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U.S. service members are at an enhanced risk for developing mental disorders. To address these challenges, while promoting operational readiness and improving mental health outcomes, the Department of Defense directed each service component to develop and implement universal resilience enhancing programs. This paper provides a review of theoretical approaches conceptualizing resilience to trauma, including the theoretical foundations of programs currently in place. The resilience programs of U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps are described, and available program effectiveness data are reviewed. Gaps between theory and practice are identified and an alternative method of assessing psychological readiness in Army units that is informed by resilience theory is offered as one way to address these gaps and scientific concerns. By comprehensively assessing the stressors affecting Soldiers at regular intervals, military leaders may be able to better identify and mitigate stressors in a systematic way that bolsters individual and unit psychological fitness. An enhanced psychological readiness metric stands to strengthen the validity of current resilience programs, bring clarity to the mechanisms of resilience, and provide a novel way for leaders to promote readiness in their units. Application of this metric within the infrastructure of existing reporting systems stands to improve mental health outcomes for Service Members, enhance the psychological readiness of the force, and reduce healthcare costs over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly complex and unpredictable personnel and operational demands require Special Operations Forces (SOF) members and their families to remain flexible, adaptive, and resilient within ever-changing circumstances. To mitigate the impact of these stressors on psychological health and fitness, researchers and educators at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) developed Special Operations Cognitive Agility Training (SOCAT), a cognitive performance optimization program supported by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF). The goal of SOCAT is to enhance cognitive agility, defined as the ability to deliberately adapt cognitive processing strategies in accordance with dynamic shifts in situational and environmental demands, in order to facilitate decision making and adapt to change. Overall, SOCAT emphasizes optimal cognitive performance across different contexts – as well as across various stages of the military lifecycle – to serve as a buffer against biopsychosocial vulnerabilities, environmental and social stressors, military operational demands, and behavioral health problems, including suicide. This paper reviews foundational research behind SOCAT, mechanisms through which SOCAT is anticipated to build psychological resilience, and describes the process of developing and tailoring SOCAT for active duty SOF members and spouses. Limitations and future directions, including an ongoing, randomized controlled program evaluation, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]