October 30, 2011

Soldiers of Optimism

Is new Army psychology program simply a shot in the dark?

Psychologists Battle Over Army's Optimism Training 1

Bill O'Leary, The Washington Post, Getty Images

Soldiers at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., hold a discussion during training designed to prevent problems like post-traumatic stress disorder. Some psychologists say the training was rushed to more than a million Army personnel before being proved effective.

By Tom Bartlett

The name of a controversial, $125-million new program in the U.S. Army—Comprehensive Soldier Fitness—brings to mind push-ups and climbing walls. And while it does place a secondary emphasis on exercise, the main mission of the program is to use the principles of positive psychology to make soldiers more resilient, both on the battlefield and when they return home.

Years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have put immense strain on members of the military, and the Army is