Army Medicine, under the leadership of surgeon general and commanding general for U.S. Army Medical Command, Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, is about to shine a spotlight on preventative care, rather than just caring for soldiers when they are sick, through the Performance Triad pilot program.

"I think our patients will appreciate the approach of staying healthy when they are not with us," said Col. John O'Brien, department chief of operational medicine and deployment health at Madigan Army Medical Center.

The Performance Triad, which focuses on improving the activity, nutrition and sleep of soldiers, in order to promote their overall wellbeing and resiliency, began Sept. 9 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The pilot program will also be underway at Ft. Bragg and Ft. Bliss. On JBLM, over 300 soldiers from the 3rd Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, which is a part of 7th Infantry Division, will be taking part in the Performance Triad.

"We'll conduct a train-the-trainer with the squad leaders first and then those leaders will educate their soldiers," he explained. "This way the squad leaders can really lead discussions and follow-up with soldiers throughout the week without having to set aside blocks of time to travel to Madigan."

The information distributed week-to-week will focus on topics ranging from how to eat better on a deployment, information about safely using nutritional supplements and how to get rest even when the soldiers are downrange or training.

"7th ID is excited about this and I think we'll have a great response," said

Capt. Allison Carrillo, Medical Operations Planner-DIV Surgeon Cell with 7th ID. "There is no way that we won't have a positive outcome from this when it comes to dealing with overweight soldiers, soldiers who don't get enough sleep or muscular-skeletal injuries - which can all affect readiness and resiliency."

Approximately 2,300 soldiers were released from the Army for being overweight, which resulted in an estimated savings of $61 million, according to O'Brien. By providing each soldier with a Fitbit®, which can measure their steps like a pedometer, record how many calories are burned through physical activities and how many calories are taken in with meals, leaders hope to encourage better, healthier decisions.

"As a physician, I'm excited about this program and I can now speak to how well this can work for a soldier who is motivated," said O'Brien, who has actually tried out the Fitbit® technology himself and even lost a few pounds. "If someone is motivated they will succeed with this system."

The Fitbit® can also record the hours of sleep each soldier gets and measure if they are restless or if the sleep is sound.

"Does anyone ever really know the sleep patterns of our soldiers? It seems like no - I mean, we're not conducting 300 sleep studies, but the information can help us guide them about better ways to sleep and maybe give us information about some larger problems," he said.

By the end of March the six-month pilot will be complete in all three locations and data analysis will be examined before a presentation is made to the Chief of Staff of the Army. Then, if all goes well with the pilot program rollout and the Performance Triad is found to help the medical readiness of soldiers, the ultimate goal is to roll out the program at most bases by next summer.

"We are empowering people to make good decisions and make it easier for them to take care of themselves," O'Brien concluded.

*An article reporting on the progress of the Performance Triad at Madigan will be published in three months.