About TRU
The TRU is a network of multidisciplinary international experts who investigate ways to optimise the physical and cognitive capabilities, and safety of tactical personnel – whether military, law enforcement, firefighters, or first responder organisations.
Comprised of academic researchers and personnel who have served in tactical professions, the TRU provides the critical transfer of scientific evidence to pragmatic application across tactical, operational, and strategic management levels. Using a bespoke 'Trident Approach' the TRU engage with academics, industry and end-users to ensure research has real world outcomes.
The TRU is nested within Bond University’s Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, which received the highest possible ranking of ‘well above world standard’, and ‘at world standard’ for human movement and sports science, from the Australian Research Council (ARC) in its Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA).
The overarching aim of the group is to improve the fitness, health, wellbeing and occupational performance of those who serve and ensure new research findings are shared across the different tactical populations.
Services
The TRU provides services to government, industry, academic and private institutions. These include research projects, consultancy reports and educational and training packages.
Since 2015, the TRU team has conducted research across multiple tactical agencies covering initial training through to specialist selection and rehabilitation.
Consultancy projects have included the development of evidence-based, tactically viable, reports to inform multiple agencies and the generation of injury management, assessments, and conditioning optimization frameworks.
Education and training services use the latest research evidence and practical experience to provide workshops, courses or longer programs to tactical personnel as well as their support staff, such as physiotherapists, physical training instructors, and strength and conditioning coaches.
Latest news
Load Carriage Microcredential
It's here: Adding to Bond University's Tactical Research Unit TACOPS suite of microcredentials the Load Carriage microcredential has officially launched. Everything you want to know about Load Carriage for military, law enforcement, fire and rescue.
https://bond.edu.au/microcredential/tactical-conditioning-optimisation-program
TSAC Tactical Annual Training 2024
The TRU were well represented at the National Strength and Conditioning Tactical Annual Training Conference in Norfolk, Virginia. HDR students Mark Stephenson, Whitney Tramel and Joe Dulla, as well as recent HDR graduate Dr Colin Tomes, caught up with their supervisor Professor Rob Orr after their podium presentations and set up further collaborations with Dr Jay Dawes (Oklahoma State University) and Dr Robert Lockie (California State University – Fullerton). Mark Stephenson and Whitney Tramel gave a joint presentation on stress in law enforcement while Dr Colin Tomes presented his thesis work on Heart Rate Variability. Professor Orr presented on load carriage across the tactical spectrum before chairing a knowledge exchange session based on the pad carriage presentation.
