The WAROPS® training program claims to provide stress management information and self-regulating skills to help soldiers manage their operational and combat stress, enhance resilience, maximize performance and facilitate re-integration throughout the deployment cycle.

Researchers found preliminary evidence of health-related benefits in the group of soldiers who participated in the training and regularly used the skills, as evidenced by greater self-reported resilience, fewer post-traumatic stress symptoms, better post-deployment reintegration, and better general health and well-being. 

Teaching soldiers how to recognize and manage their stress has the potential to lessen the negative impact of combat on individual warriors, thereby building resilience among troops. When the Command, expressed interest in this training program, Samueli Institute was invited to design and conduct this Program Evaluation. The research study rigorously evaluates the structure, processes and outcomes of a program in the real-life context of the deployment cycle for soldiers in two Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs):

• the first BCT was Command-directed to receive the training at two time points (prior to and after return from deployment); and
• the second was Command-directed to receive the training at a single post-deployment time point.

The specific aims of this study are to: 

• evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the resilience skills training program in both pre- and post-deployment military training environments;
• assess the effectiveness of the program through quantitative and qualitative data; and 
• investigate changes in stress-related outcomes (i.e., somatic, behavioral and psychosocial) in soldiers who undergo the training.

Data are being analysed and papers are being drafted for publication. 

Methodology:
Military bases across the country have integrated training programs into their training and medical response. Samueli Institute works as a non-partisan evaluator to improve the effectiveness of these programs and to ensure that Service members have access to the highest quality, research-backed programs.

The Program Evaluation model applied to this project is a comprehensive and systematic approach to assess the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of a skills-based resilience training program that is administered to combat soldiers at three discreet time points. Samueli Institute proposes that it can serve as a standardized model for comparison of similar military training programs.

Partnerships:

This is a collaborative study between Samueli Institute, RAND Corporation and Deployment Health.

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This work is supported by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command under Award Numbers: W81XWH-08-2-0212; W81XWH-11-2-0173; W81XWH-08-1-0408; W81XWH-11-1-0759; W81XWH-10-1-0820; W81XWH-07-2-0076; W81XWH-06-1-0279; W81XWH-06-2-0009; W81XWH-10-1-1011; W81XWH-10-2-0184; W81XWH-08-1-0615; W81XWH-10-1-0938; W81XWH-11-1-0538 The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy or decision unless so designated by other documentation. In the conduct of research where humans are the subjects, the investigator(s) adhered to the policies regarding the protection of human subjects as prescribed by Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 45, Volume 1, Part 46; Title 32, Chapter 1, Part 219; and Title 21, Chapter 1, Part 50 (Protection of Human Subjects).

 

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