Reoptimizing Combat and Operational Stress Control in the US Air Force

The future of warfare is changing with anticipation of moving toward Agile Combat Employment in contested, degraded, and operationally limited environments. This will require some changes for behavioral health provision within the Air Force during deployments. With over a century of development and refinement, Combat and Operational Stress Control (COSC) has proven to be a sustainable model for behavioral health asset utilization to maximize unit combat effectiveness and individual personnel performance. It allows flexibility of implementation across the force generation cycle through outreach efforts, unit integration, prevention services, and command consultation. COSC teams are versatile: Both enlisted and officer providers have a dynamic opportunity to influence and shape the wellness of an entire population of service members. To maximize this potential, the Air Force needs to formally train for the COSC mission and consider realigning the active duty mental health personnel from working almost exclusively in the Mental Health clinic to primarily working in the units. Employing the key principles of COSC in garrison is possible; however, it will take significant effort and purpose to change from the current policy.