Human performance tech with AI assists athletes in the 2024 DOD warrior games

Every year the Department of Defense and the Army Training and Doctrine Command host the Warrior Games, a large Olympics-like event that showcases hundreds of wounded, ill and injured active duty and veteran military members competing in various games and adaptive sports. In addition to showing off their amazing skills, the games become part of the athletes’ recovery journey.

The 2024 event was the 14th Warrior Games, and featured wounded, ill and injured service members from the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard and U.S. Special Operations Command. And while the athletes were the undeniable stars of the 2024 Warrior Games, this was also the first time that wearable technology and artificial intelligence also took the field to assist some of the competitors in improving their performances.  

“This year, 35 athletes opted into the human performance program, where wearables like the Oura Ring were used to collect an athlete’s biometric data,” said Human Performance Coach with Booz Allen Irik Johnson. “That data was then evaluated with the help of artificial intelligence, data science and digital engineering to assist coaches in building the ideal training program calibrated to the unique physiological needs of an athlete. This technology training revolutionizes how we help prepare, train, recover and optimize performance, focusing on nutrition, emotional health, sleep, physical health and more.”

Nextgov/FCW talked with Johnson about how the technology was used as well as its potential use in training future soldiers. We also spoke with an athlete from the Warrior Games who used the new wearable devices and their backend AI for the first time to help them get ready to compete. Both interviews were extremely comprehensive, so we are dividing them up into two features. This week will focus on Ashley Christman, an active-duty Major with the U.S. Marine Corps and a multi-sport athlete at the Warrior Games, about their experiences using technology to assist with training and performance. And then next time we will speak more with Johnson, her human performance trainer at the Warrior Games.

Nextgov/FCW: First off, thank you for talking with us, and for your service to our nation. Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your military service?

Christman: My name is Major Ashley Christman and I have over 17 years of service in the Marine Corps. I’m a combat engineer officer and operational planner, and I have worked on every level of tactical, operational, strategic and policy operations from conducting route clearance patrols in Afghanistan to working on war plans at Headquarters Marine Corps.

Nextgov/FCW: Where are you from, and was military service something that you always wanted to do?

Christman: I’m mostly from the Midwest. I went through high school in Minnesota but came into the Marine Corps in Kansas City. As a child I thought a lot about joining the military. After 9/11 happened, I decided to finish my degree and go into the Marine Corps Officer Program.

Nextgov/FCW: Where did you serve?

Christman: I have served in all three Marine Expeditionary Forces in Okinawa, North Carolina, and California in addition to Task Force 51/5 in Bahrain and have deployed to over 30 countries on five continents for various operations and activities. I have also served with CJTF — Horn of Africa, United States Forces — Afghanistan, and Department of Plans, Policies and Operations at Headquarters Marine Corps.

Nextgov/FCW: That is an amazing career. Can you also tell us about how you started to become ill while you were on active duty?

Christman: After 14 years of service, I learned that I have a rare, stage four, incurable neuroendocrine cancer. It was already advanced and had widely metastasized before it was diagnosed. It is believed to be caused from toxic exposure in my five years and four months of overseas service. There was a documentary made about it.

Nextgov/FCW: How challenging is your recovery and treatment process?

Christman: My cancer fight and recovery has been very challenging. I almost died three times in 2023. It is different for me than for many of my counterparts in that there is no remission for my type of cancer. The best hope is to reduce it and, through treatment, get it into a “progression free” state where it stops growing. I had two major open abdominal surgeries in 2023 and then began a combined chemo and radiation trial at NIH for eight months.  

Nextgov/FCW: I am so sorry to hear that. In the middle of all of that, what made you want to compete in the Warrior Games?

Christman: I wanted to compete in the DOD Warrior Games to be a part of a new team and experience the comradery, to create an external driver for physical training to thrive in my cancer fight, and to have new life experiences through learning and competing in new sports. It allowed me to push myself in activities I haven’t been good at or even was afraid of trying in the past. Having the opportunity to represent the Marine Corps in another way also meant the world to me and I drew a lot of inspiration and motivation to keep training hard from that alone. 

Nextgov/FCW: This year athletes at the Warrior Games were given the opportunity to use wearable technology that recorded their vitals while they trained, and then AI to analyze performance and make suggestions to a personal coach. What devices did you personally use?

Christman: The primary wearable tech used by athletes competing in Warrior Games and training for the Invictus Games was the Oura Ring. Many of us also used the Garmin watch. The Oura ring recorded and evaluated heart health and cardiovascular age, stress, resilience, sleep and overall training readiness. The Garmin watch also provided climate acclimation data.

Nextgov/FCW: And what was that like, working with human performance coaches, the devices and the AI?

Christman: The human performance coaches were incredibly insightful. Leveraging their knowledge and experience on the application of smart tech devices and data was not only educational, but also empowering. As a lifelong athlete and coach, I have a higher baseline knowledge in athletic training and fitness than many. But the human performance coaches brought me to a whole new level of understanding of how to optimize growth and performance.

Nextgov/FCW: Did the use of that technology help with your training?

Christman: I absolutely experienced benefits from using smart technology during my training and competition. As Marine leaders, we are constantly concerned about readiness — material readiness, training readiness, medical readiness, etc. However, we haven’t yet reconciled how to best measure, track or facilitate individual readiness, such as physical fitness readiness. 

The more I use smart technology in my training and cancer fight, the more I have been able to improve my understanding of the right balance and type of training and rest to optimize my performance, fitness, health and my ability to prevent additional injuries. Smart tech has helped me train more efficiently and brought me new insights and connectivity to my body’s feedback.

Nextgov/FCW: Do you have any specific examples where the technology, the AI or the human performance coach was able to help you improve your performance?

Christman: They brought me a new level of understanding and appreciation for identifying the physiological impacts of sleep, various daily activities, the timing of sleep and activities on my overall resilience and readiness. 

One of the metrics we discussed was my heart rate variability — HRV — score and how to improve it to increase my resilience. It was a fascinating discussion which has reshaped part of my daily routine. As a result, I have seen my HRV improve and subsequently, my resilience score also increase. It has been rewarding to not only feel the difference but to also see more tangible results from my efforts. 

In this year’s Warrior Games, I competed in eight sports and 11 events. Training for eight sports means your body must be ready for and resilient to the different physical demands. If I don’t prepare properly, I am at high risk for injuries. I am confident that staying attuned with my smart tech data helped me push hard and recover smartly, allowing me to make it through training and competition without injury.

Also, with the Garmin watch’s acclimation score and informational feedback on my training in high heat and humidity, I was able to develop a deliberate training effort focused on acclimating to the heat and humidity found during June in Orlando, Florida. That decreased my risk of suffering a heat injury when performing at 100% during competitions. I was able to achieve heat acclimation prior to the competition and felt prepared and resilient in over 100-degree outdoor temperatures.

Nextgov/FCW: You are already a winner by any measure, but how did you do in the Warrior Games after training with that technology?

Christman: I feel I did well in my competitions this year. I earned five medals for the Marine Corps against steep competition; Silver in SH1 Air Precision Rifle in the prone position, Silver in the Powerlifting Women’s 55kg weight category, Silver in the Swim 5.5L 50M Freestyle, Bronze in 5.5L Shot Put, and Silver in the Track 400M Mixed Relay. 

I also won the Silver Medal for the Ultimate Champion Competition, which was the first time in nine years that a Marine made the medaling platform for the Ultimate Champion event. But again, most importantly, I was able to give 100% effort without fear of injury and without getting hurt, all due to my empowered training.

Nextgov/FCW: That’s amazing. Having gotten to be one of the first people in the world to experience this level of training and technology, can I ask if it was a good experience, and would you recommend it to others, especially those who are recovering from injuries or illness?

Christman: Yes. And Yes. I highly recommend wearable smart tech to anyone training to recover from an injury and in particular for those battling illness or disease. Improving our ability to crack the code on our perceived personal limitations helps push us to a new level of health and fitness. I believe wearable technology can be used for many battling systemic illnesses as well to better identify and focus on what we can optimize in our self care and training routines to facilitate recovery, improve day-to-day quality of life, and potentially increase longevity.

John Breeden II is an award-winning journalist and reviewer with over 20 years of experience covering technology. He is the CEO of the Tech Writers Bureau, a group that creates technological thought leadership content for organizations of all sizes. Twitter: @LabGuys