Army Soldiers Research Articles

A prediction model for differential resilience to the effects of combat-related stressors in US army soldiers.

To develop a composite score for differential resilience to effects of combat-related stressors (CRS) on persistent DSM-IV post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among US Army combat arms soldiers using survey data collected before deployment. A sample of n=2542 US Army combat arms soldiers completed a survey shortly before deployment to Afghanistan and then again two to three and 8-9months after redeployment. Retrospective self-reports were obtained about CRS. Precision treatment methods were used to determine whether differential resilience to persistent PTSD in the follow-up surveys could be developed from pre-deployment survey data in a 60% training sample and validated in a 40% test sample. 40.8% of respondents experienced high CRS and 5.4% developed persistent PTSD. Significant test sample heterogeneity was found in resilience (t=2.1, p=0.032), with average treatment effect (ATE) of high CRS in the 20% least resilient soldiers of 17.1% (SE=5.5%) compared to ATE=3.8% (SE=1.2%) in the remaining 80%. The most important predictors involved recent and lifetime pre-deployment distress disorders. A reliable pre-deployment resilience score can be constructed to predict variation in the effects of high CRS on persistent PTSD among combat arms soldiers. Such a score could be used to target preventive interventions to reduce PTSD or other resilience-related outcomes.

Simulating autonomous drone behaviors in an anti-access area denial (A2AD) environment

Army senior military leaders are invested in acquiring modernized aerial platforms and equipment to augment the US Army’s ability to overcome Anti-Access Area Denial (A2AD) threats imposed by modern Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS). A prominent element of this modernization effort is the employment of autonomous drones to defeat IADS threats while minimizing risk to Army Soldiers. This research utilizes a framework for classifying the levels of autonomous capability along three dimensions: the ability to act alone, the ability to cooperate, and the ability to adapt. A virtual combat model, created using the Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling (AFSIM), simulates the engagement between an enemy IADS and a friendly formation comprised of autonomous drones, attack helicopters, and a Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) capability. A designed experiment evaluates drone performance with varying levels of autonomy. The experimental results reveal that low levels of autonomy yield a 20.74% increase in survivability and a 5.52% increase in lethality.

Incidence of Self-Reported Bothersome Tinnitus Versus Tinnitus Diagnosis Among U.S. Army Soldiers.

U.S. Army Soldiers undergo annual audiometric surveillance to facilitate prevention of auditory injury. Soldiers are screened for bothersome tinnitus and subsequently referred for a clinical audiological evaluation as warranted. Presumably, most Soldiers seen in the clinic for bothersome tinnitus receive a tinnitus diagnosis. The incidence of self-reported bothersome tinnitus at the time of annual audiometric surveillance and subsequent diagnosis of tinnitus in the medical record has not been examined to date. This study estimated the incidence of tinnitus diagnosis in a population of Soldiers who reported new onset bothersome tinnitus and explored trends associated with tinnitus diagnosis to refine hearing health education. A subset of hearing conservation records retrieved for a previous study were selected based on change in self-reporting of bothersome tinnitus. Corresponding medical records were retrieved for this sample of Active Duty (AD) Soldiers. The data were retrospectively examined, and analyses were conducted to identify statistically significant differences between Soldiers with and Soldiers without a tinnitus diagnosis. In addition, trend patterns of bothersome tinnitus and significant threshold shift (STS) were examined. Of the sample of 730,350 AD Soldiers, 16.7% self-reported new onset bothersome tinnitus and 7.1% of those recorded as having bothersome tinnitus had a diagnosis of tinnitus in their medical record. Soldiers with a tinnitus diagnosis were older and had higher pure-tone averages than Soldiers without a tinnitus diagnosis. Counterintuitively, overall trend percentages of bothersome tinnitus increased per calendar year, while the percentages of STS decreased throughout the study period. The rate of tinnitus diagnosis in the medical record is vastly lower than the prevalence of bothersome tinnitus recorded in the annual surveillance system. Steps should be taken to screen, refer, and diagnose tinnitus more consistently. Based on the outcome of the study analysis, we recommend that screening for bothersome tinnitus more closely follows procedure recommendations from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense (VA/DOD) Tinnitus Working Group, which may reduce the rate at which Soldiers report bothersome tinnitus.

Insomnia and sleep apnea in the entire population of US Army soldiers: Associations with deployment and combat exposure 2010-2019, a retrospective cohort investigation

ObjectivesThis retrospective cohort study examined clinically diagnosed insomnia and sleep apnea and analyzed associations with deployment and combat exposure in active-duty soldiers (n=1,228,346) from 2010 to 2019. MethodsRetrospective data were obtained from the Soldier Performance, Health, and Readiness database. ResultsOverseas soldier deployments peaked in 2010, decreasing thereafter as soldiers were withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan. From 2010 to 2012 insomnia incidence increased at a rate of 6.7 cases/1000 soldier-years, then decreased after 2012 at 5.3 cases/1000 soldier-years. Sleep apnea increased 2010-2016 at 1.9 cases/1000 soldier-years and generally declined thereafter. Risk of insomnia increased with deployment (hazard ratio=1.51; 95% confidence interval=1.49-1.52) and combat exposure (hazard ratio=1.15; 95% confidence interval=1.13-1.17). Risk of sleep apnea was increased by deployment (hazard ratio=1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.86-1.92) and combat exposure (hazard ratio=1.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.11). Most relationships remained after accounting for other factors in multivariable analyses, except that the association between sleep apnea and combat exposure was reduced (hazard ratio=0.94; 95% confidence interval=0.92-0.97). ConclusionsInsomnia risk decreased in the period nearly in parallel with a reduction in the number of deployments; nonetheless deployment and combat exposure increased insomnia risk in the period examined. Risk of sleep apnea increased in the period and was related to deployment but not combat exposure after accounting for demographics and comorbid conditions. Despite reductions in insomnia incidence and a slowing in sleep apnea incidence, sleep disorders remain highly prevalent, warranting continued emphasis on sleep-disorder screening and improving the soldier sleep habits.

Dietary Restraint Mediates the Association Between Body Image and Diet Quality in United States Army Soldiers

Dietary Restraint Mediates the Association Between Body Image and Diet Quality in United States Army Soldiers

군 병사의 부대 적응 척도 타당화 연구

The purpose of this study was to accurately measure the extent of unit adjustment in a context where policies related to unit adjustment of military personnel are being implemented and interest in unit adjustment is high. To this end, the suitability of the unit adjustment scale developed by Stouffer et al. (1949), translated by Lee Yoon-hee (1963), and modified by Shin Tae-soo (1981) for the Korean military was verified. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, 10 items were removed from the original 26 items, and based on the reliability analysis, the reliability value was highest when all 16 modified items were used. Next, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on these items to present the revised Korean Army Soldiers' Unit Adjustment Scale. The scale was composed of four subfactors as in the original scale. Three of the items, mental and physical condition, willingness to perform duties, and job position and job satisfaction, were the same as the original scale, but for the last factor, attitude toward the military organizational environment, the items were reviewed with the exception of the items that were deleted through the validity analysis, and it was found that it was appropriate to have one factor consisting of perceptions of military officers rather than overall attitudes toward the organizational environment. This study is significant in that it empirically validated the unit adaptation scale with military soldiers in a situation where validation of scales related to unit adaptation is lacking, and it is significant in that it deleted inappropriate items and revised the scale to fit the current military situation.

Model of activity of Mayor Aleksey Sokolov and agents stormtroopers under his leadership

In the public narrative on partisan warfare, an extremely important role is played by agents stormtroopers under Mayor Aleksey Sokolov leadership. Many have heard that this person was “the leader of all-Ukrainian agents stormtroopers”, who was sent to Lithuania to organize the activity of agents stormtroopers. Yet, the information known about this person has been scarce so far. By this article it is sought to provide some facts on the biography of A. Sokolov and highlight the principles of activity of special groups under his leadership. A. Sokolov was a specialist in the specific agency-operational area. He was a recipient of various insignia and other honorary awards, which demonstrated appreciation of his activity by the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (Cheka) authorities. On the other hand, legality of methods used by A. Sokolov and stormtroopers under his leadership raised doubts. It is likely that namely this problem prevented him from awarding the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. It took to A. Sokolov less than one year of working with the special group in order to create a model of stormtroopers usage adapted to fighting the Ukrainian partisans. In doing this, A. Sokolov consulted the stormtroopers themselves. While being on secondment in Lithuania, he reformed the special group of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR) according to the Ukrainian model. The operation that took place in Grendavė village of Onuškis Rural District in Trakai County was in line with the model of operations carried out in Ukraine: on the basis of operational data, a legend had been created, a list of persons to be detained and interrogated compiled, the stormtroopers, dressed and equipped as the Red Army soldiers, prepared bunkers for future interrogations, wrote minutes containing evidence of the persons detained, etc. A. Sokolov’s expertise and methodical guidance laid the foundation for practical activity of special groups in Lithuania. Further on, the stormtroopers actually employed the tactics, created by A. Sokolov.

Antecedents, reasons for, and consequences of suicide attempts: Results from a qualitative study of 89 suicide attempts among army soldiers.

Antecedents, reasons for, and consequences of suicide attempts: Results from a qualitative study of 89 suicide attempts among army soldiers.

ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТЬ ПРОДОТРЯДОВ И ПРОДАРМИИ В САРАТОВСКОЙ ГУБЕРНИИ В 1918 ГОДУ

The purpose of the article is to investigate the causes, the legal basis of the activities of Food Detachments and Food armies, as well as the tasks assigned to them to seize surplus grain in villages. The scientific novelty of the study is the insufficient knowledge of the activities of Food Detachments and Food armies in the Saratov province. The study uses the main methods of scientific and historical cognition, such as: descriptive, comparative historical, logical, analysis of archival materials. As a result of the study, it was revealed that in 1918, the cities under the control of the Soviet government were threatened with famine, despite the fact that there was bread in the agricultural provinces. But the peasants did not willingly hand it over, due to the unsettled system of commodity exchange between the village and the city. Based on this circumstance, the Soviet government decided to forcibly withdraw bread from the villages. The solution of this issue was entrusted to the workers of the Food Detachments and the Red Army soldiers of the Food Army, however, despite the common tasks, their activities were distinguished by the fact that the Food detachments took part of the harvested bread for themselves, and the Soldiers handed over everything to the state.

Supplemental Material for Antecedents, Reasons for, and Consequences of Suicide Attempts: Results From a Qualitative Study of 89 Suicide Attempts Among Army Soldiers

Supplemental Material for Antecedents, Reasons for, and Consequences of Suicide Attempts: Results From a Qualitative Study of 89 Suicide Attempts Among Army Soldiers

Trait-level predictors of human performance outcomes in personnel engaged in stressful laboratory and field tasks.

Personnel performance under stress hinges on various factors, including individual traits, training, context, mental and physiological states, and task demands. This study explored the link between the traits of military personnel and their performance outcomes in five domains: move, shoot, communicate, navigate, and sustain. A total of 387 U.S. Army soldiers participated in this study, undergoing trait assessments covering physical, cognitive, social-emotional, demographic/lifestyle, and health domains. Performance was measured through lab and field events assessing a broad range of individual and team-level skills under conditions demanding resilience to acute cognitive and physical stress exposure. Analysis used feature selection and elastic net regression. Analyses revealed complex associations between traits and performance, with physical, cognitive, health-related, social-emotional, and lifestyle traits playing roles in guiding and constraining performance. Measures of resilience, emotion regulation, grit, and mindfulness were identified as relevant predictors of several performance-related outcomes. Results carry implications for the selection, training, and operational effectiveness of personnel in high-stakes occupations including military and first response. Further research is necessary to explore the mechanisms underlying these associations and inform targeted interventions to boost personnel effectiveness.

Identifying Suicide-Related Predictors Using Overseas Airborne Infantry Brigade Serious Incident Reports.

Suicidal ideation and attempts are considered to be graduated risks for suicide, yet they remain under studied. Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the U.S. for all individuals between the ages of 10 and 64 years. Suicide is a critical problem in the U.S. Military. The U.S. Army suicide rates surpassed civilian rates in 2008 and continue to climb steadily; with U.S. Army soldiers at more than twice the risk than U.S. civilians, and enlisted personnel at more than twice the risk of officers. Suicidal ideation and attempts are routinely reported within U.S. Army brigades using suicide-related serious incident reports (SR-SIRs). These reports could form a useful source of information for prevention planning, but to date there have been no efforts to summary these reports. This paper analyzes SR-SIRs among enlisted personnel for a 4-year period for 1 Army brigade, to test the usefulness of this information and to explore whether risk factors for attempts compared to ideation can be identified. This report analyzes 130 de-identified reports of suicidal ideation (n = 102) and suicide attempts (n = 28) reported as SR-SIRs from August 2018 to June 2022 among enlisted personnel in an airborne infantry brigade combat team (BCT) outside the continental U.S. Analysis of de-identified data was not considered research by brigade and university human subject/IRB authorities. Fourteen soldier characteristics and context factors were examined to determine if they differentiate the two types of incidents, suicidal ideations and suicide attempts. Unit location and alcohol use at the time of the incident were strongly associated with suicide attempts compared to ideation. Attempts occurred disproportionately during off duty hours, and attempters were more likely to have had prior contact with behavioral health services than ideators; however, these differences did not attain conventional statistical significance. The study can help inform unit-specific suicide prevention and intervention strategies. Off duty hours and alcohol use are risk factors for attempts, particularly among soldiers who have sought behavioral health care. Plans to engage and support soldiers who have sought behavioral health care during off duty hours, and information regarding the risks of alcohol use, could meaningfully reduce their risk. This is the first known attempt to examine active duty U.S. Army brigade combat team SR-SIRs, and they are a potentially valuable source of health and mental health-related information.

The Effects of Platoon Leader Mental Health and Resilience Training on Soldier Problematic Anger.

The DoD has prioritized programs to optimize readiness by enhancing resilience of its service members. Problematic anger in the military is an issue that impacts psychological well-being and resilience. Leader support is a potential tactic for reducing anger and its effects. Currently military resilience training is focused on individual level resilience. A gap exists in such training and there is a need to train leaders to provide mental health and resilience support to their subordinates. The present study developed and tested a theory-based training aimed at platoon leaders that focused on how to engage in proactive and responsive mental health and resilience-supportive behaviors through guided discussion, scenarios, and computer-based training with embedded quizzes. We conducted an Institutional Review Board-approved cluster randomized controlled trial to test the effects of a leadership training with Army platoon leaders (n = 99) and soldiers (n = 276) in 2 brigades at an active duty military installation in the USA. Training was conducted in person with a computer-based component. Soldiers completed online surveys 1 month prior and again 3 months after the leader training. Post-training results demonstrated significant leader learning effects (Cohen's d = 1.56) and leader positive reactions to the training information, with leaders reporting the information as useful and relevant to their work. Service members in the treatment group reported significantly lower levels of anger at time 2 (b = -0.18, SE = 0.06, P = .002, pseudo ΔR2 = 0.01; d = 0.27) compared to the control group. We also found an indirect effect of the intervention on increased life satisfaction at time 2 via decreased anger (b = 0.035, SE = 0.023, 95% CI = [0.004-0.24]). This study provides an initial evaluation of training for platoon leaders that educates them on proactive and responsive behavioral strategies to support the mental health and resilience of their service members via decreased problematic anger and increased well-being. Further adaptations and evaluations should be conducted with other military branches and civilian occupations, as the benefits of the relatively brief and noninvasive training could be widespread.

Incidence and Predictors of Postpartum Depression Diagnoses among Active-Duty U.S. Army Soldiers.

Introduction: Understanding the incidence and predictors of postpartum depression (PPD) among active-duty service members is critical given the importance of this population and its unique stressors. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all active-duty U.S. Army soldiers with a record of at least one live-birth delivery between January 2012 and December 2013. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between demographic, health-related, and military-specific variables and diagnoses of PPD in the total population (N = 4,178) as well as in a subpopulation without a record of depression before delivery (N = 3,615). Results: The overall incidence of PPD diagnoses was 15.9% (N = 664 cases) among the total population and 10.4% (N = 376 cases) among those without prior depression. Statistically significant predictors of PPD in the adjusted model included lower pay grade, a higher number of prior deployments, a higher number of child dependents, tobacco use, and a history of depression or anxiety before or during pregnancy. For soldiers without a history of depression, lower pay grade, and a history of anxiety before or during pregnancy were significantly associated with PPD. Conclusions: Knowing the predictors of overall and novel onset PPD diagnoses in this population could help establish clearer guidelines on PPD prevention, screening, management, and return to duty.

Relative Strength and Physical Performance in US Army Male and Female Soldiers.

Grier, T, Benedict, T, Mahlmann, O, and Canham-Chervak, M. Relative Strength and Physical Performance in U.S. Army Male and Female Soldiers. J Strength Cond Res 38(8): 1479-1485, 2024-In occupations with high physical demands, strength relative to bodymass is an important measure as it signifies an individual's ability to control and move their body mass through space. The purpose of this investigation was to examine physical characteristics, training, and performance based on different magnitudes of relative strength. Subjects were 1,806 male and 319 female US Army soldiers. Sex, age, height, body mass, and physical training data were obtained by an electronic survey. Physical performance was measured by the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), which includes a three-repetition maximum deadlift, standing power throw, hand release push-up, sprint-drag-carry, leg tuck, and two-mile run. The relative body mass deadlifted was calculated and categorized into 4 groups for men and 3 groups for women. An analysis of variance and post hoc least significant difference test were used to evaluate the differences in relative strength and physical performance. Overall, 33% of men deadlifted ≥1.5 times their body mass, while 30% of women deadlifted ≥1.25 times their body mass. Men and women deadlifting the highest percentage of their body mass (≥1.5 times for men and ≥1.25 times for women) outperformed those with lower relative strength within their own sex in all 6 ACFT events. In 4 of the 6 ACFT events, women who deadlifted ≥1.25 times their body mass had similar performance compared with men deadlifting 1 to 1.24 times their body mass and outperformed men deadlifting <1 times their body mass. Greater strength relative to body mass was associated with higher physical performance.

Musculoskeletal system injuries in the Polish Territorial Defence Forces

BackgroundMusculoskeletal system injuries (MSIs) are the major health problem of soldiers. The aim of this study was to assess the types of MSIs that occurred most frequently among soldiers and...

Day-to-day reliability of basal heart rate and short-term and ultra short-term heart rate variability assessment by the Equivital eq02+ LifeMonitor in US Army soldiers

IntroductionThe present study determined the (1) day-to-day reliability of basal heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) measured by the Equivital eq02+ LifeMonitor and (2) agreement of ultra short-term HRV...

Detraining's Effects on Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Maximal and Explosive Strength in Army Soldiers: Does Age Matter?

This study investigated the impact of four weeks of age-dependent detraining on army soldiers' cardiorespiratory fitness and maximal and explosive strength. Fourteen volunteer tactical athletes participated, divided into two age groups (20 to 29 and 30 to 40 years). Before and after the detraining period, we assessed their anthropometric measurements (weight, height, body mass index, fat mass, and fat-free mass), cardiorespiratory fitness (maximal oxygen uptake [VO2max] and ventilatory thresholds [VT1 and VT2]), and kinematic properties during a single-leg counter-moving jump (CMJ) test for both the dominant and non-dominant legs. Two-way ANOVA followed by the Holm-Sidak post hoc test was used. The anthropometric and cardiovascular variables did not show significant differences between the groups. However, both groups exhibited a significantly reduced maximum time and speed at the VO2max. Furthermore, the flight time and maximum height during the CMJ significantly decreased in the non-dominant leg for both age groups. Notably, the dominant leg's concentric impulse (CI) significantly reduced during the CMJ, but this effect was observed only in the 30-40 age group. There were significant differences between the two age groups. Our findings suggest that four weeks of detraining negatively impacts aerobic fitness and muscular strength, independently of age. However, the dominant leg may be more susceptible to detraining effects in army soldiers aged 30-40. Furthermore, as a perspective, our results strongly suggest that a detraining period could affect successful missions (aerobic performance deterioration), as well as promote a muscle imbalance between the legs, which could encourage muscle injuries and endanger combat missions.

육군 현역간부의 삶의 질 실태 분석연구

육군 현역간부의 삶의 질 실태 분석연구

Mobilisation of Literature: The Construction of Ideology in Soviet ‘Defence’ Magazines

At the turn of the 1930s, a cultural project of defence literature emerged in the USSR, implemented by the Literary Association of the Red Army and Navy (LOKAF) under the supervision of the Political Directorate of the Red Army. The circumstances in which the idea of defence literature emerged were closely related to the historical and political context of the era of the “Great Break”. The authors of defence literature were both professional and amateur writers from the literary circles of the Red Army and the Navy. In their texts, they interpreted and adapted the ideological attitudes of the authorities and offered what they considered to be “politically correct” models of behaviour. Critics of the LOKAF evaluated the ideological correctness of these texts and formulated programme guidelines for writers. The article deals with the works published in the pages of the Zalp and LOKAF magazines in 1930–1932 in order to reveal the connection of the chosen themes with the current domestic and foreign policy agenda, the writers’ reception of ideological clichés about the aggravation of internal and external contradictions, class struggle, wrecking, mastery of technology, etc., as well as the images of Red Army soldiers, party leaders, internal and external enemies created in the works.