US Army suffer pessimism about their future, a new report says

The largest and powerful army of the world is suffering from pessimism about their future, a new study said.

The majority of soldiers in the US Army are pessimistic about their future in the military and unhappy in their jobs following fourteen years of continuous wars, according to new data.

About 52 percent of the 770,000 soldiers tested by the Army scored badly in the area of optimism, agreeing with statements such as “I rarely count on good things happening to me,” findings obtained by USA Today show.

The study found that 48 percent have little satisfaction in or commitment to their jobs. The results stem from resiliency assessments that soldiers are required to take every year.

In addition to high pessimism and job dissatisfaction, over half reported poor nutrition and sleep, and only 14 percent said they are eating right and getting enough rest.

The internal data obtained by USA Today also shows most US soldiers today are trending in the wrong direction.

Two-thirds were borderline or worse for an area called “catastrophic thinking,” where poor scores mean the soldier has trouble adapting to change or dwells on the worst possible things happening.

Other results obtained by USA Today found that 48 percent of soldiers lack commitment to their job and 40 percent do not trust their immediate supervisor or fellow soldiers in their unit or didn’t feel respected or valued.

The startlingly negative results come despite a six-year, $287 million campaign to make troops more optimistic and resilient.

The US Army began a program of positive psychology in 2009 as suicide and mental illness were on the rise in the midst of two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, a panel of scientists from the Institute of Medicine concluded last year that there is little or no evidence the Army’s positive psychology program prevents mental illness and suicide.

Fourteen years of war and recent decisions to downsize or cut funding for the military have left morale low in the military, the scientists said.  A recent survey by the Military Times and a Navy Retention Study also show troops increasingly unhappy.