With more moon landings on the horizon, Australian astronaut Group Captain Katherine Bennell-Pegg told the Chief of Army Symposium in Perth that experience in Defence is becoming increasingly important.
The theme of this year’s Chief of Army Symposium (CAS), ‘Hardwired for Adaptation’, has explored how adaptation can be embraced across all Defence domains.
In 2023, while an employee of the Australian Space Agency, Group Captain Bennell-Pegg was invited by the European Space Agency to undertake basic astronaut training in Germany, graduating the following year and becoming eligible for missions to the International Space Station and beyond.
During her CAS fireside chat, she said many astronauts have some level of military service.
“In my class of six, four people had Defence backgrounds, and I think that’s going to become increasingly important as people go back to the moon,” Group Captain Bennell-Pegg said.
She said lessons from the Artemis space missions can be used to build adaptive teams.
“I continue to be immersed in places where I can be at the forefront of human performance, technological performance and decision-making under pressure,” she said.
“I bring those insights back home, and Defence is the best place to do that.”
Group Captain Bennell-Pegg said one of the most important attributes for a team is optimism.
“You want a team to enter an ‘optimism spiral’ as much as possible. That doesn’t mean ignoring conflict, it means dealing with it quickly and getting back to optimism,” she said.
Speaking on the theme of ‘Hardwired for Adaptation’, she said deliberately hardwiring a system to be responsive to change is vital.
“There’s a certain amount of daring that’s required to be willing to change your mind, so we need to recognise the importance of adaptation,” Group Captain Bennell-Pegg said.
