Marine's combat stress program determined to be ineffective. Why not scrap it?

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Fri, 15 May 2015 05:50:09 -0400

A new study found that the Corps' stress control and readiness program — while popular with commanders — has no positive impact on Marines' mental health. However, Marine officials say they plan to continue using an improved version of the program into the post-Afghanistan era.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/2015/05/14/rand-study-finds-usmc-combat-stress-program-ineffective/27311863/

Study: Marines' combat stress program is ineffective

A new study from the RAND Corporation has found that the Marine Corps' stress control and readiness program is popular with commanders, but has no

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made May 15 at 2015 6:41 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 15 May 2015 06:41:14 -0400

I think this line of the article is why:

"While the study did find Marines in OSCAR-trained battalions to be more likely to report seeking help from fellow Marine unit members and corpsmen to deal with personal stress, they were not more likely to seek help from outside medical providers. "

It may not be meeting its stated goal but it's doing something good, and they want to refine that piece.

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made May 15 at 2015 8:25 AM

Cpl Jeff N. — Fri, 15 May 2015 08:25:56 -0400

It certainly is not an easy issue to tackle. Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations and not everyone is stressed by the same things. There is likely an element of "whe have to do something" so they will keep doing this even if it is not highlyh effective.

I think we need to swim further up stream and look at all facets of training. Are we training realistically enough. Is it hard enough, are Marines stressed enough in training that they are more prepared to handle the real thing. Trying to fix this after the fact is very difficult.

Response by GySgt George Vukovich made May 15 at 2015 8:51 AM

GySgt George Vukovich — Fri, 15 May 2015 08:51:03 -0400

MSGT Allan Folsom provided a great response below..."like-minded people sharing experiences" might be the most beneficial solution? Whom better to understand a service members struggles than another service member who dealt with the same situation? I do believe there's a great deal of merit to peer-2-peer mentoring. Caveat: with constructive frame work. Dealing with issues constructuvely through discussions and activities (minus alcohol or other) may be the best solution.

Response by CWO3 Bryan Muche made May 15 at 2015 10:09 AM

CWO3 Bryan Muche — Fri, 15 May 2015 10:09:38 -0400

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Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 15 at 2015 12:39 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 May 2015 12:39:58 -0400

One goal of mental health is consistency. Although it may not be the most effective now, improving it by finding inefficiencies seems to be a better option to maintain service members who need that sense of belonging and support of not being alone in the mental fight.

Response by LCpl Cole Mitchell made May 16 at 2015 8:34 AM

LCpl Cole Mitchell — Sat, 16 May 2015 08:34:34 -0400

It's garbage and we should just take care of our marines