The U. S. Army Future Concept for the Human Dimension

6-3. Burnout

Complicating leader’s efforts to build cohesion is the phenomenon of “burnout.” Experts consider burnout as emotional exhaustion, interpersonal insensitivity, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment that occurs after prolonged exposure to stress. Personnel feel psychologically drained, emotionally exhausted, and believe their coping resources are breaking down. They feel incapable of dealing with any additional stress. The signs and symptoms of burnout and COSR are similar. The differences are quantitative rather than qualitative, differing in the intensity of the stressor (combat versus home station) and the response. Burnout in military personnel has received little attention but it poses a threat to morale, cohesion, and unit effectiveness in peacetime and in wartime. This is especially true in the current environment. The understaffed generating force and operational units have reduced time after returning from deployment to reset for the next deployment.¹⁶¹ This presents an additional challenge to Army leaders in considering the total workforce. As Army civilians and support contractors increasingly fill positions in the generating force, they too will be subject to the effects of stress and potential burnout.

One day we hung around the motor pool ‘til 1630 doing nothing, then suddenly we got word that we had to prepare 12 vehicles to be turned in for scrapping, and they had to be ready by 0730 the next day. So we work all night on trucks that are to be junked. Is this the mission?
When burnout develops, it is not because exposure to stress increased, but rather because the ability to cope with stress has eroded. When superiors do not properly manage subordinates’ time, working long hours can be especially frustrating for subordinates. Inadequate planning and poorly executed or irrelevant training weakens morale, reduces confidence in leaders, and leads to burnout. Leaders’ expectations that subordinates work unnecessarily long hours can also lead to burnout. Expecting subordinates to do more than is possible within the constraints of time and resources is another cause of burnout as is the stress that stems from an incompatibility between work and home responsibilities. The demanding nature of military service often conflicts with family responsibilities. For all military personnel, changes of assignment and temporary duty create additional friction between work and family responsibilities. Collectively the effects of burnout affect performance, retention, commitment, cohesion, morale, and physical health of military personnel. Predictably, prevention of burnout involves the same approach as COSR, competent and caring leaders who create a command climate where Soldier morale and cohesion can grow.¹⁶²

6-4. Conclusion

Combat and operational stress and burnout are part of the unavoidable nature of warfare and military service. They are at the extreme end of stressors as the carnage and horror of war have few equals in everyday life. While first responders such as police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians see similar extreme life and death experiences, the Soldier in combat faces them for long periods of time, and, due to a future of persistent conflict, will likely face these conditions multiple times in a career of Army service. These conditions also apply in large measure to Army civilians and contractor support personnel.

This chapter focuses on the deleterious effects of stress far more than on the strengthening effects they can produce in many individuals. Certainly, the desirable characteristics of the “hardened” warrior are worthy to exploit, but the Army must continue to seek means to ameliorate the negative effects. The Army already deals with Soldiers and veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorders from earlier wars. Ideally, in the future the Army will develop more and better ways to prevent the negative effects of combat and operational stress. In any case, the Army must treat Soldier fitness holistically accounting for the effects of stress morally, physically, and mentally.
Within these three components of the human dimension, this concept suggests many actions that the Army might take to deal with a future of persistent conflict. The toll of persistent conflict on Soldiers and the shifting demographics of available recruits help to reinforce the importance of assessing, selecting, and educating individuals to ensure their readiness to face the rigorous demands the future. The process of selecting the people who will make up the Army of the future is the subject of the next chapter.

Vignette

Darwin, Australia
Lieutenant Colonel Stacy is preparing his battalion for the upcoming mounted vertical assault on AO Aerie when he gets the order changing their destination to AO Foxden. Stacy is unfazed since they’d planned for this as a branch plan and would be able to rehearse the operation while in the air en route to Sumatra. Meanwhile, something less easily resolved troubles him. His Executive Officer, Major Sam Kurtis, has asked to be relieved. Kurtis was a rock solid officer who had never manifested any problems in the past. He was one of the most experienced majors in the brigade, having served two combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Stacy is baffled and seriously worried. His operations officer can step up to take Kurtis’s position and the assistant S3 is a strong captain. Stacy’s dilemma is the effect this will have on Kurtis’s career, his own self-esteem, and his reputation, not to mention his family.
“Sir,” Sam Kurtis had said physically trembling, “I don’t think I can handle this.”



“Handle what, Sam? Are you all right? Lord knows we haven’t had much rest lately.”
“It’s not that, Sir. I’m shaking inside and out just thinking about getting into a fight again. You know, I’ve been wounded twice and have all those ribbons, Sir, but the thought of hanging my butt out in another firefight makes me want to puke.”
“You of all people ought to know we all feel that way, Sam.”

“It’s not the same, Sir. You can’t understand. I mean, I survived those other tours. I can’t get it out of my head that this will be it for me. You know how people sometimes say they know they’re going to die? Well, I dreamt it on the flight. It was so real! Sir, you’ve just got to relieve me. I’m going to be no good to you anyway. I can’t do this. I just can’t….” Kurtis said, tears filling his eyes as he turned away from Stacy stifling a sob.
“Okay Sam. I know you won’t talk to the chaplain, but it wouldn’t hurt. Here’s what I want you to do. Go see the doc now. Tell her what you’ve told me and ask her to do a quick medical evaluation on you. I’ll ask her for a recommendation. I’m not going to relieve you, Sam, if I can help it. You are too good a Soldier and a man to let this get the best of you. Talk to the battalion surgeon, Sam. That’s an order.”
Stacy knew his little pep talk was not going to be enough, but he had to do something to save Sam from breaking down and ruining his career and his life. Just the same, though, he thought about Sam’s premonition of death. Was there anything to it or was it just a bad dream? Kurtis was not only one of the best majors in the brigade, but one of the best physical specimens in all of TF Green. Sam outran men ten years his junior. His scars rippled when he knocked out a dozen pull ups without even breathing hard. What had gotten into this guy, Stacy wondered, remembering the briefing they’d had on burn out and COSR? It was not an unusual problem with some of their combat veterans, but this was his XO, his friend, and his sister’s husband.
Captain Susan Coleman, the battalion surgeon, came to see Stacy a couple of hours after her meeting with Major Kurtis.
“Sir, how’s it going?” Coleman asked.
Stacy looked up, smiling. Susan Coleman looked like an eager teenager when she found out she was going to the National Training Center with the battalion. She was just as excited about deploying. Coleman amused the more experienced officer, but she was definitely a good doctor. The battalion physician’s assistant testified to that after Coleman treated the A Company Soldier who fell off his FSV-G and broke his leg.
“You talked to Major Kurtis, doc?”
“I did Sir. He’s pretty shaken. I pulled up his file and searched for any previous stress injuries, but he’s the healthiest thirty-five year old on paper—I mean on the screen—that I’ve seen lately. I’m monitoring his vitals as we speak. BP is up as is his pulse. I don’t see any indication of physical problems from his wounds. The blood and urine samples tested normal as well. I can’t believe how quickly we can get the results from the lab in the states, but that’s not what you care about now.”
Stacy found Coleman’s chatty diagnosis inclusive, but he needed to ask the hard question.
“Is he fit for combat, doc? You know, COSR-wise. Is he a candidate for further evaluation? He told you what he’s asking me to do, right?”
“Relieve him? Yes, he did mention that. I’m not a psychologist or psych guy Sir, but I’d say the major is pretty close to burnout. He’s tired and very agitated. It will only get worse unless he gets some rest. You want my recommendation, Sir?”
Stacy didn’t answer right away, thinking hard about his options. He’d need to tell the brigade commander about this one way or another. If Sam was sick, if only it was the flu or something concrete like that…. Okay, Susan, what do you say?”
“I can prescribe some pretty strong medicine to settle his nerves. It will make him drowsy and justify leaving him here. I’ll write it up as fatigue and recommend further evaluation without mentioning his request to you.”
“Cover it up? Cover up his asking to be relieved? I can’t, no, I won’t do that. Write your report and I’ll request an evaluation by the brigade Combat Operational Stress Control Team. I’m going up to brigade. Oh, and thanks, Susan. I appreciate your effort to save Sam some face here, but, if he needs help he’s going to get it.”
Major Sam Kurtis manifests the cumulative effects of combat operations stress reaction. He represents everything a Soldier should be in terms of moral, mental, and physical fitness. As a decorated combat veteran, he has “seen the elephant,” and should be better prepared than those entering combat for the first time. Yet Kurtis, for all his toughness, competence, and demonstrated bravery, is a victim of repeated exposure to the horrors of war that, for him at least, built up to the point of burnout. Lieutenant Colonel Stacy may have been more inclined to shelter his brother-in-law than another officer in Kurtis’s position, but he makes the right decision. The Army must find ways to treat post traumatic stress victims in a way that does not automatically terminate their careers. One option is to treat these conditions like other injuries and illnesses with the intent of returning the Soldier to duty if possible. This chapter emphasizes prevention, but Major Kurtis presented absolutely no indications of his eventual collapse. In this case, the brigade commander might offer Major Kurtis to the TF Green commanding general as a limited duty staff officer who could help monitor his battalion’s coming combat operation.