Military 'Special Forces' represent a high-reliability occupation, where stress levels are often intense and failure can be costly. Selection for such jobs should pay careful attention to psychological factors associated with resiliency under stress. In the present study, US Army Special Forces candidates (N ¼ 1138) were assessed for psychological hardiness using a short form of the Dispositional Resilience Scale, and these scores were then applied to predict successful completion of the course. Independent sample t-tests and logistic regression analyses confirmed that Special Forces course graduates are significantly higher in psychological hardiness, as compared to non-graduates. Psychological hardiness appears to be an important individual characteristic associated with stress tolerance and successful performance in highly demanding occupations.

A sample of 112 women, tested first as college seniors in the late 1950s, were classified according to the traditionality of their life stories at age 43. This classification based on demographic criteria was supported by low to high scores on the socialization scale of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI). Traditionality of role at age 43 was related to CPI well-being and effective functioning at age 21. However, the traditional role was associated with several adverse changes in psychological and physical health by age 43. Both homemakers and women low in traditionality may have suffered from being less in synchrony with the social clock than they had been in college. Except for low energy, traditional women in the labor force (neo-traditionals) seemed to be role-juggling with success.

PurposeThis article aims to test the effectiveness of coaching for middle and executive level managers within a large recruiting organization.Design/methodology/approachParticipants set goals to achieve during a 12‐month coaching programme. The sample consisted of middle managers (n=30) and executive managers (n=29) involved in US Army recruiting. Outcomes included measures of coached participants' achievement of quota and personal goals, and assessment on nine leader competencies and buy‐in over the one‐year coaching period.FindingsCoached managers outperformed un‐coached, but experienced/incumbent counterparts. The strongest impact of coaching on performance was for middle managers and their subordinates (as opposed to executive managers). Both groups of participants demonstrated growth on some dimensions of recruiter‐leader competencies and achievement of self‐set goals.Research limitations/implicationsA small and nontraditional sample of military recruiters was used. Future researchers can build on the approach outlined here to more concretely evaluate the impact of their coaching efforts in other populations.Practical implicationsCoaching all recruiter managers could translate into a return on investment of several thousand additional recruits. In addition, the achievement of personally relevant goals with the help of coaching, the development of leader competencies indicates real benefit associated with this form of goal‐based coaching.Originality/valueWe offer one of the first empirical evaluations of the effectiveness of a goal‐based leader coaching intervention. Practitioners and researchers can benefit from this approach by using it to improve coaching effectiveness and demonstrate value to the clients they serve.

The LIFE (lifestyle change, individual readiness, fitness excellence, eating healthy) wellness program was an intensive, out-patient, healthy lifestyle change program with participants from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Our objective was to describe the LIFE program and to present before and after test results for this 1-year program. Fifty-three participants completed the 5-day intensive outpatient and 1-year follow-up program and maintained average weight losses of >10 pounds and 14 pounds for men and women, respectively. Most of the weight loss occurred by 6 months. Participants who completed the program also showed increases in healthy eating attitudes, well-being, and overall quality of life. The LIFE change model has implications for improved service retention, health, and overall quality of life or patient evidence that matters (POEMS). The program is both portable and flexible and can be tailored to the demands of the dynamic military environment.

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