New aerospace physiology mission improves performance Published Nov. 29, 2006 By Staff Sgt. Amanda Mills Public Affairs Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- Aerospace physiology recently gained an additional mission. The unit is not simply about evaluating pilots' performance in the altitude chamber anymore. The Vance Air Force Base Human Performance Training Team seeks to bolster mission readiness and decrease potential unit hazards, errors and mishaps, according to the team. Its mission is to enhance human performance and decrease error through better awareness, understanding and mitigation of human factor challenges, said 1st Lt. Kris Ostrowski, HPTT aerospace physiology officer. Many performance problems and mishaps can be traced back to human factors. This includes fatigue, ergonomics, nutrition, stress and more. Lieutenant Ostrowski and Staff Sgt. David Webb, HPTT physiology technician, work under the chief of aerospace medicine and with public health, bioenvironmental health, the health and wellness center and the wing safety office to enhance and improve human performance and decrease these negative factors. "Our job now is to focus on everyone," Lieutenant Ostrowski said. "We're not just teaching the pilots, we're seeing first hand how we can better help them as well as any other unit on base." HPTT support includes one-time or recurring human factor briefings, addressing special interest items and issues of concern or even conducting a workplace analysis at the center's request. "We can visit your unit to find out what your job is, and apply our skills to yours," Sergeant Webb said. "We then offer suggestions on ways to improve negative factors." Evaluations are by request, Lieutenant Ostrowski emphasized, and will not have repercussions. "There's no retribution," he said. "We just want to be seen as help." Results of evaluations are confidential, there's no formal report and implementation is optional, the team said. HPTT is available to any unit desiring to improve their performance. They can offer shift workers a sleep schedule, desk workers ways to do seated exercises and suggest places to plant trees for more shade for outdoor workers. The team is even a part of the new week-long Ready Warrior training, giving deploying people another way to be prepared. "Don't look at us and see flyers," Lieutenant Ostrowski said. "See two guys in flight suits coming to help make your workplace work for you."