Army Practices Prevention, Wants Emotionally "Resilient" Soldiers

The U.S. Army is launching a wave of emotional assessment and training for soldiers. Starting October 1, "resiliency" testing – which will assess soldiers' emotional, spiritual and physical stability – will be administered to all active-duty, reserve and National Guard soldiers. The confidential test results will serve solely to advise individual soldiers, who must enroll in resiliency training courses based on their results. For more information, click here.

The Army has also announced that about 100 soldiers have undergone "master resilience training" with experts from the University of Pennsylvania; another course is already planned for November. The training, which instructs noncommissioned officers who can then instruct their home units in "ways of thinking," is part of the Army's "Comprehensive Soldier Fitness" program. The program's director, Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum, describes resiliency as "a way of thinking that allows soldiers not to fall into self-defeating traps." To read the Army's press release, click here.

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