How Veteran Joseph Alemany Merges Tactical Skills and Science
Joseph Alemany was in college when he fell in love with performance physiology science. As an athlete and scholar, he became obsessed with studying how to optimize human performance. During his senior year at UMass-Boston, he found an internship opportunity at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), which allowed him to follow his passion. While he previously studied how to optimize athletes' performance, the same exercise science principles can help soldiers prepare and optimize their performance for military operational stress.
"I was completely enamored," says Alemany, senior business development manager in the whole health division at Leidos. "We did performance physiology science research to find out how to make soldiers more resilient when they're carrying more load, or not eating enough, or not sleeping."
At the end of the term, his boss offered him a job under one condition: to work at the research institute, Alemany had to enlist in the Army.
He enlisted, started basic combat training, and became certified through the Army as a medical laboratory technician. Over the next seven years, Alemany continued to serve as an active-duty member of the Army while working at USARIEM on military operational medicine research studies.
Human Performance Optimization, also known as Total Force Fitness
In the following years, Alemany transitioned to a civilian career as a researcher and program manager of health science programs and policies for national defense. He worked on several Army-funded research projects while also earning a master's degree in applied physiology and working toward a doctorate in health sciences.
Now, at Leidos, he focuses on optimizing human performance for national security. In other words, he pursues Total Force Fitness. Alemany builds relationships, works to understand customers' needs, and helps Leidos provide solutions for those needs.
"Our team within business development understands the technical side of the scientific discipline," he says.
He appreciates that many of his colleagues are veterans with subject matter expertise and a deep understanding of military life.
We look at our solutions as a benefit to the customer because we've been in their shoes.
Joseph Alemany
Senior Business Development Manager
Continuing to serve
Alemany is not only a veteran of the U.S. Army. He is also currently a Maryland Army National Guard member serving in the medical unit's clinical laboratory operations division. Alemany does clinical chemistry, hematology, blood banking, and microbiology. During the pandemic, for example, his unit has traveled to remote parts of the state to administer COVID vaccines.
Leidos is a cultural fit, Alemany explains, because he works with colleagues who share a point of view, such as his teammates who are veterans of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
"And if most aren't veterans, most have been in support of military programs for their entire careers," he says.
He notifies his boss when he needs to take time off his day job for the Reserves. Additionally, he has directly benefited from programs that Leidos manages, such as behavioral healthcare for military families, which he has used for non-medical counseling.
"I work in military readiness and health solutions, and they are extremely supportive of my military status," he says.
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