Many programs within LE are pipelines.. assuming the input is correct and the output is good. 

Instead, they should be feedback systems that assume gaps exist, which are deliberately exposed early before they show up in the field.

Here’s an illustration I came up with to QC our efforts so we can prevent:

1) Research being detached from application
2) Training drifting from reality
3) Video being treated as anecdote

RESEARCH is our historical data. It shows long term patterns and trends, or.. “what is” instead of “what if”. Research must remain consistent with what we see in training and BWC video. If it isn’t, we may be studying the wrong problems, asking the wrong questions, or drawing the wrong conclusions. 

TRAINING is where historical insight and current reality meet. Training must reflect what research predicts and what BWC video shows actually happens. If training doesn’t resemble real problems, we’re building comfort, not capability. Training must be adaptive to bridge the gap. 

VIDEO REVIEW is the pulse of our work. It’s descriptive in that it tells us what’s happening in real time, in real environments, under real constraints. Video review should validate or challenge both training and research. If outcomes don’t match expectations, something upstream is wrong.

Research without video becomes abstract. 

Video without research becomes anecdotal. 

Training without both creates false confidence, not capability. 

-Blake Buchanan