Mental Stress Training Is Planned for U.S. Soldiers

D. Myles Cullen/U.S. Army

At a recent training session in Philadelphia, Sgt. First Class James Cole and other soldiers participated in role-playing and learned mental fitness techniques intended to help them in combat.

The training, the first of its kind in the military, is meant to improve performance in combat and head off the mental health problems, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, that plague about one-fifth of troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Active-duty soldiers, reservists and members of the National Guard will receive the training, which will also be available to their family members and to civilian employees.
The new program is to be introduced at two bases in October and phased in gradually throughout the service, starting in basic training. It is modeled on techniques that have been tested mainly in middle schools. (read more)