While the families of soldiers may never see combat, they fight a battle of their own.
Previously available to soldiers, their spouses and civilians involved in military operations, the military's resilience training program is now available to teenage children of servicemembers, the Army reported. After requests for the service to be broadened to include teenagers, the Army has accepted the new participants into courses at bases in Kentucky, Texas and Hawaii, with a fourth base about to begin the new program as well.
"Resilience is something that can be taught and the sooner you learn it, the better you are throughout your life in managing adversity," said Julie Broad, a key civilian member of the new teen program.
The soldier-centric curriculum – the largest and longest running portion of the program – has stratified lessons for every soldier in the service. The training educates soldiers on how to best adapt to the stresses of combat situations as well as the general pressures of life in the military. The program is staggered so soldiers receive relevant training at certain stages of their careers.
"This is a way that the Army is really using the knowledge it has accrued to do good within the community and further strengthen the Army family," Broad said.