Abstract
This study investigates the effects of combat stress on soldiers and military leaders, and how to
handle these effects. The purpose of the study is to develop a framework for educating soldiers
and leaders in the Danish Army on handling combat stress. The research question is: How does
combat stress affect military leaders, and how can military leaders be prepared and educated to
handle combat stress? The result is seven recommendations of activities and exposures, which
combined should prepare future soldiers and leaders on the combat stress faced while on
deployment. The theoretical foundation of this study is based on two articles from the US
Defence on combat stress, and three main articles on handling combat stress. The three articles
present a model of resilience, a model of decision-making, and a critique of the idea that you can
train handling of combat stress out of combat. The study builds its argument by combining the
conclusions from the articles and interviews with veterans who have experienced combat stress.
The interviews have been conducted as semi-structured interviews with seven veterans who have
participated in combat action in Afghanistan or Iraq on deployments with the Danish Army. The
veterans are a mix of Privates, Non-commissioned officers, and Officers. Based on the
experiences of the seven veterans we have used Affinity-Diagramming and Brainstorming to
develop activities that should be able to prepare soldiers and military leaders on handling some
of the combat stress that is experienced during combat. To test the activities, we conducted a
Mock-up test with five cadets from the Royal Danish Army Academy. The test showed that it is
possible to simulate parts of combat stress in a non-combat environment, but also that more work
is needed to achieve the full potential of our recommendations. The results of this study are
comparable to those found by the Danish Center for Military Physical Training, who are working
on a similar, though broader, project. We conclude that combat stress can affect military leaders
by overwhelming them and making them unable to perform their tasks well. Our results indicate
that it is possible to prepare military leaders to handle some aspects of combat stress, and that it
can be done through the following seven recommendations: The cadet must fail - The cadet must
be taught tools to handle combat stress - The cadet must participate in long and tough field
exercises - The cadet must corporate and work in teams - The cadet must make decisions while
under pressure - The cadet must be trained in planning and sensemaking - The cadet must be
challenged physically and mentally.