Improving Operational Effectiveness and Building Warrior Resilience

T oday’s complex, fluid, and unpredictable operational environment both demands more from the military in terms of mission requirements and exposes troops to more stressors and potential trauma than ever before. On the one hand, situational awareness, mental agility, and adaptability are characteristics that the military wants to cultivate to succeed in such complex environments. In part, this complexity comes from the number and nature of the different missions the military must concurrently fill. The military needs to be able to mix offensive, defensive, and stability operations conducted along multiple lines of operations, without the benefit of a clearly demarcated “frontline.” Many Soldiers liken this complexity and unpredictability to “the faucet,” that is, needing to adjust to situations that could change from cold to hot instantaneously. Moreover, Servicemembers must navigate morally ambiguous situations with balance and nonreactivity, while drawing on stores of cultural awareness to “win hearts and minds.” Finally, these missions require that decisionmaking be pushed down to the most junior levels, as the doctrine of “distributed operations” makes clear. Such challenges require a tremendous amount of attentional capacity, self-awareness, and situational awareness. On the other hand, because of the stressors and challenges of this operating