Training situational awareness should be done with specificity.
Our sensory systems are highly adaptable, meaning they can get stronger given the right stimulus.
But they get stronger with specificity so training must be intentional.
The challenge with training situational awareness capabilities in tactical athletes is the unpredictable conditions you must prepare for.
To train with specificity for the unpredictable I approach it like this:
- Train for specific roles.
- Train for specific environments.
A mortarman and a door gunner will have different demands on their situational awareness systems and their training should be specific to those demands.
Urban environments will require different situational awareness skills than jungle warfare.
To train situational awareness with specificity to the individual and environment we need to break down the variables of the 4 sensory systems for situational awareness,
- Visual
- Auditory
- Vestibular
- Somatosensory
Then its just a matter of going through the list of likely demands on each system for the individual’s position and environment of execution.
Visual: Is this a no/low vision environment? Are targets near or far? Stationary/moving? What visual stimuli will need to be filtered out? What visual stimuli will require attention? Etc.
Auditory: Is this a situation where you want to create little/no sound? Are you creating auditory overstimulation to limit the enemy’s situational awareness capabilities? What sounds need your attention? What sounds are you filtering out? Etc.
Vestibular: What are the acceleration/deceleration movements? Are they internally or externally produced? What are the planes of movement? Is there a target that needs to remain in focus with these movements? Is the target near or far? Etc.
Somatosensory: What is the terrain? What are the loads? Are there important tactile stimuli? What is the temperature/humidity of execution? Etc.
Approaching situational awareness with specificity helps a mortarman be ready for the specific demands of their job, and the door gunner ready for theirs.
Situational awareness is one piece of the performance puzzle, but it is an extremely important piece, particularly in the tactical space.
Be intentional with your situational awareness training, train with specificity.