Dr. Rob Orr (Tactical Research Unit): The Impact of Load Carriage.

Dr Rob Orr joined the Australian Army in 1989 as an infantry soldier before transferring to the Australian Defence Force Physical Training Instructor (PTI) stream. Serving for 10 years in this stream, Rob designed, developed, instructed and audited physical training programs and physical education and rehabilitation courses for military personnel and fellow PTIs from both Australian and foreign defence forces. Rob subsequently transferred to the physiotherapy stream where his role included the clinical rehabilitation of defence members and project management of physical conditioning optimisation reviews. Serving as the Human Performance Officer for Special Operations before joining the team at Bond University in 2012, Rob continues to serve in the Army Reserve as a Human Performance Officer and as a sessional lecturer and consultant. Rob is the director of Bond University’s Tactical Research Unit, a unit with international collaborations designed to provide research, consultancy and education services to tactical professions around the globe.

Dr Orr’s fields of research, consultancy, and education provision spans physical conditioning, reconditioning, rehabilitation and injury prevention for military, law enforcement and protective services across their occupational lifespan (initial trainee to specialist). Generally focussing on the tactical population, Rob is actively involved in research with the Australian and foreign defence forces, an extensive list of law enforcement departments (both national and international), and firefighters / first responders.

Dr Orr has served on the organising committee for the 4th and 5th International Congress on Soldiers’ Physical Performance and on the scientific committees for the occupational branch of the Australian Physiotherapy Association Conference and World Physiotherapy Congress. Dr Orr is also Chair of the organising committee for the 4th  Physical Employment Standards Conference to be held in 2022 at Bond University, Australia. With over 150 peer reviewed publications, 30 Technical Reports and 200 Conference presentations, Rob has presented his work both nationally and internationally and has been invited to present several keynote presentations at internationally renowned research facilities and congresses. Winning awards for research outcomes, publications and teaching, Rob recently won Bond University’s prestigious Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence in 2020.

In this episode Rob talks about:

What are the demands of load carriage.

The impact upon tactical personnel from an injury and performance standpoint.

What’s next? Where is the research going?

The common faults people commit when training for load carriage.

His recommendations for appropriate training around load carriage.

Some of the other research projects he and the team at the Tactical Research Unit are undertaking.

Resources discussed:

TSAC Report

The Commando - The life and Death of Cameron Baird, VC,MG

You can contact Rob via Linkedin or Researchgate or stay up to date with the work of the Tactical Research Unit through their website or Linkedin and Facebook pages.