Deployed Scientist Helps AF Leadership Understand Afghan Population Published Feb. 1, 2013 By Michela Greco 711th Human Performance Wing WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Air Force Research Laboratory scientist Lieutenant Colonel Alex Barelka, PhD, used his six-month deployment to Afghanistan to apply methodologies honed at home in the 711th Human Performance Wing, where he works as a Behaviorist. Lt Col Barelka, deployed last November to serve as Chief of Assessment for Strategic Communications, worked with a team of sociologists, political scientists, and analysts, advising senior staff on the best way to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan population. Their findings, while sometimes counterintuitive, were accurate and extremely valuable, bolstering the conviction of General John Allen, International Security Assistance Force Commander of the U.S. Forces Afghanistan, who commented that strategic communications are the most powerful maneuver tool available at this level. 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 Rist Prize honors those 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. 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," he said. "Not only can we, but we absolutely should."