The United States Navy, in keeping with its commitment to provide resources for 21st Century Sailors and Marines, has developed two operational stress control mobile training teams (OSC MTT). The teams will deliver OSC Leader and OSC Front Line Supervisor training to Navy commands.

The OSC Leader course, which lasts for six hours, is designed for unit wardrooms and chief petty officer messes. It is an interactive, professionally-facilitated, and skills-based course where leaders learn how to identify and mitigate stress, as well as build resilience, before it becomes a stress injury or illness.

The 4-hour OSC Front Line Supervisor course, on the other hand, aims to help E-6 to O-3 deckplate leaders develop skills to recognize and address stress in their Sailors. It provides in-depth training for deckplate supervisors in order to improve their ability to recognize and intervene with Sailors who are suffering from emotional distress.

To ensure that they have the ability to respond quickly to requests for training, the teams have been positioned on both the East and West Coasts.

Capt. Kurt Scott, Behavioral Health Programs director, Bureau of Naval Personnel, shared: “We wanted to expand the availability of our OSC skills training, and the MTTs are the most cost-effective method. This brings the training to the command… The most important part of these courses is the frank discussion among attendees. When members of a command talk about what they see as stress-related issues and how course tools could be applied in their commands, OSC becomes more than a concept – it becomes a way of doing day-to-day business.”