Staff Perspective: What is Readiness and Why is it so Important?
As behavioral health providers who work with military service members, we hear the term ‘readiness’ often and may wonder what it means and how it could impact our work with our military clients. Generally speaking, readiness refers to the military’s capability to do its job, whether that’s during training, combat operations, or humanitarian missions. In order to ensure that the military can meet its missions, commanders need to know if their service members are able to deploy or work in an austere environment for an extended period of time. For example, work in an austere environment might look like a unit getting called up on an urgent tasker to respond to the wildfires on Maui. The commander for the unit would need to know, in a timely manner, who is available to deploy and who may not be available due to medical or behavioral health reasons. Another example of an austere environment, is a National Guard member or Reservist who has to perform their annual training for two to four weeks at a remote training location. There will be further discussion below on the different types of austere environments in which service members may work.
To maintain visibility of personnel who are ready and able to work in austere environments, readiness assessments are conducted by military providers, including behavioral health providers, at routine appointments. An example of this can be seen when a service member meets with their physician for symptoms of a cold; the physician treats the service member and also conducts a routine readiness assessment. Readiness assessments can also be done systematically to prepare for upcoming missions. Prior to deployment, the members of an entire unit undergo a medical screen or examination. During these assessments, providers will evaluate if there are any medical or behavioral health reasons that a person cannot currently perform their job deployed and also at home, oftentimes referred to in the military as in garrison. However, before we discuss the elements of a readiness evaluation, let's learn more about their benefits, answering the essential question, why does the military require these readiness assessments?
1. Early Identification of Potential Issues
Aside from ensuring an operationally effective force, regular readiness assessments allow for the early detection of issues that could impair a service member's ability to perform their duties in the long term. This includes physical injuries, mental health concerns, and personal circumstances that may affect a person’s focus or performance. Early identification enables timely intervention, whether it’s through medical treatment, counseling, or support services, helping to prevent minor issues from escalating into major problems that could impact the individual or their unit. An example of such a situation is a service member who fractured their wrist and cannot take part in attending the weekly range exercise for risk of further damaging their arm. Another example is a service member who has a parent who’s been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is requesting a compassionate reassignment in order to live close to that parent to be able to assist with their medical care. A final example, pertaining to behavioral health, highlights the importance of a walk-in clinic, which can help identify preliminary signs of stressors that arise due to a pending month-long training exercise. Early identification and targeted treatment allow stressors to stay at the “problem” level without escalating to a diagnosable behavioral health condition. Identifying medical concerns or behavioral health problems at the lowest level prevents issues becoming chronic and recalcitrant to treatment.
2. Ensuring Access to Care
Assessing readiness regularly allows the military to identify the needs of service members and ensure that they are sent only to locations that have the resources available to support them. service members train and deploy throughout the year in austere environments and it is imperative to ensure that the service member will have access to any needed care wherever they go. Austere environments can look like a multitude of situations. For example, Navy personnel can expect to serve sea duty, and be on the water for months at a time. Internet capabilities, mail, and medical resources, beyond a typical physician or behavioral health therapist, may be limited. Submariners often have limited access to the internet, fresh food, and communication with the outside world. Reservists and National Guard members have to conduct extended annual training that usually occurs at a remote site with limited electricity, internet, hot food and all with significant exposure to the elements for weeks at a time. Reservists and National Guard members do this annual training while trying to balance a civilian job oftentimes simultaneously. Active Duty members not only have the potential to deploy, but experience multiple training exercises throughout the year, which can lead to being gone for months at a time. They can also be moved, or PCSed (Permanent Change of Station), to different locations around the world that have limited resources. Therefore, it is imperative that the military ensures that they are not sending service members to areas or exercises that would aggravate their medical and behavioral health needs or the Military needs to ensure that the necessary medical and behavioral health resources are available at the next location, whether that is a PCS, deployment, or extended training exercise.
To look at an example of the Military ensuring resources for its service members, an example of an overseas move makes a great illustration. For instance, OCONUS assignments (a location Outside of the CONtinental United States) often have limited physical and behavioral health services. Therefore, service members undergo medical screenings prior to assignments to ensure the needed medical resources are available at their next duty station. One OCONUS location, South Korea, has less extensive behavioral health services available in the community due to language barriers, as such there are no partial hospitalization or residential programs within the country to send service members in need. This is an extremely limiting factor when considering the behavioral health options for service members, therefore, people who require more than routine outpatient behavioral health services would not be moved to an OCONUS assignment until they had completed treatment and demonstrated stabilization. To further illustrate, the example of a service member receiving orders to move to South Korea within three months is used. If this service member is currently undergoing significant behavioral health treatment, beyond the scope of outpatient services, their move may be delayed a month or two to allow their condition to stabilize or complete treatment. There are also times when orders are completely rescinded because the necessary treatment is not available at the next duty location. Regular readiness assessments allow service members to identify their treatment needs and move and train to only locations that maintain those required services.
3. Ensuring Long-Term Health and Sustainability
Military service is demanding, both physically and mentally. Continuous readiness assessments are essential for ensuring that the demands placed on service members do not exceed their capabilities, leading to burnout or long-term health issues. By monitoring physical and mental health, the military can provide necessary support, such as rest periods, medical care, or behavioral health counseling, which helps to sustain the force over the long term. This approach not only protects the well-being of service members but also preserves the effectiveness of the military force as a whole. If a service member’s medical needs, to include behavioral health, have been identified as becoming complex or chronic, medical retirement with access to VA (Veterans Affairs) and DoD (Department of Defense) services will be considered.
Conclusion
Continually assessing the readiness of military service members is a fundamental aspect of maintaining a capable, resilient, and effective force. It ensures operational success through early identification of issues and maintains access to care thereby protecting the well-being of service members. As the nature of global challenges continues to evolve, the importance of readiness assessments will only grow, ensuring that military forces are prepared to meet the demands of future conflicts.
Click here for Part 2: "Overview of Military Readiness Assessments"
Click here for Part 3: "Private Sector Providers and Readiness"
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Amanda McCabe, Psy.D., is a Military Behavioral Health Psychologist with the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In this capacity, she develops and delivers training on a variety of evidence-based therapies. Prior to the CDP, Dr. McCabe served as a clinical psychologist in the Army from 2013 to 2024.
As behavioral health providers who work with military service members, we hear the term ‘readiness’ often and may wonder what it means and how it could impact our work with our military clients. Generally speaking, readiness refers to the military’s capability to do its job, whether that’s during training, combat operations, or humanitarian missions. In order to ensure that the military can meet its missions, commanders need to know if their service members are able to deploy or work in an austere environment for an extended period of time. For example, work in an austere environment might look like a unit getting called up on an urgent tasker to respond to the wildfires on Maui. The commander for the unit would need to know, in a timely manner, who is available to deploy and who may not be available due to medical or behavioral health reasons. Another example of an austere environment, is a National Guard member or Reservist who has to perform their annual training for two to four weeks at a remote training location. There will be further discussion below on the different types of austere environments in which service members may work.
To maintain visibility of personnel who are ready and able to work in austere environments, readiness assessments are conducted by military providers, including behavioral health providers, at routine appointments. An example of this can be seen when a service member meets with their physician for symptoms of a cold; the physician treats the service member and also conducts a routine readiness assessment. Readiness assessments can also be done systematically to prepare for upcoming missions. Prior to deployment, the members of an entire unit undergo a medical screen or examination. During these assessments, providers will evaluate if there are any medical or behavioral health reasons that a person cannot currently perform their job deployed and also at home, oftentimes referred to in the military as in garrison. However, before we discuss the elements of a readiness evaluation, let's learn more about their benefits, answering the essential question, why does the military require these readiness assessments?
1. Early Identification of Potential Issues
Aside from ensuring an operationally effective force, regular readiness assessments allow for the early detection of issues that could impair a service member's ability to perform their duties in the long term. This includes physical injuries, mental health concerns, and personal circumstances that may affect a person’s focus or performance. Early identification enables timely intervention, whether it’s through medical treatment, counseling, or support services, helping to prevent minor issues from escalating into major problems that could impact the individual or their unit. An example of such a situation is a service member who fractured their wrist and cannot take part in attending the weekly range exercise for risk of further damaging their arm. Another example is a service member who has a parent who’s been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is requesting a compassionate reassignment in order to live close to that parent to be able to assist with their medical care. A final example, pertaining to behavioral health, highlights the importance of a walk-in clinic, which can help identify preliminary signs of stressors that arise due to a pending month-long training exercise. Early identification and targeted treatment allow stressors to stay at the “problem” level without escalating to a diagnosable behavioral health condition. Identifying medical concerns or behavioral health problems at the lowest level prevents issues becoming chronic and recalcitrant to treatment.
2. Ensuring Access to Care
Assessing readiness regularly allows the military to identify the needs of service members and ensure that they are sent only to locations that have the resources available to support them. service members train and deploy throughout the year in austere environments and it is imperative to ensure that the service member will have access to any needed care wherever they go. Austere environments can look like a multitude of situations. For example, Navy personnel can expect to serve sea duty, and be on the water for months at a time. Internet capabilities, mail, and medical resources, beyond a typical physician or behavioral health therapist, may be limited. Submariners often have limited access to the internet, fresh food, and communication with the outside world. Reservists and National Guard members have to conduct extended annual training that usually occurs at a remote site with limited electricity, internet, hot food and all with significant exposure to the elements for weeks at a time. Reservists and National Guard members do this annual training while trying to balance a civilian job oftentimes simultaneously. Active Duty members not only have the potential to deploy, but experience multiple training exercises throughout the year, which can lead to being gone for months at a time. They can also be moved, or PCSed (Permanent Change of Station), to different locations around the world that have limited resources. Therefore, it is imperative that the military ensures that they are not sending service members to areas or exercises that would aggravate their medical and behavioral health needs or the Military needs to ensure that the necessary medical and behavioral health resources are available at the next location, whether that is a PCS, deployment, or extended training exercise.
To look at an example of the Military ensuring resources for its service members, an example of an overseas move makes a great illustration. For instance, OCONUS assignments (a location Outside of the CONtinental United States) often have limited physical and behavioral health services. Therefore, service members undergo medical screenings prior to assignments to ensure the needed medical resources are available at their next duty station. One OCONUS location, South Korea, has less extensive behavioral health services available in the community due to language barriers, as such there are no partial hospitalization or residential programs within the country to send service members in need. This is an extremely limiting factor when considering the behavioral health options for service members, therefore, people who require more than routine outpatient behavioral health services would not be moved to an OCONUS assignment until they had completed treatment and demonstrated stabilization. To further illustrate, the example of a service member receiving orders to move to South Korea within three months is used. If this service member is currently undergoing significant behavioral health treatment, beyond the scope of outpatient services, their move may be delayed a month or two to allow their condition to stabilize or complete treatment. There are also times when orders are completely rescinded because the necessary treatment is not available at the next duty location. Regular readiness assessments allow service members to identify their treatment needs and move and train to only locations that maintain those required services.
3. Ensuring Long-Term Health and Sustainability
Military service is demanding, both physically and mentally. Continuous readiness assessments are essential for ensuring that the demands placed on service members do not exceed their capabilities, leading to burnout or long-term health issues. By monitoring physical and mental health, the military can provide necessary support, such as rest periods, medical care, or behavioral health counseling, which helps to sustain the force over the long term. This approach not only protects the well-being of service members but also preserves the effectiveness of the military force as a whole. If a service member’s medical needs, to include behavioral health, have been identified as becoming complex or chronic, medical retirement with access to VA (Veterans Affairs) and DoD (Department of Defense) services will be considered.
Conclusion
Continually assessing the readiness of military service members is a fundamental aspect of maintaining a capable, resilient, and effective force. It ensures operational success through early identification of issues and maintains access to care thereby protecting the well-being of service members. As the nature of global challenges continues to evolve, the importance of readiness assessments will only grow, ensuring that military forces are prepared to meet the demands of future conflicts.
Click here for Part 2: "Overview of Military Readiness Assessments"
Click here for Part 3: "Private Sector Providers and Readiness"
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Amanda McCabe, Psy.D., is a Military Behavioral Health Psychologist with the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In this capacity, she develops and delivers training on a variety of evidence-based therapies. Prior to the CDP, Dr. McCabe served as a clinical psychologist in the Army from 2013 to 2024.