The military unit is a critical center of gravity in the military's efforts to enhance resilience and the health of the force. The purpose of this article is to augment the military's Total Force Fitness (TFF) guidance with a framework of TFF in units. The framework is based on a Military Demand-Resource model that highlights the dynamic interactions across demands, resources, and outcomes. A joint team of subject-matter experts identified key variables representing unit fitness demands, resources, and outcomes. The resulting framework informs and supports leaders, support agencies, and enterprise efforts to strengthen TFF in units by (1) identifying TFF unit variables aligned with current evidence and operational practices, (2) standardizing communication about TFF in units across the Department of Defense enterprise in a variety of military organizational contexts, (3) improving current resources including evidence-based actions for leaders, (4) identifying and addressing of gaps, and (5) directing future research for enhancing TFF in units. These goals are intended to inform and enhance Service efforts to develop Service-specific TFF models, as well as provide the conceptual foundation for a follow-on article about TFF metrics for units.
This study compares outdoor adventure-based leader development programs with a traditional non-outdoor program to test predictions about differential effects on leader development outcomes. Participants were drawn from the population of U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen involved in experiential leader development programs as a component of their training and education. Three concurrent experiential leader development programs were compared in terms of their impact on leader development outcomes, including leader identity, leader efficacy, and organizational cynicism. Two programs were outdoor, adventure-based experiences; one was a conventional, non-outdoor experience. We found that outdoor adventure-based programs varied in their effects on leader development outcomes, whereas the non-outdoor program had no significant effects on outcomes. Implications of these varied effects on leader development are discussed in terms of the implementation of theory-driven leadership development experiences.
A great deal of research on occupational stress and its effects on health is done outside the United States. With roots in epidemiology, the predominant model for occupational stress – the job demand–control model – provides a simple and unifying framework for interdisciplinary research across cultures and occupation types. This entry reviews the literature on occupational stress in general, then spotlights the contributions made by researchers outside the United States. The growing importance of occupational stress as a sociological object is addressed.
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