO staff into Afghanistan to expedite the recovery process.

His credentials include a bachelors in Exercise Science, Master Fitness Trainer, ACSM Exercise Leader, and USA Triathlon Coach.

He's also an accomplished athlete in his own right. He ran Division 1 Cross Country and Southwest Texas State University. He has represented the Air Force in downhill skiing, triathlon, pentathlon, and Ironman - including 3 Ironman finishes. And he has 3,000 parachute jumps – including numerous demonstrations at events including NFL, MLB, NASCAR.

Dr. Chris Frueh is back for his second appearance on the pod! If you missed our previous conversation with him we dove into the dysfunction at the VA, with particular emphasis on the disability system.

Dr. Chris Frueh, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii-Hilo. He has over thirty years of professional experience working with military veterans and active-duty personnel, and has conducted clinical trials, epidemiology, historical, and neuroscience research. He has co-authored over 300 scientific publications, including a graduate textbook on adult psychopathology.

Recently his work has been intensely focused on a phenomenon called "operator syndrome," a set of complex, interrelated medical-psychological injuries faced by military special operators. This is interwoven with the concept of high allostatic load, but with a particular focus on the types of stresses and exposures unique to the military and combat.

Chris' book released just a few months ago, you can pick up a copy here!

If you're not ready for the full book but still want to learn more about the topic, Chris published this article in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine laying out the Operator Syndrome phenomenon.

A few weeks ago we got the news that Congress was considering directing the military to investigate the potential for adding creatine to MREs. This spurred a lot of discussion on creatine's effectiveness and dosing strategies, and to really get to the bottom of that we needed an expert. Our guest this week is so much of an expert that he is often referred to as "Dr. Creatine."

Scott Forbes is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Education Studies at Brandon University in Manitoba, Canada, and an adjunct professor in the faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies at the University of Regina in Canada. Dr. Forbes is a certified sports nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) and a clinical exercise physiologist and high-performance specialist through the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP). Dr. Forbes has published over 110 peer-reviewed manuscripts and five book chapters. His research examines various nutritional (e.g., creatine and protein) and exercise interventions to enhance muscle, bone, and brain function in multiple populations, including athletes and aging adults.

Bachelors (Kinesiology): University of Saskatchewan
Masters (Kinesiology): University of Saskatchewan
Ph.D. (Physical Education and Recreation): University of Alberta
Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Faculty of Medicine): University of Calgary
International Olympic Committee diploma in Sport Nutrition

A large portion of the content for this episode was based on his publication "Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show?"

Our guest for this episode has been on Active Duty for over 34 years, with much of that spent in Special Operations, and he's still scoring 600s on his ACFTs. Our wide ranging conversation covers everything from how he's maintained a high level of physical performance across his long career to the role that physicality plays in developing young leaders. We even dig into ideas for improving the health and fitness culture across our country.

Lieutenant General Steve Gilland commissioned into the United States Army upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1990. As an Infantry Officer, he served in a variety of tactical assignments in Air Assault, Armor, Mechanized Infantry, Ranger, and Special Operations units. He has served in the 24th Infantry Division, the 2nd Infantry Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the United States Army Special Operations Command, the 1st Cavalry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, the 2nd Infantry Division, the III Armored Corps, and the United States Military Academy.

Lieutenant General Gilland has commanded at every level up to Division and participated in numerous operational deployments to the Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan.

Prior to assuming duties as USMA’s 61st Superintendent, he served as the Deputy Commanding General (Maneuver) of III Armored Corps, Fort Hood (known as Fort Cavazos since 2023), Texas.

Lieutenant General Gilland holds a Master's Degree in Military Operational Art and Science from the Air Force Command and Staff College.

He has the long list of awards you would expect, plus he has earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and - notably less common than the rest - the Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Badge.

Lieutenant General Gilland has been happily married to his West Point classmate Betsy, for more than 33 years. Team Gilland are the proud parents of three children.

Our guest this week is a key player in two important research and policy initiatives. First, she led the Army Comprehensive Body Composition (ACBC) study that led to the recent updates to body composition policy. Second, she leads the Female Elite Warfighter (FEW) research initiative which focuses on identifying the characteristics that make women successful in elite combat training courses. We discuss both of these ongoing efforts in this conversation.

Holly McClung is a Nutritional Physiologist for the Military Performance Division at the United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) in Natick, MA.

She earned her Master of Science Degree in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of New Hampshire and obtained her certification as a Registered Dietitian through course work at Cornell University and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Holly is dual-trained in nutrition and exercise physiology, holding certifications as a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics and Certified Exercise Physiologist.

On the Military Performance Team Holly functions as a principal investigator leading work in the female Warfighter and special populations workspace. Her work group is focused on designing and implementing research to quantify and model individualized energy and nutritional needs of modern Warfighters.

She led the Army’s modern body composition study, and her research supports the 2023 updates to the Army Body Composition Policy (AR 600-9).

Holly has published more than 45 peer-reviewed publications and holds two patents on a mobile metabolic sensor system intended for personal use. Most recently her attention has been on characterizing the physiological, metabolic, and cognitive profile of elite Warfighters going through the modern Ranger Training Course to determine
whether differences exist between sexes.

She also has some really interesting forthcoming research based on the Army body composition study pending publication that we'll keep you guys posted on. And most importantly, she's a member of Leg Tuck Nation.

A selection of her publications:

"Development and cross-validation of a circumference-based predictive equation to estimate body fat in an active population"

"The Rise of the Female Warfighter: Physiology, Performance, and Future Directions"

"Physiology of Health and Performance: Enabling Success of Women in Combat Arms Roles"

"Physical and Physiological Characterization of Female Elite Warfighters"

"Psychological and Sociological Profile of Women Who Have Completed Elite Military Combat Training"

Contracting is a dominant theme in military human performance because so much of the staffing for military human performance teams is handled through large contracts. In this week's episode we break down some of the key issues with defense contracting that make things harder in human performance.

If we can't define the value of coaches, "least price technically acceptable" quickly becomes "lowest bidder." And that creates a race to the bottom for coaching salaries.

Stricter requirements for coach certification might be counterproductive if pay doesn't increase. We've seen other related professions require higher degrees without the salaries to justify the additional schooling.

Personal services contracting only happens within specific exemptions, mostly reserved for medical and special operations. Non-personal services comes with limitations that make it harder to get the right people.

It's hard to come up with who is "at fault" for some of the current problems, because these systems are complicated. But we have to have these conversations if we're going to make any progress.

In this wide ranging and long overdue episode we talk about everything from kettlebell training to data literacy. Our guest is something of a godfather in the tactical strength and conditioning space, and if you don't know who he is you're missing out. He's been around the space in both academic and industry roles and is one of the smartest guys in the game.

Chris Frankel, PhD, has over 40 years of experience, including significant contributions to fitness, sports performance, and tactical training through his roles in academia, coaching, and instructor development.

Dr. Frankel earned his doctorate in health, exercise, and sports science from the University of New Mexico and has developed and delivered evidence-based fitness education worldwide. He is a self-described gym rat and science geek, and he says he's currently fighting the good fight against age-related decline, but based on the handful of sessions where I've trained with him I'd say he's winning.

Chris is the Head of Performance Innovation at BeaverFit USA, and if you're wondering how to better utilize Beaverfit equipment at your unit, he'll blow your mind.

In this episode we answer questions submitted by you guys!

Topics covered include PED use in the military, NCAA athletes now being allowed to smoke weed, hybrid programming considerations, eccentric training, herniated disc recovery, and more.

We discuss several references:

This blog post about physical training in the reserve component

The first ever study on DOMS from 1902

This blog post on the Heavy-Light-Medium programming method

Our fillable, DA form lookalike PT planning guide

Anyone who's familiar with the Army's Pregnancy and Postpartum Physical Training (P3T) program has probably heard pretty negative things about it. Historically, women have avoided participating if they can get out of it, and if they can't they've been disappointed by what they got out of it.

Our guest on this week's episode is changing that. She's bringing modern human performance to P3T and traveling around the around training leader's on up to date principles and methods.

Kelsey Mathias is a pelvic health Occupational Therapist. Her career has been spent in private practice and working with U.S Military Service Members and Veterans. She currently works as a contractor supporting the U.S Army as an instructor training leaders from interdisciplinary teams on a holistic approach to pregnancy and postpartum physical training.

In the episode Kelsey references the updated policies which can be found in Army Directive 2022-06.

As a reminder, like all of our guests, the views expressed by Kelsey Mathias do not reflect the views of the government.

We reached out to our guest for this week's episode after he testified before Congress and used the opportunity to repeatedly highlight military human performance programs. He was also our first guest to tune in from the Pentagon Briefing Room.

Troy Black is the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him the most senior NCO in the entire United States military. We were particularly interested in having him on when we saw that the #2 priority on his strategy document is Holistic Human Performance.

SEAC Black assumed his current post as the 5th SEAC on Nov. 3rd, 2023 following his selection and service as the 19th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, he attended recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., in April of 1988 and attended the School of Infantry and Marine Corps Security Force School.

Throughout his career, SEAC Black has been assigned numerous duties to include: Machine Gunner, Machine Gun Squad and Section Leader; Weapons Platoon Sergeant and Weapons Platoon Commander; Drill Instructor, Senior Drill Instructor, Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST) Platoon Sergeant and Operations Chief, Series Gunnery Sergeant, DI School Instructor, and RTR Drill Master; First Sergeant, Sergeant Major, 3d Bn, 7th Marines, Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1st Marine Logistics Group, and Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

He has deployed in support of Operation Just Cause, Operation Sea Soldier, Desert Storm/Desert Shield, and Sea Angel; Operation Iraqi Freedom II (OIF), Operation Bright Star, Operation Iraqi Freedom IV (OIF) ; Operation Enduring Freedom in 2010; WESTPAC 14.2 and Operation Inherent Resolve.

SEAC Black has a Bachelor of Science in Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies from National American University and graduated from the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy December of 2011.