Summer - United States Special Operations Command

igorous training, ongoing garrison functions, informationoverload, the inability to disengage from threats to self andFamily, and the unpredictability of deployment cycles.Burnout in that context is a measurable form offatigue. Fatigue is both emotional and physical. It can beseparate from, but related to, cognitive performance andmanifests itself in several different ways. Fatigue (orburnout in the words of an REWG member) decreases theoverall capacity of individuals, Families, and organizationsto negotiate the challenges they face. He went on tostate that burnout (or fatigue) “affects job performance,retention, Family dynamics (Family interactions), and behavioralhealth status.”From that perspective, resilience is not a behavioralhealth issue by itself, but a subset of broader organizationalcharacteristics that include leadership, education,training, and culture. Some members of the REWGagree that “resilience generally emerges in people whohave trained hard (proving themselves physically tough),have particular attitudes, cognitive and emotional skills,and a deep determination to overcome serious challenges(physical and intellectual).” Demonstrating exactly howresilience as a SOF-peculiar application for SOF personneland their Families is an organizational and leadershipissue, as well as an operational force-protection issue, isa daunting challenge. It will not be easy. However, continuedhard work on the part of the REWG members willdemonstrate precisely how resilience as a SOF peculiarapplication for SOF personnel and their Families is anorganizational, leadership, cultural, and force-protectionissue, combined, and how building resilience in SOF andSOF Families sustains combat power.100Journal of Special Operations Medicine Volume 9, Edition 3 / Summer 09