Airman links deployed operators to human performance experts

  • Published
  • By Gina Marie Giardina
  • 711 Human Performance Wing
Many scientists and engineers go directly from school to laboratories and do not get the opportunity to work side-by-side with customers who use the products they create.

But for a behavioral scientist in the 711th Human Performance Wing here, that is not the case.

Lt. Anthony Eastin, a behavioral scientist on the Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided k(N)owledge (BATMAN) team in the Airman Systems Directorate, had an upcoming deployment and saw an opportunity to conduct field research down range. He then shared what he discovered from his fellow deployed Airmen with his team at Wright-Patt.

The mission of the Airman Systems Directorate, nestled in 711 HPW and the Air Force Research Laboratory, is to exploit biological and cognitive science and technology to optimize and protect the Airman's capability to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace. 

Part of that mission is tasked to the BATMAN team.

"Essentially, the BATMAN team is charged with finding out what the operators need and what is available out there to make them lighter, smarter and deadlier," Eastin said. "Our goal is to find commercial off-the-shelf technologies, test them, give it to the operators and find out if that's good enough. Or we create new technologies that haven't been developed yet."

Eastin explained that in the past, operators out in the field were left to their own devices to create and rig various tech so they could use it.

"The operators don't have a lot of experience in creating software materials or brand new technologies--they would literally just go to Best Buy or Radio Shack," he said.

But since 2005, the experts in the 711th Human Performance Wing work both in-house as well as with industry to create gear and technologies to best assist Airmen.

"This Wing is all about collaboration," said Dr. Rajesh Naik, chief scientist for the Wing. "Whether its collaboration between the Wing and our industry partners, or between the various experts within the Wing--our goal is to work together to advance human performance for our Airmen."

The Wing employs teams of experts in fields such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, software engineering, psychology and human factors, among others.

"There's a vast expertise across the table," Eastin explained. "When we are presented with a problem, we all can come together and use our individual insights toward a solution, which will be largely beneficial for the operators."

The directorate stresses the three Is--interaction, innovation and integration.

Interaction

"The Bat Rack, for example--one of our operators came to us and explained that they had just received tablets (tuff pads) and that they loved them. They told us that this is next generation material and this is what they want to use," Eastin said.  "But the problem was that they needed the tablets to be mounted on them."

"They said, 'and oh by the way, we are deploying in three weeks'."

The tablets enable combat controllers and other operators to use android mapping applications (or apps) that allow them to conduct close air support, best place to land an aircraft, etc., he said. 

Innovation

This type of mounting device hadn't been developed yet, so the BATMAN team had to create a completely new product.

"So we sat down and created solutions for this. Human factors expert Capt. Caroline Kurtz designed the mounting system that puts the tablet on the operator's chest and makes it easily accessible," Eastin said.

Integration

"Within two to three weeks, we had it mass produced and given to the operators for their deployment."

Then four months later, Eastin deployed.

Eastin was the executive officer to the commander of Joint Special Operations Air Component - Central--a unit that had air combat controllers, para jumpers and many special operators. 

These operators could be charged with infiltrating, extradition, targeting enemies, close air support, among many other taskings, explained Eastin.

And the very tech that his BATMAN team had designed and produced at Wright-Patt was on the chests of the special operators down range.

"I noticed many were wearing a Bat Rack for their tablets. I asked them--'do you know what this is?'--and they said 'no, we just got them out in the field and we've been using them."

"I told them that the Bat Rack had been created by my team and that we created it for them. So then one of the operators took me into a room--this was in Qatar--and sure enough, there were stacks of Bat Racks everywhere."

"So the team here provided a solution for the operators who needed to be able to wear their tablets on their gear, and I got to see first-hand all the operators using it down range."

But Eastin wasn't just an observer; he saw the opportunity to interact with airmen in the field to obtain even more feedback.

"When I was out there, I was able to interact and talk with [the operators] to see what they needed. Then I was able to link up the 720th Expeditionary Special Tactics Group commander with Dr. Gregory Burnett and the BATMAN team here," Eastin said. "This enabled us to have conversations with the people who are actually deployed and not just when they are in training."

"It was extremely beneficial to have one of us on the BATMAN team deployed with the special operations group, because if they had any issues with tools or tech for their missions, I could link them directly with the 711th."

Eastin studied psychology and communications at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and his first assignment was to Wright-Patt and the BATMAN team.