THE BIG BET: SOLDIER PERFORMANCE.

• Author: Tamilio, Doug
• Position: Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center

The Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center has a very unique mission in that we are not focused on a single category of technologies and systems from a platform perspective. We have a very broad yet elemental focus on the individual soldier and squad, and we're taking a comprehensive approach toward making them better at what they do.

From this perspective, we're contributing to soldiers gaining, maintaining and exploiting overmatch capabilities against well-equipped and determined enemies. Overmatch can be further broken down into the basic functions of shoot, move, communicate, protect and sustain.

Understanding how science and technology can directly or indirectly influence these five critical aspects of warfighting at the soldier and/or squad level is paramount in today's Army and at the heart of all NSRDEC does. But understanding that relationship is only the beginning.

The soldier is fundamental to every capability the Army has today and will have in the future. Soldiers come from all walks of life, are made up of countless different physical and cognitive abilities, and have many individual jobs and roles within the Army. This presents an exceptionally challenging problem space for us, but one that we are committed to solving through innovative science and technology solutions.

We have to apply our deep technical skills to develop and deliver results and that must happen incrementally over time to keep pace with global technology developments...