Enhancing military readiness through innovation
In a recent discussion on FORUM’s Keeping IT Brief podcast, Kevin Kaiser, the performance and readiness division manager at Leidos, focused on the evolving landscape of military readiness and strategies to meet future challenges.
Performance, readiness, and resilience are interconnected
Kaiser emphasized the intricate relationship between performance, readiness, and resilience in military operations.
- “Readiness is a state of preparedness” and influenced by various factors beyond traditional physical and psychological health, such as financial stability and leadership dynamics, according to Kaiser.
- Performance, as an outcome of readiness, underscores the importance of optimizing readiness levels to enhance mission success.
- Resilience is a measure of how well an individual adapts to adversity.
“Imagine this interconnectedness [as] a triangle…where readiness and performance and resilience are all the points of the triangle—they are interconnected and influence each other,” Kaiser explained. “So if you are more resilient during performance, you can perform better. If you are more resilient after a mission, you can return to that ready state faster and be prepared for your next mission.”
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Challenges in assessing readiness and technological solutions
Kaiser identified several challenges in assessing service member readiness, including disparate data sets and the lack of standardized metrics. Leidos is actively addressing these challenges by leveraging data integration and analytics to provide comprehensive insights into readiness levels.
“Another big problem that our customers have is the lack of metrics as a whole, or even standardize metrics and analytics that can look at various health domains that play a role in readiness in any type of comprehensive way,” Kaiser added.
By connecting various data streams and programs, Leidos aims to offer a comprehensive view of readiness, enabling informed decision-making and resource allocation.
Additionally, technological innovations, such as platform environments and digital tools, are facilitating the collection, analysis, and prediction of readiness metrics.
How digital tools enhance military family readiness
Future-proofing comprehensive support programs
Kaiser underscored the importance of comprehensive support programs for service members and their families, emphasizing a people-centered approach enabled by technology. These programs must be adaptable and future-proof, integrating modernized solutions and evidence-based tools to enhance force readiness and resilience effectively.
He emphasized that any comprehensive program of the future “needs to incorporate ways to improve the participant journey,” which can be accomplished through faster response times and easier access to resources.
Kaiser added that a comprehensive program should have a secure, technology-based component that can predict future needs and “feature modernized solutions for next-generation force readiness and evidence-based digital tools that can be leveraged for resilience and well-being.”
Related reading: Fostering resilience in military youth
Next steps
By embracing interconnectedness, leveraging technology, and prioritizing comprehensive support programs, Kaiser believes we can enhance readiness levels and ensure the well-being of service members and their families in an ever-changing landscape.
