Samantha Sullivan, (center), an Army World Class Program Soldier-athlete, helped the USA Women's Rugby Sevens team win its first medal during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. She attributed her ability to manage her emotions as a skill she learned at the U.S. Military Academy.

Mental resilience is the backbone of strength, allowing individuals to navigate uncertainty with confidence, adapt to challenges and find solutions in high-pressure situations. For Soldiers, this skill is not just beneficial—it is essential. This is why the Army prioritizes mental resilience as a core component of its R2 program, understanding that a sharp and disciplined mind is just as vital as physical endurance.

“Soldiers with mental agility can quickly adapt to change and maintain focus in unpredictable situations,” said Heather Hassinger, Chief, R2 Training Branch, Directorate of Prevention, Resilience and Readiness.

R2 Performance Centers offer training that integrates mental agility, emotional intelligence and behavioral strategies to help Soldiers enhance their decision-making, problem-solving and leadership skills. These programs focus on various aspects of resilience and readiness, including performance enhancement, team-building, suicide prevention and bystander intervention.

Hassinger said the skills taught at R2 Performance Centers are the same strategies used by elite athletes. From NFL quarterbacks to Olympic sprinters, top athletes have used performance techniques to build and maintain mental agility. Performance experts from multiple R2 Performance Centers helped Army athletes prepare for the 2024 Department of Defense Warrior Games. Practicing and implementing mental resilience skills helped the participants regulate their thoughts and emotions, resulting in a more fulfilling physical performance.

“This ties into the Soldier-athlete concept: Soldiers have critical missions and need to be at peak performance when called on to win and fight our nation’s wars,” Hassinger said.

“Enhancing mental skills will help give Soldiers the fighting edge.”

R2 skills can help Soldiers manage stress by teaching them how to identify triggers, shift negative thinking patterns and develop healthy coping mechanisms that enhance mental agility and emotional stability.

“If you are practicing the skills daily, it will be a lot easier to implement the skills during high-stress situations,” Hassinger said.

“I would also recommend deliberate breathing if you notice you need to slow down. Taking two to three slow, deliberate breaths can help you center, bring your energy down to a more efficient level and ensure you are attending to the right thing in the moment.”

The brain and the body work hand-in-hand. Mental skills training strengthens this bond. By developing mental resilience, Soldiers can navigate stress, overcome adversity and thrive on and off the battlefield. To learn more about resilience and performance skills and training opportunities, visit the R2 program web page.