Fiscal and Operational Impacts of Standardizing US Military Resiliency Programs to Minimize Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Abstract
For hundreds of years, adverse psychological effects of war on human beings have been recognized, and efforts have been made to heal or lessen the symptoms. Today, much of the concentrated efforts toward combat stress reaction focus on reactive medicinal and psychological treatment, yet relatively little attention has been dedicated to preemptive measures.Within the past six years, the military has implemented nearly a dozen separate programs aimed at decreasing the rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current resiliency training programs used by the military and to recommend improvements. The broad conclusion is that since the US military began research for improving PTSD treatment more than 10 years ago and implemented various resiliency programs, to date there is no universal, comprehensive program content or delivery framework on either matter. Combat and tactical training are taught exclusively from resiliency training. Organizations are independently managed and operated with little or no collaboration. A key recommendation is that standardization should occur in the following four areas: training scope, training content, training delivery, and consolidation of organizations. A comprehensive model may be adopted and integrated to standardize purpose and format. Standardized training content and delivery would ensure proven subject matter and provide more consistent evaluation and metrics. Centralized platforms for consolidation could lower administrative costs while increasing communication and oversight of best practices. Taking action to standardize and consolidate resiliency programs would result in saving lives and millions of dollars in treatment, disability, and retraining costs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1015714
Entities
People
- James E. McDonald
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College