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Problems with Military Practices and Culture Were the Most Pressing

• When asked which problem domains were the most pressing for them, soldiers most frequently reported Military Practices and Culture, followed by Work/Life Balance, Soldier's Own Well-Being, Health Care System Problems, and Relationship Problems.

Soldiers Reported Needing Advice, Activities, and Support

• Soldiers who reported needs frequently identified the following needs: advice or education, activities, general information, counseling, and emotional support.

Soldiers Sought Different Kinds of Help from a Variety of Resources, With Generally Satisfactory Results

• Of those soldiers who used resources, the majority used both military and nonmilitary resources. Many respondents reported seeking multiple resources.
• Popular military resources accessed by soldiers to address their needs included the chain of command, unit members not in the chain of command, and a doctor or counselor provided by the military.
• Popular nonmilitary resources included personal networks of family and friends and Internet resources.
• In general, both military and nonmilitary resources were rated at or above the midrange of the scale for meeting needs associated with specific problems.
• Reported barriers to resources used by soldiers to address their needs included long wait lists/response time for a military counselor or medical doctor and for child and youth services; the perception that contacting the chain of command might hurt a soldier's career; and the experience of chain of command being unwelcoming or unfriendly.

Soldiers who had one or more unmet needs had worse attitudes toward the Army than did those who accessed resources and had their needs met.

Soldiers who had needs but used no resources had similar attitudes to soldiers who accessed resources and had their needs met.

Soldiers and their families are susceptible to the same range of problems that face all families, but the nature of military service can exacerbate those problems or introduce new ones. The Army recognizes these challenges and has instituted a wide range of programs and services to help soldiers and their families deal with them. This report describes the results of a unique, holistic survey approach to understanding the most-pressing problems soldiers and their families face, the needs those problems generate, the use of resources available to address these needs, and barriers to using those resources. It also reports soldiers' perceptions about the effectiveness of the resources used and projected effect if those resources were no longer available, and it discusses the relationship between how soldiers address their pressing problems and important attitudes toward military service. The survey of more than 7,000 active component soldiers provided insights suggesting that Army programs generally meet the needs of soldiers and their families. There is room for improvement, however, because some soldiers encountered barriers to using resources, and the needs of some soldiers remained unmet even after reaching out to available programs and support providers. Soldiers with unmet needs had worse attitudes toward the Army than did those who accessed resources and had their needs met. We describe options for the Army to consider to improve the ability of leaders and programs to meet the diverse range of soldier and family needs.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Survey Content and Method

• Chapter Three

  Survey Results

• Chapter Four

  Respondents' Use of Resources to Address Needs

• Chapter Five

  Unmet Needs, Resource Information and Perceived Impact, and Interrelations Among Problems, Needs, Resources, and Attitudes

• Chapter Six

  Conclusions and Recommendations

• Appendix A

  Survey Instrument

• Appendix B

  Additional Information on the Sample