Ayman Kafel served our national honorably in the US Army and was a translator in Iraq during the height of the war against Al-Qaeda. Following a medical retirement from the Army, Ayman still had a heart of service and became a police officer. In law enforcement, he served in a diverse roles including SWAT, DEA Task Force Officer, undercover interdiction and patrol.
When we last spoke with Ayman in 2022, he had just founded Project Sapient. He did so to create a forum where his brothers and sisters in the law enforcement and military communities can have conversations that need to take place.
Since that time Ayman has delved even deeper into the various sciences that effect and can improve the ability of our first responders to address the stress and traumas that come from serving in uniform. In particular, he is researching kinesiology (the study of human body movement) and how it can connect to law enforcement.
Ayman emphasizes that any law enforcement officer should constantly be training, to including mental training as well as physical. He is a proponent of regular “stress” training so that officers are better prepared for the types of high-pressure situations that will unavoidably occur. He has also used himself as a “lab rat”, employing bio-feedback while on duty in order to track patterns in stress levels. His goal is to develop techniques that can be employed to more quickly reduce stress levels before and after a traumatic encounter.
We also discuss Ayman’s theories about how law enforcement agencies should fundamentally transform their recruit evaluation parameters to make them like those used in selection for special forces. Candidates should not be evaluated just on physical fitness but also their intelligence and openness to adapting to feedback.
TAKEAWAY: When discussing the stress and trauma associate with law enforcement work, Ayman asks civilians to remember that officers “carry more than gear.”