Psychological and spiritual factors affecting well-being among military personnel engaged in remote combat.

INTRODUCTION: Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) require multiple crewmembers to successfully operate the aircraft. RPAs shape modern warfare and pose challenges for the spiritual-emotional health of RPA personnel. This study explored whether (a) RPA crewmembers could be separated into groups based on their experiences, (b) the groups differed in psychological health outcomes, and (c) they differed in aspects of spiritual well-being. METHOD: Participants included 354 United States Air Force personnel involved in RPA duty. Participants provided demographic information and completed the Work Role Strain Scale as a predictor. Outcome measures included job satisfaction, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Outcome Questionnaire-45.2, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), and medical complaints and psychosocial services indices. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale and Unit Cohesion Scale were assessed as moderating factors. RESULTS: Cluster analysis identified two groups of crewmembers. Psychologically healthy participants included 73.4% of crewmembers (n = 260); the remaining 26.6% (n = 94) were distressed. The distressed group included more imagery analysts, weapon-strike pilots, and females, and fewer sensor operators and males compared with the healthy group. Symptoms among the distressed group included more psychological difficulties and PTSD symptoms, more medical complaints, and greater use of psychosocial services. The distressed group reported greater work-role conflict, role ambiguity, work overload, relationship stress, emotional exhaustion, and cynicism as well as lower job satisfaction, unit cohesion, professional efficacy, and existential well-being. DISCUSSION: The strongest predictors of distress were lack of meaning and feeling overextended at work. Emotional exhaustion and low existential well-being identified distressed crewmembers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional reactions of distributed common ground system imagery analysts exposed to remote combat operations.

OBJECTIVE: Imagery analysts of the United States Air Force distributed common ground system (DCGS) provide real-time intelligence informing battlefield decision-making processes worldwide. The number of DCGS combat operations personnel has grown along with the demand for their products, but little is known about the emotional impacts of remote warfighting. The current study is a mixed methods analysis of emotional reactions to remote fatality-inducing combat events and of potential demographic, occupational, and mission-specific correlates of negative emotional reactions to these combat operations in DCGS personnel. METHOD: One-hundred ninety-six active duty analysts with direct exposure to weapon strike operations volunteered to participate in semistructured interviews. RESULTS: Participants were largely enlisted (93.9%), male (75%), and between 18 and 30 years of age (73.0%). Eighty-nine percent reported at least one positive emotion and 71% reported both positive and negative emotions in response to weapon strike events. An underlying current of positive emotions (e.g., pride, camaraderie, patriotism) combined with mission-specific negative emotions (e.g., sadness related to witnessing pain, suffering, and/or loss of life; anxiety and stress related to uncertainty and unforeseeable events) were commonly reported. Twenty-one percent endorsed negative emotions that disrupted their daily functioning, and witnessing a civilian casualty increased risk by 217%. CONCLUSION: DCGS analysts reported emotional responses similar to other remote warfighters but with proportional distributions that reflect their unique wartime roles and responsibilities. The heightened sense of responsibility associated with their wartime roles may elevate risk for negative emotional outcomes when adverse events, such as the death of a civilian, occur. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Predictors and protective factors for suicide ideation across remotely piloted aircraft career fields.

The US Air Force remote warrior community comprises several career fields including remotely piloted aircraft pilots and intelligence, cyber, and sensor operators. The crews are responsible for working seamlessly together to provide 24/7 real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and precision-strike weapons capabilities for a wide range of global combat operations. Due to the rapid increase in global demands and operational tempo, there is growing concern from military leadership about the impact of operational stress on the health and psychological well-being of remote warriors. Previous assessments from 2011 and 2015 have demonstrated a significant increase in the reported rates of operators experiencing suicide ideation. The current study examined two protective factors expected to reduce the risk of suicide ideation - team member social support and leader social support. A total of 905 active duty remote warriors participated in occupational health assessments conducted in 2018. Risk factors for suicide ideation included being unmarried, worsening relationship problems, occupational burnout, and increased operational stress. Results indicated that team member and leader social support were significant protective factors for shift workers and those who reported being less likely to seek mental healthcare. Implications of the findings, intervention recommendations, and directions for future research are discussed.