Project Synopsis

July 18, 2017

Project Synopsis

Introduction

Army camps today are highly significant places with very strong organizational discipline and culture. All behavior is governed by rules with zero tolerance for non-conformity or disobedience. The most serious offence is being Absent Without Leave (AWOL). In the Singapore context National Service is compulsory for all males. The recruits face the greatest stress in the first 3 months of military service because they are subjected to strict regimentation which they have never encountered before. Compounding this is being away from being away from family and loved ones. In addition, many young recruits were previously students who were book smart and physically weak. This group of recruits have additional stress from tough combat training which includes activities to build up psychological toughness. Their self-esteem is lowered because the army does not value their academic knowledge but rather their capacity to follow instructions.

Photo showing US Navy Seals training showing high mental and physical stress.

The table below shows the tension between the needs of the individual's and that of the army and they do not necessarily overlap nor can they be resolved.

Individual	Army
Family Values (Family before self)	Army Values (Nation before self)
Duty to family	Duty to army, nation
Individuality	Group conformity(Uniform, regimentation, SOPs etc.)

The exploration of this subject allows us to develop intervention strategies for people who are caught between strict workplace climate and a need to solve emotional problems outside the workplace. When obedience and workplace performance is prioritized, many soldiers feel extremely stressed (Taylor, 2015) because they are forced to put their own priorities second place. Of course there is compassionate leave for soldiers but the conditions are narrow. For example a soldier will not be allowed to leave camp to patch back a broken relationship. This relationship will be on his mind and he will not be able to perform properly with all serious personal or family problems.

Problem Identification

Our identified problem is maintaining emotional stability in the army, when one is affected by conflicting emotions and decisions, be it personal or family related. The focus of our study is a military serviceman who is both a dutiful member of his family and fully committed to army values.

He has to choose between his immediate desire to attend a funeral for his auntie who had looked after him from young, and completing his final phase of his Officer Cadet training, known to be the most physically and mentally draining course in the army (Lai, 2014; Singapore Memory Project, 2012). He is caught in a dilemma between personal and professional duties owed to the army.

He perceives the problem to be a zero-sum one, where he has to choose one or the other. In fact it is possible to negotiate different outcomes from the army. Being new to army culture and desiring to please his peers and superiors, he believes in rigid obedience of orders and is unfamiliar in solving problems, causing emotional discord. Hence, emotional management is needed in order to teach, prepare for and excel in creating stable conditions so that he can perform better when under stress.

Objective of Study

Our immediate learning goal is to help people in high stress situations use the 6 Second Model, to resolve their personal and work-related problems through exploring different mindsets and responses. The tension between the individual's interests and the needs of the army create high stress situations that result in emotional conflict for many soldiers.

Photo showing strong army values and conformity in the form of patriotism, overriding individual interest. (Tan, 2017)

Potential Solution / Implementation for Problem Solution

Applying the 6 Second Model of Know yourself, Choose yourself and Give yourself. We will try to develop some questions and techniques to help the person in high stress situations move away from negative effects of rash decisions based of emotions into choosing a logical solution that maximizes his future potential.

Data Collection/ Research Method

We carried out surveys catered to males who have completed national service and are below 25 years of age. The questions focused on how widespread the stress in army was, their responses to personal problems and how they would respond to our suggested framework for solving problems. Additional interviews were carried out with one or two males who have succeeded in overcoming serious problems while serving National Service, and also one or two who have additional refinements to our solutions.

Benefits

The framework can easily be taught to trainees and soldiers to help lighten the emotional stress during the intensive training in any army service around the world.

Concluding Thoughts

The helplessness of a recruit has lead to self harm and even suicide (CNA, 2014). However, these are all preventable through good communication and good mental habits. Our 6 Second Model increase the mindfulness and consciousness of one’s own actions and consequences. Hence, it will be useful even after they have left the army. This model can also strengthen resilience. Ideally, the 6 Second Model should be a core part of NS preparation module in schools. Students should role play the different scenarios within the 6 Second Model.