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48 Biobehavioral Resilience to Stress

surveys, Hoge et al. (2004) studied the members of four U.S. combat infan-
try units before or 3–4 months after their return from combat duty in Iraq

or Afghanistan. The results of this survey study indicated signifi cant risk

for mental health problems, especially among those who had been deployed
to Iraq.

Stresses of Modern Military Service in War

While it may be the case that resilience to stress represents a set of capacities
or characteristics that can be developed or encouraged to generate positive

effect, it might also be worthwhile to consider specific strategies to enhance

resilience to stressors that war fighters are especially likely to confront as part
of modern warfare (Bonanno, 2004). At every level, soldiers and leaders can
take positive steps to enhance resilience. Individuals can develop and sustain
positive expectations about their deployment and service. Appraising experi-
ences in a positive light, even when expectations may not be met, is crucial in
resisting the destructive effects of stress. Accepting that negative and painful

experiences can still be an occasion for positive personal growth is a way to

make meaning of even difficult and disturbing experiences. Leaders can help
prepare their units for stressful experiences by fostering open and honest
communication and maintaining a positive and supportive organizational
climate.

The scope of the current conflict in Iraq has necessitated an unprecedented

use of reservists and members of the U.S. Army National Guard. Part-time
service members are now forced to consider and accept a very diff erent model
of service in which they are more likely to experience overseas deployment

and its associated risks (Wisher & Freeman, 2006). The demography and the
training of these forces overlap only partially with that of their full-time,
active duty counterparts (Pickell, 2001). On an average, reservists are older
and their training is more variable. Part-time military personnel are thus

subject to specific types of stress that active duty service members do not
routinely confront, particularly in the areas of employment, income, and
family support services (Dunning, 1996). For example, because reservists
and National Guard members and their families maintain civilian lives that
are often geographically more remote from their assigned military units or

formal military installations, support services are in many cases less avail-
able and less accessible.
Repetitive and lengthy deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan have also
challenged the full-time military force, especially the U.S. Army and Marine
Corps. Members of these organizations have had to revise their expectations
of military life to anticipate that a military career may now involve several
lengthy periods of dangerous overseas service, punctuated by comparatively

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