Stress Exposure Training for the Dismounted Squad: The Human Dimension

Today’s soldiers face a complex, unpredictable, and fluid operational environment encountering more stressors and trauma than ever before. Mental disorders account for more hospitalizations of U.S. service members than any other diagnostic category. The Army is aggressively pursuing programs to address these challenges, including revising the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness Program and launching the Ready and Resilient Campaign to improve the performance, resilience, and readiness of soldiers. While most of the emphasis has been on post-event treatment, preventative resilience training that focuses on the human dimension is a key priority for the Army. The Army Study Program Office provided funding for the Squad Overmatch Study in 2013 and 2014 as its top priority program. This study is focused on investigating how to improve existing training methodologies and technologies to better develop cognitive skills and mental resilience at the squad level with more combat realistic exercises and experiences. The vision for the Squad Overmatch Study is to optimize performance by enhancing existing training—from basic individual skills to unit training prior to, during, and post-deployment—through early and continuous Stress Exposure Training (SET) to reduce post-traumatic stress and to better prepare soldiers for the stressful situations that are a natural part of combat operations. In June of 2014 the study team conducted a demonstration of graduated SET, as well as cognitive and situational awareness skills training. Of the soldiers who participated, 90% agreed that the use of virtual technologies is effective for training situational awareness and resilience and 100% agreed that training that provides realistic scenarios are helpful in preparing for stressful combat situations. This paper will describe the Squad Overmatch Study objectives, the squad-based SET gaming, virtual and live scenario exercises and technologies used, and present results of the 2014 demonstration at Fort Benning, Georgia.