Today's all-volunteer force is arguably one of the most highly trained and highly educated in our nation's history. To maintain that edge, it must have a strong recruiting pipeline, one that seeks out physically fit, smart young men and women who are interested in serving their country and gaining valuable skills for subsequent careers outside the military. Why, then, don't they recruit for mental health and resiliency?

A new study found that military service members who reported insomnia symptoms or short sleep durations were less resilient than members who reported healthy sleep hygiene. Several physical and mental variables were evaluated as indices of resilience. These variables were, self-rated general health, lost workdays, deployment, completion of service term, and health care utilization.

Military personnel exposed to repeated blasts, including those experienced during combat deployments and heavy weapons training, may have elevated risks of migraines, PTSD, depression, hearing loss, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other conditions, according to a new study by researchers from the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC). These findings were recently published in Frontiers in Neurology.

Despite being held to stringent weight and body fat standards, newly published research shows that one in five individuals from a sample of U.S. military personnel from 2001 - 2008 have obesity. Further, shortly after separating from active duty, U.S. military veterans are as likely to have obesity as civilians. Data from the research also showed an association between military personnel who have obesity - including both active duty and veterans - and mental health conditions like depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The research led by Toni Rush, MPH, is published in the July issue of Obesity, the scientific journal of The Obesity Society.

Both the PTSD Checklist-Civilian and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 versions successfully assessed the disorder among veteran and military populations, according to results of a diagnostic study published in JAMA Network Open.

Sexual assault within the military continues to receive increasing attention. While sexual assault happens to both men and women in the military, little is known about the impact of sexual assault on men.

The Department of Defense's ongoing Millennium Cohort Study of 150,000 members of the military and veterans has helped researchers learn important new information about many deployment health-related concerns, according to the leader of the study.

Scientists found that military women who had served between 2001 and 2004, and who had been in direct combat, were 2 1/2 times more likely to say they had been sexually assaulted during those years than female servicemembers who had never been to war.

"Women who deploy and report combat-associated exposures after childbirth are significantly more likely to screen positive for maternal depression than are women who did not deploy after childbirth," concluded the study, titled "Is Military Deployment a Risk Factor for Maternal Depression?" and appearing in the Journal of Women's Health.

A new study by the Department of Veterans Affairs found there is no difference in the chances of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, between males and females who have similar experiences, combat included.As a result of carefully looking at veterans' medical histories and life experiences, researchers said the number of PTSD cases among veterans caused specifically by service in Iraq and Afghanistan may be lower than thought.