This preliminary study explored the relationship between positive psychological capital and job involvement among 100 male and 32 female officers of armed forces. It was hypothesised that officers with higher levels of PsyCap would also exhibit higher job involvement. The study also aimed to investigate whether gender differences in psycap had any influence on job involvement. Psychological capital questionnaire and job involvement scale were administered on the sample. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential (Pearson correlation and regression analysis) statistics. It is found there is no evidence in support of gender difference in psycap. Psycap has a role in maintaining the job involvement among male officers. Implications of the findings and suggestions for developing positive behaviours which will be of great value to meet future leadership challenges in light of complex and volatile military situations.

Objectives: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection has emerged into a widespread pandemic that stalled the world. Humanitarian missions like Vande Bharat during the first wave of COVID-19 and passenger as well as cargo services during its second wave were carried out extensively by civil aircrew. Operating under such challenging circumstances is likely to affect the well-being and psychological health of the aircrew. Exploring different coping strategies adopted by civil aircrew and assessment of their subjective well-being while operating during the pandemic was the desired objective of the study. Material and Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional design, 100 Indian civil and cabin crew voluntarily participated in the study. Two standardized questionnaires and a demographic inventory were administered to the sample to identify the coping strategies (the Brief COPE) and assess subjective well-being (WHO-5). Quantitative and qualitative analyses were computed for the data obtained on study variables. “t”-test was carried out to find the differences in the coping strategies utilized by the aircrew in the first and second waves of the pandemic. Results: The mean age and flying experience of the sample were 43.74 ± 10.36 years and 17.34 ± 11.66 years. It was observed that the adaptive coping strategies were higher than the maladaptive coping styles with acceptance (6.56 ± 1.40) and active coping (5.98 ± 1.39) being predominant. There was no significant difference between the coping strategies used during the first and second waves of COVID-19. Imposition of financial constraints and discomfort while flying with a PPE kit was observed in qualitative analysis. The policies and regulations about the COVID protocols were reported to be frequently amended by airlines and regulatory authorities leading to ambiguity amongst the crew. Conclusion: The present study revealed that the Indian civil aircrew used adaptive coping strategies frequently and maladaptive coping strategies sparingly while operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Certain stressors under this unique situation may be unchangeable with specific coping strategies, but their application may nonetheless lead to positive feelings of autonomy or a reduction in the experience of anxiety. Thus, airlines may initiate the trend of positive psychological interventions as a preventive measure. Pilot training may also incorporate techniques for adopting healthy behavior using specific coping strategies.

The fighter controllers (FC) are an occupational group who deal with a hectic, difficult and highly demanding job. Their occupation entails high levels of responsibility in terms of shouldering the Air Defence operations. These kinds of duties require them to perform optimally at all times and thus impose high grade of an unambiguous occupational stress. In the present study 38 Fighter Controllers of 4 IAF Stations were administered Organisational Role Stress (ORS) scale, Stress Buster Tool Kit and Holmes & Rahe Stress Scale. It was found that 66 per cent of the participants felt Inter Role Distance as a reason for high graded stress, similarly Role Stagnancy (55 %), Role overload (61 %) and Role Isolation (40 %) have severely affected the sample studied. Stress buster tool kit showed that 34 per cent participants perceived severe service related and workplace related stress. Holmes & Rahe questionnaire reported that a total of 31.6 per cent participants were at 90 per cent risk of developing systemic co-morbidities due to stress. This study reports that Fighter Controllers perceive their role to be less important with little opportunities for growth. A significant finding that emerged and that needs attention is the possibility that 1/3rd of the participants are prone to stress induced illnesses. The role of Aerospace Medicine Specialists in this context is paramount in alleviating stress and enhancing self-esteem in Fighter Controllers.

Introduction: Mental health promotion and suicide prevention are important initiatives of Indian Air Force (IAF) for its personnel. Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM), Bengaluru, has been conducting suicide prevention training programs for the IAF personnel since 1997. More than a 100 programs have been completed. In-time identification of the vulnerable, empowerment of instructors, provision of information about suicide prevention and improvement of approach toward the ab initio who are at risk are the focus of the suicide prevention program (SPP). This paper aims at assessing the efficacy of the mentoring skills imparted during the suicide prevention training in successfully identifying and providing support to the vulnerable ab initio cadets in the training establishments of IAF. Material and Methods: Mentors (n = 34) who are instructors in the training establishments in IAF and who have completed SPP conducted by IAM participated in the study. A feedback tool which was to assess the usefulness of the SPP in terms of the extended use of mentoring skills in their work, problems faced in the identification of the vulnerable persons, challenges faced in their mentoring activities were administered. Qualitative analysis was carried out and compiled. Results: Qualitative analysis brought out certain important issues regarding the challenges faced by the mentors and their competency in effectively dealing with the challenges. The results provide support in improving the existing SPPs and the role of mentors in mental health promotion in IAF. Conclusion: Suicide prevention program being conducted at IAM (IAF) was found to be beneficial to the mentors. It also addressed some of the professional and personal challenges faced by them. The findings of the study has brought out important take home messages for refining the program in the future.