Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Building Resilience

Psychological support for troops has emerged as a necessity because this kind of work can deal, to a considerable extent, with a set of specific psychological problems arising within disciplinary systems at all levels, not the lower echelons alone, as is often believed. Occasionally it is just the matter of an enlistee being unprepared for discipline-abiding lifestyle (ignorance of army regulations, orders and regulatory documents). Sometimes, however, psychological problems stem from clearly expressed anti-disciplinary attitudes in some or other serviceman, which attitudes tend to disorganize military activities, mixing, and off-duty routine.

Physical disorders or disease meant that soldiers could be fixed and later sent back to the front lines of war. The diagnosis of “exhaustion” was not comprehended as a legitimate illness because soldiers were just “tired men” instead of being seen as scared and traumatized (Eagan,p. 360). As time continued to pass, more and more soldiers were diagnosed with “exhaustion” which later was coined “shell shock” followed by “combat fatigue” (Eagan,p360-362). While terminology changed, the remedies of the illness did not. However, with the rising numbers of diagnosed men leading up to the First World War, the process of enlisted men did change. When the military was concerned about the “economic costs of psychiatric casualties”, they began “psychiatric screening of enlistees”(Eagan,p. 362). The military began using screenings because they believed that they could minimalize the amount of “psychologically unfit” soldiers that could not face the “intensity of war”(Eagan,p 362). Discussing how men were starting to breakdown from the trauma of war, Eagan states that men are seen as weak and worthless due to

Today the aging population faces many challenges, such as the effects it has on physical, psychological, and social functioning in late life. Aging veterans not only face these challenges, but they also face unique challenges because of their military experience. One unique challenge that they face, is exposure to military trauma which among aging veterans is approximately 85% (U.S Department of Veterans Affairs). This specific trauma faced by military veterans can impact physical, mental, and sociological function. According to Research on Aging Military Veterans, “Combat exposure can lead to poorer health-related and psychosocial quality of life in later years”.

MRT is part of Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness, CSF2, program. It is designed to build the resilience and enhance the performance of those who serve by giving them the skills to thrive, not just in the Army life, but also within their personal lives. This is all accomplished while meeting a wide range of operational demands. MRT has often been misunderstood and overlooked as a program in the Army. When implemented properly, it provides soldiers skills that can be applied in a day to day capacity. Resiliency is a prized commodity within the Army. MRT is a crucial instrument in developing leaders and soldiers in today’s Army.

In the story, Clinical Histories: From Soldier’s heart to PSTD, the author laid his foundation for understanding the reasons behind PSTD stress after combat engagement in veterans. PSTD is generally considered to be a mental illness. Combat stress is defined as the “expected and predicable emotional, intellectual, physical, and/or behavioral reactions of service member who have been exposed to stressful events in war or military operation other than war”. The American military community realized that engaging in combat could have physiological effects on individual. After World War 1, physiologist concluded that individuals reacted in wide ranges of ways during wartime, and it was their predisposition that resulted in neuropsychiatric disorder,

Numerous measures are undertaken throughout the course of a deployment in order to help CAF personnel cope with the psychological effects of their work. These measures extend beyond the scope of a tour of duty and includes processes to mitigate mental stress both before the deployment occurs, like pre-deployment training, as well as afterwards, like using decompression sites to minimize the risk of reverse culture shock upon returning home. Moreover, these measures are required in order to minimize the potential for soldiers to feel a loss of their military identity subsequent to returning

During this time of war, military personal faced with deployments and unfortunate events that lead them to physical and meatal disabilities. Many of military personal come back home with wounds that leave mental scarfs and then have to confront society alone. This often leads them to deal with more distressful situations, and in many cases leads to unfortunate outcomes. The wounded worrier program works with these individuals to help them back into society with an easy transition. Some of the problems that they have to deal are PTSD, stress, depression, physical limitations that can lead to even suicidal tendencies. The wounded worrier program has many programs that can help military personal to work with these difficulties. One of them is the physical health and wellness that is designed “to reduced stress, combat depression and promote an overall healthy and active life style.” (Wounded Warrior Program 2014) The program works with these warriors in trying to get them involved with sports that “…allow [the] warriors living with cognitive, emotional, and/or physical impairments to engage in local community-based activities to help overcome both visible and invisible injuries.” (Wounded Warrior Program 2014) The program also works with them by following a list, to keep them focus and motivated with the fitness activity they pick. In addition helping them having an easily assessable and reachable goal.

Today’s Army endures many issues when it comes to being resilient and ready, medical rehabilitation is no exception. In recent years, it has come to the forefront of the myriad problems that the Army must work to find a solution for. An article that was written in 2009 states that injuries have become an epidemic in the Army, stating that for every 1000 Soldiers there were 2500 injuries reported (McNulty, 2009). Even without statistics like these, it is part and parcel with the job, that Soldiers will sustain some type of injury over the course of their career in the Army. This paper will exam how positive psychology and master resilience training can benefit Soldiers on profile undergoing the

The mental health steps taken by the US Military to assist combat veterans and active duty soldiers in combat to appeared work well in the Korean War. During that time the lessons learned during WWII were observed and the treatment programs created during WWII were still in place due to the short amount of time between wars, allowing soldiers who were affected by the war to be treated relatively quickly. This resulted in a low mental health attrition rate and a relatively good rate of re-deployment adjustment back to civilian life. It is important to note that the name of the mental trauma of war was again changed during this era to “Combat Resilience Syndrome” (Eagan Chamberlin 2012).

Men who have experienced an acute traumatic event or prolonged trauma often turn to their combat unit for support. The support that men get from other soldiers often revolves around revenge fantasies and venting anger (Herman). In terms of psychological recovery, this method of support is really only like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound – a temporary patch that will inevitably fail. The solidarity that a close-knit military unit provides is almost impossible to find anywhere else. Sebastian Junger, a veteran of Afghanistan, says that many veterans actually miss war after they have returned home.

Some of the strengths of Fort Bragg are the number of resources that are available such as physical therapy, dietitians, psychologists, and counsellors. Because of a soldier’s hazardous duties, there are a lot of cases of injuries. One of the main ways to recover is through physical therapy. Therapists create a plan for work and home, in order to maximize the patient’s potential. The drawback to being injured is the inability to maintain high to normal level of activity, thus the soldier can weight. To prevent any sanction, the soldier seeks help from the dietitian who helps to create a meal plan for work and home. The same injured soldier, sometimes encounter mental pressure from peers and leaders. This will affect the soldier mental health. Because most soldiers wait until late to get help, the army health department advertises through email the available recourses to help reduce harm and maximize mental health.

It begins with an abstract, although this is divided by six subheadings, followed by a very brief introduction. The method section is again divided into subgroups; recruitment, data collection and statistical analysis, some of which are further divided. The results section follows a now familiar theme of subheadings, consisting of eight subgroups headed; participants, demographics, participation in active deployments other than the Gulf War, CIDI-defined DSM-IV psychological disorders, investigation of a ‘deployment effect’, risk across age, service type and rank, effect of Gulf War-related stressors and investigation for participation bias. The discussion section consists of a substantial background section followed by an overview of the results, a review of the measurements used, and again divided into subgroups, a more in depth discussion of the results including; investigation for a ‘war deployment effect’, association with Gulf War-related stressors, asocial with age, service type or rank and investigation for participation bias. The significant background information provided in the discussion could have conceivably better served its purpose of acquainting the reader with prior research and explanations of relevant variables/factors, if it had been featured in the comparatively short introduction. The discussion ends with the potential implications; followed by acknowledgements, an extensive reference list,

Protective factors are skills, essential qualities, and resources that help mitigate the impact of life stressors. Resilience, the propensity to emanate from an adverse circumstance and successfully adapt to it, is the one protective factor that we, as military leaders, always stress. Resilience simulates a “buffer” from the emergence of suicidality in the face of arduous circumstances. Without resilience, one cannot cope with adversity; instead, those that lack resilience become overwhelmed—they lack the fortitude to face their difficulties directly and openly, sometimes adopting detrimental coping mechanisms to deal with challenges. According to the Nock (2014), in reference to an analysis of the Army STARRS study, “Our finding of a low

Throughout history peacekeeping soldiers were known to cope reasonably well with the demands, responsibilities, and stressors of their position. It was commonly thought that their major difficulties were boredom and isolation. Soldiers were frequently frustrated with their seemingly inactive role, and often thought they were less important than other units of operation. Historically, peacekeeping missions involved soldiers serving simply as impartial observers during the interrogation and enforcement of peace between previously warring parties. However, the role of peacekeepers has changed greatly post-Cold War. The contemporary peacekeeper faces a more complex, multi-faced duty; entailing direct enforcement of peace between warring parties, and also giving humanitarian aid when necessary. These new peacekeeping soldiers face an array of new hurdles such as, coping with the unpredictability of their mission, managing engagement, and also struggling with personal and political views of the conflict at hand. The neutral-ness of the soldiers may lead to role-conflict, and uncertainty on which actions to take in a threatening situation. Today’s peacekeeping soldiers have many more duties, obligations and responsibilities than pre-Cold War soldiers. The additional stressors put upon these soldiers may be cause for intense psychological issues before, during, and after being deployed.

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze three published articles that discussed the Combat and Operational Stress Control (COSC) program in the U.S Marine Corps, and it’s parallel in the U.S Navy, the Operational Stress Control that aims to prevent, identify, and treat stress problems being faced by the Marines, Sailors, and their families. The articles, however, offered different approaches on how its three primary components (stress continuum model, five core functions of a leader, and stress first aid) can be