Tactical training has been shown to promote stress coping skills, and similar techniques employed by our military can be just as effective for civilians.
Click the video above to learn more about how military tactical training promotes resilience
Resilience is defined as the mental, physical, emotional, and behavioral ability to face and cope with adversity, adapt to change, recover, learn, and grow from setbacks. Members of our nation’s military are exposed to the horrors of war either directly or indirectly and must be mentally and physically prepared to execute under these overwhelming, unpredictable conditions.
However, this stress coping mechanism can be applied to and learned by every individual – not just military members.
A study conducted in 2016 at the Army Research Laboratory in Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas analyzed the correlation between resiliency, coping, and overall mental health. The results suggest that continuous use of positive, emotion-focused and problem-focused coping techniques decrease incidences of self-blame.
Skills that Army Soldiers learn in annual resilience training are fundamental to coping in both training and real-world environments. When applied, these techniques can deter negative, spiraling thoughts, keeping the Soldier mission focused and in the fight.
Army Regulation 350-53, Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness, governs the Army Resilience Training program. According to the regulation, there are five dimensions of strength: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and family. Self-care, remaining optimistic, thinking through problems, harnessing motivation, and maintaining healthy relationships predict the outcome of a person’s overall mental well-being.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), strong resilience can also promote opportunities for self-discovery. Studies by the APA have also shown that a resilient individual is less likely to fall victim to drugs and alcohol abuse. Finding purpose, remaining proactive, and embracing healthy thoughts decrease occurrences of the body’s fight-or-flight stress response. This prevents future issues in the brain to include short-term memory loss, behavioral regulation, and can even avert chronic depression.
Soldiers from Fort Lee, Virginia conduct tactical training to build confidence and resilience.
Tactical training, as seen in the narrated slideshow at the top of this post, serves as an exposure to expected stressful scenarios that Soldiers experience in combat. The National Institutes of Health suggests that stress exposure early in life facilitates resilience for future traumatic events, including cancer, the death of a loved one, and financial issues.
Sgt. 1st Class Jacob Bump serves as a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator at Fort Lee, Virginia. With ten years of experience in deployments, serving in several demanding positions, and coping with adverse scenarios, he reflects that tactical training has helped him remain resilient.
“Resilience keeps you strong and allows you to learn from an experience,” he said. “Life is about trial and error. You are going to fail at times – you have to accept that. But failure is just the precursor to growing stronger, and eventually, you will succeed. You can’t always predict what’s going to happen. But you can control how you react to it. Don’t sell yourself short.”
Remember that you are not alone on the road to resilience.
The journey will be long and enduring. While you cannot control all of your circumstances, remaining optimistic, encouraging yourself and others, and maintaining a contagious “I CAN” attitude will help sustain a healthy mental state.
Seek professional help if you are struggling with strategies moving forward. You can visit the APA website to find more information about how a psychologist can help.