Soldiers train to become mentally stronger

FORT SILL, Okla. (July 28, 2016) -- The Army is asking its Soldiers to do more in today's up-tempo operational environment, but with a downsized force. Having a workforce of strong, mentally tough and resilient Soldiers and civilians is crucial to ensure the readiness of the service.

Recognizing this, the Army mandates resilience training to its Soldiers to help them think in an effective manner, and to see situations more clearly.

Thirty-four Fort Sill Soldiers and one civilian graduated from the 10-day Master Resiliency Training Course Level 1, July 22, at the Graham Resiliency Training Campus. They will go back to their units and train Soldiers resiliency techniques in six core competencies: self-awareness, self-regulation, optimism, mental agility, strength of character and connection in relationships.

The first six days of the course the students learned 14 resilience skills through practical exercises, said Dr. Shannon Baird, master resilience trainer/performance expert at the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness (CSF2) Training Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., who led the training. The last four days focused on them becoming trainers.

In one way mental training is like learning a physical skill, she said.

"Resilience or mental skills training cannot be a spectator sport; it has to be interactive," Baird said.

It would be like trying to qualify expert in basic rifle marksmanship through a slide presentation; it won't happen -- you've got to pull the trigger, Baird said.

Therefore much of the training was hands-on, dynamic, practical exercises in resilience skills, which included goal setting, energy management, problem solving, assertive communication and deployment-cycle resilience training.

Each morning class began with the Hunt the Good Stuff exercise. Soldiers turned to the Soldier sitting next to them and shared three good things that happened the previous day. They could be simple things.

One Soldier revealed that she reached seven years in the Army. One drill sergeant said she was able to get in a fitness workout, which is a rarity for her when she is in-cycle during basic combat training. Another Soldier said he used the deliberate breathing technique he learned in the course to maintain his composure as a fast-food worker screwed up his order.

Resilience concepts were introduced with the theories and hard science behind them, then the students would go to break-out rooms and "pull the trigger, to learn by getting their hands dirty," said Baird, who was assisted by eight trainers from Forts Bragg, Drum, Hood and Sill to make up the Mobile Training Team.

Drill Sgt. (Staff Sgt.) Arleen Benavidez, D Battery, 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery, said many of the exercises were useful and one that she'll be using is real-time resilience.

The RTR is used to shut down counterproductive thinking to enable greater concentration and focus on the task at hand, according to an MRT hand out.

Benavidez used the Army Physical Training test as an example.

Soldiers may have thoughts about failing it, or having a poor time on the run, or doing it wrong, she said. To counter the negative thoughts one technique is to use evidence.

"I know I work out everyday, I know my run time," she said. "Use the evidence and be optimistic to put things in perspective."

Many activities required students to be open and self-revealing about themselves and experiences, which pushed some of them out of their comfort zones. Again, Baird compared mental training to physical activity.

"We don't gain strength if we just stay where we're comfortable in terms of physical training," she said. "To get physically stronger we have to push past the point of comfort.

"The same is true of mental strength. We have to push past -- 'well, this is what I've always done,' 'this is what I'm comfortable doing,' -- if we want to get stronger."

In the Detect the Iceberg activity, Soldiers had to reveal something that was upsetting them.

The exercise was to identify a student's core belief that he or she believed was being violated.

Drill Sgt. (Sgt. 1st Class) Joshua Pickering, E Battery, 1st Battalion, 31st Field Artillery, said his mother's bad eating habits was bugging him. From a few simple questions posed by Baird, i.e., What is the worst part of that for me?, the drill sergeant realized that he felt responsible for his mother's health because she's a big part of his life.

"It got right to the root of my problem. It was pretty emotional," Pickering said.

This is one huge difference between mental strength and physical strength training, the doctor said.

People are limited by their genetic capabilities for strength, fitness and speed. However, "the wonderful thing about mental strength and resilience is that there is no ceiling. We can always get mentally tougher," she said.

Pickering, said the training has given him tools he can use in family life, as well as working with his peers and basic combat training Soldiers.

"I don't get to spend a lot of time at home with my wife and kids so the relationship was kind of suffering," Pickering said. "I've learned how to use effective praise. And active constructive responding was really good to use for my family to keep that relationship well."

He added that some techniques he'll use with new recruits are goal setting, and eliminating counter-productive thoughts.

Pickering recommended the MRT course to his fellow drill sergeants.

"It will help them maintain their relationships at home while they are on the trail, it will make them more energetic, more positive," he said. "Most importantly, they are going to see things in their Soldiers they didn't see before: their strengths and character."

Soldiers, family members and DA civilians can find information about MRT at https://armyfit.army.mil/.