Use in the Austrian Armed Forces

Report of the psychologist of the special operations forces

"We use Biofeedback 2000^x-pert because the surface-mounted radio modules make it suitable for practical training. The components can be swapped rapidly between several users and use is economical; the electrodes do not impede our soldiers' actions.

Uses:
The strength and endurance of our Jagdkommando soldiers is highly developed; any increase in this area could only be achieved with a disproportionally large investment of time. In the mental or sport psychological area, by contrast, there is still considerable scope for development.

Individuals' stress levels are recorded and fed back; soldiers are taught about the restricting effects of increased stress; the importance of individual biosignals for motor, cognitive and emotional skills and states is demonstrated; the progress of further training is monitored and evaluated.

Training is carried out in the following areas:

• monitoring of states and psychoregulation; results in faster regeneration in short breaks in deployment or during lengthy deployment scenarios
• backing up weapons training through visualisation of arousal, tailored individual training and feedback of lowered arousal, which boosts the soldiers' self-confidence and improves their performance
• breathing exercises and muscle relaxation training for marksmen and spotters who must remain completely motionless for long periods of time and take evasive action very rapidly once a shot has been fired
• backing up explosives training through biofeedback-supported breath relaxation training; this reduces the risk of accidents because soldiers develop a better overview and display less tunnel vision

Summary:
Jagdkommando soldiers operate in a highly specialised segment of military activity and are exposed to high levels of stress. Biofeedback-supported training utilises previously untapped areas of mental training and increases our operational preparedness."