DCoE Blog

• Sergeant Major of the Army Speaks Out About Army Values, Psychological Health

  Posted by Stephanie Ayres, Real Warriors Campaign media relations lead on January 8, 2013

  “Loyalty is extremely important to us and if you say you are part of the Army and part of something larger than yourself, that loyalty to the person to the left or right of you, or the superior or the subordinate — it means something.” – U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Ray Chandler

  
  

  
  

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  Categories: Real Warriors Campaign/Stigma , Personal Stories , Families , DCoE , Treatment , Psychological Health , Leadership   |   Comments (2)

• Frontline Psych with Doc Bender: Why Cognitive Fatigue Matters

  Posted by Dr. James Bender, DCoE clinical psychologist on November 19, 2012

  

  U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrea Dickerson

  Dr. James Bender is a former Army psychologist who deployed to Iraq as the brigade psychologist for the 1st Cavalry Division 4th Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Hood, Texas. During his deployment, he traveled through Southern Iraq, from Basra to Baghdad. He writes a monthly post for the DCoE Blog on psychological health concerns related to deployment and being in the military.

  Have you ever been a turret gunner and had trouble staying vigilant on a long convoy? Ever been at the range all day and your shooting actually got worse by the end of the day? Have you found yourself stuck in a long meeting at work and noticed you stopped paying attention? If so, then you’re already familiar with cognitive fatigue (sometimes called mental fatigue). It’s defined as changes in the brain after long periods of mental activity that cause a decrease in mental performance. In other words, your brain gets tired after thinking for a long time and starts to slow down.

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  Categories: Stress , Training , Psychological Health , Leadership , Deployments   |   Comments (0)

• Who is a Veteran?

  Posted by Navy CAPT Paul S. Hammer, DCoE director on November 9, 2012

  

  A young lady thanks military veterans at the Veterans Day Parade in New York City, Nov. 11, 2011. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade)

  Veterans Day is a day reserved to honor the contributions of the more than 22 million men and women in the United States who served in the Armed Forces both in wartime and peacetime — America's veterans. Most of us know what a veteran is but how many of us really know who they are? This Veterans Day, I encourage you to take a closer look at those around you and ask yourself, "Who is a veteran?" Reach out to the veterans in your life and ask how their service has changed them and made them who they are today.

  Here are some of the stories of the many veterans we honor this Veterans Day and every day.

  A veteran is the old man who lives down the street from you who landed on Omaha Beach, Normandy, knowing that when the ramp of the Higgins boat went down he had to clear out onto the beach and the boat wasn't going to be there to take him back. He is the man who returned home in 1945 with nightmares and trouble sleeping.

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  Categories: Veterans , DCoE , Leadership   |   Comments (4)

• DCoE Director Shares Marine Corps Birthday Message

  Posted by Navy CAPT Paul S. Hammer, DCoE director on November 8, 2012

  

  CAPT Paul Hammer at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, on Nov. 10, 2004. (Courtesy photo)

  In November 1921, Commandant of the Marine Corps Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune issued Marine Corps Order No. 47, Series 1921. In it, he described the history, mission and tradition of the Marine Corps and directed that the order be read to all Marines on Nov. 10 of each year to honor the founding of the Marine Corps. Since then the Marine Corps birthday has grown from the simple reading of an order to full-blown celebrations.

  I first “celebrated” the Marine Corps birthday in 1975 when I was in boot camp at Parris Island, S.C. Having served four years as a Marine and several tours with Marines throughout my Navy career, I have experienced many Marine Corps birthdays, but none as memorable as the 229th birthday in Fallujah, Iraq, 2004.

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  Categories: DCoE , Leadership   |   Comments (0)

• 10 Tips to Boost Resilience in Service Members

  Posted by Diana Moon, DCoE Strategic Communications on November 6, 2012

   

  

  Click infographic to enlarge

  Resilience is the ability to withstand, recover and grow in the face of stressors and changing demands. It’s a skill that can be learned and sharpened with practice. Building flexible strength is a hallmark of resilience and necessary for recovering peak performance after stressful events.

  Service members face unique stressors, which, without the flexibility to recover and adjust, may challenge their fitness for duty and ability to manage home and family life post-deployment. Here are 10 tips experts at Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury shared that if practiced may help service members better adapt and manage stressful situations:

  • Communicate regularly and effectively. Express what you think, feel or believe in a way that will help you solve problems and receive the outcome you desire.

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  Categories: Resilience , Stress , Veterans , Reintegration , Psychological Health , Leadership , Deployments   |   Comments (7)

• Fighting Stigma with Technology: Survey Seeks Service Member Feedback

  Posted by Dr. Karen O’Brien on October 31, 2012

  

  A soldier utilizes a telehealth mobile application on an iPad to learn more about stress management. (Photo by National Center for Telehealth & Technology)

  As a mental health provider at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., and a former Department of Veterans Affairs provider, I can’t count the number of times service members and veterans have expressed concerns that admitting to a mental health problem might lead to demotion, loss of security clearance and even discharge from the service.

  I have also heard many service members and veterans express the view that only “weak” people talk about their problems. This, and similar myths prevent service members from seeking psychological health care:

  • Coming in for care will hurt my career
  • I will lose leadership roles and the trust of my unit
  • If posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were real, everyone exposed to trauma would get it
  • People who weren’t wounded shouldn’t have PTSD
  • Treatment doesn’t work

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  Categories: Technology , Research , PTSD , Veterans , Treatment , Psychological Health , Leadership   |   Comments (6)