2022 WILEY POST AWARD
2022: LT Tyler Grubic
LT Grubic has amplified the resilience and expertise of the military aviation and aeromedical communities. His role as lead author of two chapters of the revised NAVMED manual, “Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations”, has borne innovative fruit in a pictorial checklist for aircrew management of spinal pain, already yielding tangible benefits. Additionally, he cultivated expertise & collegiality in the Joint aviation and aeromedical communities by organizing and moderating the seminal Military Pilot Optimization conference on human performance. LT Grubic is an agent of readiness in the Naval aviation community, with initiative and expertise that consistently earn the respect of aviators and colleagues. Over the past year, his efforts markedly enhanced aeromedical training and education, improving knowledge, resilience, and effectiveness of joint military aviation. These noteworthy endeavors elevate him as an excellent candidate for the Wiley Post Award. His subject matter expertise has borne immediately relevant fruit as the lead author selected to rewrite two chapters in the revision of the NAVMED P-6410 publication, “Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations”, to be published by the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) in FY22. As such, he has developed new solutions for fatigue mitigation, as well as neck and back pain awareness & management.
These efforts begat a game-changing innovation: a first-ever kneeboard pictorial for pre-flight and post-flight spinal pain management exercises. Presented in a concise checklist format appealing directly to the aircrew audience, this tool empowers military aircrew to mitigate aviation-inherent pain and injury, promotes a paradigm of self-sufficiency, and augments Force Health Protection. This product is highly praised by the Neuromuscular Sub-Committee Group and the Human Performance Sub-Committee (HPSC) Group of BUMED, and in fact, the HPSC has employed this kneeboard tool as an intervention measure in the third phase of a Navy-wide study to assess its effectiveness in reducing spinal pain. Additionally, in collaboration with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), LT Grubic orchestrated and moderated the Society of US Naval Aerospace and Operational Physiologists (SUSNAOP) seminal lecture series on Military Pilot Optimization, educating 232 joint Warfighters and diverse aeromedical professionals in human performance optimization, and cultivating collegiality among SUSNAOP, the NSCA, and other Department of Defense (DoD) and non-DoD organizations.
The Wiley Post Award recognizes outstanding contributions in direct operational physiology and aeromedical training and education. In 1972, the Wiley Post Award replaced the Paul Bert Award for Operational Physiology. It is named in honor of the aviation pioneer Wiley Post and is presented for exceptional service and achievement in operational physiology, including education and physiological support of Dept. of Defense, FAA, NASA, or civilian aircrew. The Gentex Corp. of Carbondale, PA, sponsors the Wiley Post Award with an honorarium and a plaque. Nominees will be considered for the previous 12-month body of work in operational physiology.