Adequate sleep and access to mental health resources are essential to soldiers, a panel of experts said at a recent Hot Topic hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.
Spiritual well-being reinforces every other aspect of soldiers’ health and readiness, the chief of the personnel branch in the Office of the Army Chief of Chaplains said.
In a holiday letter to the force, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll encouraged soldiers to “just pick up” when someone calls to check on them because “we all break eventually, and we need each other.”
Driscoll’s deeply personal Nov. 19 letter recalled a time in Ranger School when he fell during the school’s grueling winter Mountain Phase. “I slipped and fell, couldn’t get up, and the cold crushed me,” he wrote.
Soldiers on the battlefield need physical prowess, decision dominance and emotional resilience to win the nation’s wars. The U.S.
Efforts to build soldiers’ performance on the battlefield must begin in garrison, a panel of experts said during a Hot Topic hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.
Good habits must start at home, particularly as studies have shown that sleep, mindfulness, physical fitness and spiritual wellness contribute to soldiers’ ability to get to the fight, stay in the fight and, if they are wounded, return to the fight more quickly, the panelists said during a session earlier this year titled “Holistic Health and the Resilient Soldier War.”
Soldier resilience on the battlefield starts with maintaining health and fitness at home, a panel of experts said.
New military parents could benefit from more accessible mental health care during pregnancy and postpartum, according to a study from the JAMA Network.
“Pregnancy and the postpartum period are particularly risky times for parents’ mental health,” the study found. “Despite higher risk, parents’ use of mental health services is low,” and service members face “increased risk of mental health difficulties and [underuse] mental health services absent parenthood.”
The Army needs soldiers who are physically and spiritually healthy to perform the demanding missions required of them, said retired Maj. Gen. Tom Solhjem, the former Army chief of chaplains.
In a Nov. 13 Noon Report webinar hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army, Solhjem said readiness has “both a very deeply spiritual component … and a very physical component. We’ve got to have people to do what the nation needs them to do.”
An upcoming Association of the U.S. Army webinar will focus on the importance of healthy minds and bodies while serving in the Army.
The webinar, part of AUSA’s Noon Report series, is titled “Strengthening the Army Profession Through Healthy Minds and Bodies.” It will feature retired Maj. Gen. Tom Solhjem, the former Army chief of chaplains, and renowned chef Daniel Thomas.
Military caregivers need more tailored support that reflects their needs, according to a new Rand Corp. report.
“We call [caregivers] hidden heroes,” Rajeev Ramchand, co-director of the Rand Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute, said during the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s National Convening on Military Caregiving on Sept. 24. “We call them this because we truly believe that they're really the backbone of our national security, but oftentimes their service is hidden, unrecognized and undervalued.”
