Preparing the Human Weapon System

A healthy and fit force is essential for our military to maintain its readiness posture and war-fighting capabilities. "The most important weapon system in the US military is people, and their health and fitness is the basic guarantor of military success at all levels of engagement" (AFDD 2-4.2, 2002, p. 23). Because our greatest resource is personnel, it is imperative that we prepare our members with the capabilities and skills needed to perform in a high stress environment. While the military has made significant strides within the realm of physical preparedness for service, it has not devoted as much attention to promote mental preparedness. Because the profession of arms is inherently stressful, we must adequately equip our members to not only survive, but also thrive within this environment. While each military service addresses and monitors physical fitness as a key component for combat readiness, psychological fitness has largely been undertrained and warrants attention (Thomas, Adler, Witels, Enne, and Johannes, 2004). The objective of this review is to examine the dynamic constructs of resiliency and hardiness as cornerstones for training and promoting mental preparedness in the military.