How a Behavioral Scientist Impacted the Operational USAF in Afghanistan Published Sept. 19, 2012 By Michela Greco 711th Human Performance Wing WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio -- Lieutenant Colonel Alex Barelka, PhD of the 711th Human Performance Wing (711 HPW), Human-Centered Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Division (RHX), began a six-month deployment to Afghanistan last November to serve as Chief of Assessment for Strategic Communications. During his deployment, Barelka and a team of sociologists, political scientists, and analysts employed many of the same methodologies in their analyses that Barelka employs as a Behaviorist for the 711 HPW. By defining the problem, collecting data, applying a methodology, and producing a solution set, Barelka's team was able to advise senior staff of the most efficient way to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan population. And while their findings were sometimes counter-intuitive, they were both accurate and incredibly valuable. Indeed, General Allen, International Security Assistance Force Commander of the U.S. Forces Afghanistan, commented that strategic communications was the most powerful maneuver tool he had at this level. It is this attitude that Lt. Col. Barelka seeks to encourage. As he witnessed first-hand in Afghanistan, behaviorists and analysts help facilitate a deep and thorough understanding of other's motivations, concerns, and beliefs, and in the case of Afghanistan, this understanding becomes essential to mission fulfillment. In reflecting on his deployment, Lt. Col. Barelka emphasizes the impact behaviorists and analysts can have on the overall U.S. Air Force mission, "I am lucky that I got to do something that was so closely aligned to what I do here at the RH level and the RHX level... There are opportunities out there for people like us to impact the real operational Air Force. Not only can we, but we absolutely should." For his contributions to the strategic communications efforts of the U.S. Forces Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Barelka and his team were finalists for the Rist Prize, given by the Military Operational Research Society, the top prize offered at its annual convention. The Rist Prize seeks out finalists who develop research that impacts "real life" decision making in a military setting. In addition to being a finalist for the Rist Prize, Lt. Col. Barelka was also awarded a bronze star for his contributions to the USAF mission. But it isn't commendations or awards that prove Barelka's impact on the USAF mission--it's his day-to-day work as a Behaviorist for the 711 HPW/RHX, where he seeks to further an understanding of those around us, both within our borders and beyond.