Page 67 - 2020 JSOM Winter

Family also played a role in the recovery of the member. Sev- When asked about their most critical challenges and stress-
eral participants mentioned that as part of their recovery, they ors, most participants described the impact of organizational
had spent time with their families and repaired bonds. stressors and role demands on their families. Participants indi-
cated that work demands and operational tempo had impeded
Organizational Level their ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance, which
Several organizational factors positively contributed to partic- had frustrated and distressed their spouses and family mem-
ipants’ resilience. Most commonly, participants mentioned that bers. Over time, this imbalance had contributed to separation
the programs and services specifically tailored for CANSOFCOM and divorce for some. In turn, the participants mentioned
personnel had positively affected their wellness. For example, par- experiencing feelings of distress, guilt, and sadness related to
ticipants often mentioned the Special Operations Mental Agility their familial discord, which had affected their ability to per-
course (SOMA; adapted from R2MR ), which increases men- form in their roles. Families have been recognized anecdotally
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tal health literacy and mental skills and enhances performance. as being key to SOF success; however, little research exists on
Participants believed that SOMA had provided valuable strate- the resilience factors or unique challenges and risks of being an
gies for improving their mental well-being and helped to reduce SOF family. Research suggests that combat-related deployment
stigma surrounding mental health issues. Other participants re- length and parents’ distress can have an impact on children’s
ported that having dedicated strength and conditioning coaches mental health. More research is needed to better understand
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positively affected their well-being. As mentioned above, physical the impact of the SOF lifestyle on family dynamics, children’s
exercise is a frequently used coping and recovery process within wellness, and members’ wellness and performance.
CANSOFCOM; thus, having dedicated coaches who can help
members work around injuries so that they can continue to ex- Regarding individual characteristics, many of the character-
ercise while recovering had a positive impact on those members. istics mentioned by participants were found to be linked to
resilience reported in previous military research (e.g., hardi-
Many participants also reported that the positive and support- ness, positive affect, emotion-focused coping in the context
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ive leadership within CANSOFCOM increased their resilience. of military operations ); however, these characteristics (e.g., a
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Participants reported that their chains of command had been determined, strong work ethic) can also lead to self-imposed
supportive when members needed to request accommodations pressure to perform and, at times, cause members to persist
to reduce stress, improve well-being, or support their families. when they should take time to recover. Though many partici-
They also reported that their superiors encouraged members pants reported that the organization had provided educational
to seek care for physical or mental health issues: opportunities to enhance their mental skills and that leadership
had supported members’ taking a break to recover, as noted
I feel very confident that if I step forward and ask for above, most participants indicated a reluctance to request re-
a time out, or someone to talk to, that CANSOFCOM covery time. This, paired with the high tempo of the unit, led to
will bend over backward for me. For example, one of member burnout, disengagement, and mental health issues. It is
the guys broke both of his legs climbing and within 24 essential that organizations with motivated personnel and high
hours, there was support for him, he was moved into operational tempo ensure that members receive proper recovery
the PMQs, he had a wheelchair ramp put in, they paid time to maintain resilience and rebuild and repair bonds with
for that. For me, it calmed me. I look left, I look right, their families. A deployment-to-dwell (D2D) time ratio of 1:2
and the support is there. Support will be fast and swift. (i.e., twice the time home as the time away on military opera-
tions) has been established as an indicator of quality of life and
Finally, a few members also talked about postings to nonop- readiness. As SOF organizations often have to decrease the
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erational units as a way of recovering and regaining resilience. D2D ratio to sustain the tempo of operations, time at home
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Being posted to these units had allowed members to take time and in garrison must be safeguarded by the leadership to ensure
to recover from physical or mental injuries or burnout, or to proper decompression, as well as sufficient time for families to
rebuild and repair family bonds. However, some participants reconnect and maintain their well-being and functioning. Addi-
reported drawbacks and costs associated with these postings. tionally, postings at nonoperational units were also mentioned
Most notably, members felt isolated from friends and family by some participants as an organizational effort to allow for
when they were forced to relocate for such a posting and leave recovery; however, team members were identified as a source
their families behind (one of the units in particular was a few of support for CANSOFCOM personnel and were also one of
hours away from both the nonoperational units). One mem- the facilitators to seeking care (i.e., they encouraged members
ber suggested that having recovery positions within each unit to seek care and helped members identify issues they had failed
would benefit members because they could remain with their to recognize in themselves). Thus, allowing members to stay in
own unit and team and contribute in a meaningful way with- their units with their team members and family during recovery
out being separated from family and friends. appears to be an important consideration.
Many participants reported using indirect, emotion-focused
Discussion
coping strategies when facing stress. Some of the coping strat-
SOF personnel are exposed to unique, compounding stressors egies that had been most effective at helping members perform
that place them at increased risk of mental and/or physical in their role (e.g., emotional suppression, compartmentaliza-
issues. Previous research examining resilience among SOF tion) may not be adaptive in the family environment. Emotional
personnel has yielded mixed results and has lacked compre- suppression can be effective in the face of acute stress in op-
hensive and contextualized information. This qualitative study erations ; at home, however, it may impede emotional bond-
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provides a unique description of the processes and different di- ing, connectedness, communication, and closeness, which may
mensions of resilience from the perspective of SOF personnel. exacerbate marital discord and family conflict. As observed in

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