UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
THE BASIC SCHOOL
MARINE CORPS TRAINING COMMAND
CAMP BARRETT, VIRGINIA 22134-5019
HUMAN FACTORS
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STUDENT HANDOUT
B120125XQ-DM Human Factors
Introduction
This lesson focuses on the human factors of fatigue (mental
and physical), fear, cohesion, and the will of the
commander. All Marines, regardless of military
occupational specialty (MOS) will experience these at some
point in their career. The goal is to give you a context in
which to deal with these factors when they present
themselves.
Importance
Man is the dominant force in warfare and has been since
the beginning of time. John Keegan in The Face of Battle
articulates beautifully through accounts of Agincourt,
Waterloo, and the Somme that regardless of whether you
are employing the crossbow, artillery, or the machine gun,
man is the central theme; and he is susceptible to human
factors of combat. Man and his will on the battlefield will
carry the day. This lesson is a formal study of these human
factors that Marine officers have to deal with while leading
Marines in combat.
In This Lesson
This lesson gives you a detailed study of how the human
factors experienced in combat affect your decision making
and how understanding these factors will allow you to
better employ your Marines in combat.
This lesson covers the following topics:
Topic
Learning Objectives
Human Factors in Combat
Physiological Responses to Stress
Core Leader Functions to Alleviate Stress
Combat Defined
Elements and Stresses of Combat
Overcoming Fear
Dealing with Combat Stress
Summary
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Learning Objectives
Terminal Learning Objectives
TBS-LDR-1019 Given an evaluation, define the role of
leadership in overcoming fear without omission.
TBS-LDR-1017 Given an evaluation, define core
leader functions to alleviate stress without omitting key
components.
TBS-LDR-1016 Given an evaluation, identify the
elements of combat without omitting key
components.
Enabling Learning Objectives
TBS-LDR-1016a Without the aid of references, define
combat without error.
TBS-LDR-1016b Given a combat scenario, plan to
mitigate the impact of the elements of combat on
individual Marines to accomplish the mission and take
care of Marines.
TBS-LDR-1016c Given a combat scenario, strengthen
resilience of Marines against the elements of combat to
accomplish the mission and take care of Marines.
TBS-LDR-1016d Without the aid of references, define the
five stresses of combat without omission.
TBS-LDR-1017a Without the aid of references, identify
actions a leader can take before combat to mitigate the impact
of human factors on Marines.
TBS-LDR-1017b Without the aid of references, identify
actions a leader can take during combat to mitigate the impact
of human factors on Marines.
TBS-LDR-1017c Without the aid of references, identify
actions a leader can take after combat to mitigate the impact of
human factors on Marines.
TBS-LDR-1019a Without the aid of references, identify ways
to foster morale without omission.
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TBS-LDR-1019b Without the aid of references, identify ways
to foster discipline without omission.
TBS-LDR-1019c Without the aid of references, identify
ways to foster esprit de corps without omission.
TBS-LDR-1019d Without the aid of references, identify
ways to foster proficiency without omission.
TBS-LDR-1019e Without the aid of references, identify
ways to foster motivation without omission.
Human Factors in Combat
Human Factors
A multitude of factors affect decision making in combat.
Researchers have divided them into these categories:




Endogenous: Those factors that affect Marines
from within.
Exogenous: Those factors affecting Marines
externally.
Transitory: Factors that may be mitigated by
training.
Enduring: Factors that may be mitigated by
education.
The table below gives examples of the factors in these
categories
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Physiological Responses to Stress
Physiological
Response to Stress
Humans have two systems that help them respond to stress:
 Sympathetic nervous system (SNS).
 Parasympathetic nervous system
(PNS).
The PNS manages your body’s digestive and recuperative
energy while the SNS mobilizes your body’s energy for
action. Normally these two systems are balanced, but during
extremely stressful circumstances, the body’s fight-or-flight
response kicks in. The SNS mobilizes all available energy
for survival, thus leaving little to no energy left for the PNS,
often resulting in non-essential activities such as digestion,
bladder control, and sphincter control to shut down.
Combatants pay a physiological price for an energizing
process this intense. This price has an equally powerful
backlash when the neglected demands of the PNS return.
This “PNS backlash” occurs as soon as the stressor is
removed and takes the form of an incredibly powerful
weariness and sleepiness on the combatant’s part.
It is important to recognize that the interaction between the
SNS and PNS is a physiological response to a
psychological stressor. It is not a response to a
physiological stress. Physiological stress can cause many
of the physical symptoms of SNS activation (heart rate and
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breathing rate increases), without the detrimental
physiological effects of a response to a psychological
stimulus.
Core Leader Functions to Alleviate Stress
The Marine Corps established the following core leader
functions to assist in alleviating combat stress:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Strengthen
Mitigate
Identify
Treat
Reintegrate
These functions are further outlined below:
Strengthen
Strengthening individuals, units, and families to enhance
their resilience is the first core function for military leaders.
Individuals enter military service with a set of preexisting
strengths and vulnerabilities based on genetic makeup,
prior life experiences, personality style, family supports,
belief systems, and a host of other factors. Centuries of
experience in military organizations and decades of
scientific research have demonstrated that commanders of
military units can do much to enhance the resilience of unit
members and their families regardless of these pre-existing
vulnerabilities. Activities available to commanders to
strengthen their troops fall into three main categories:
Mitigate
1. Training
2. Social cohesion
3. Leadership.
Since no Service member is immune to stress, regardless
of strength or preparedness, the prevention of stress
injuries and illnesses requires continuous monitoring and
alleviation of the stressors to which individuals and units
are exposed.
Optimal mitigation of stress requires the balancing of
competing priorities. There is the need to intentionally
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Identify
subject Service members to stress in order to train and
toughen them and to accomplish assigned missions while
deployed. At the same time, it is necessary to reduce or
eliminate stressors that are not essential to training or
mission accomplishment and ensure adequate sleep, rest,
and restoration to allow recovery from stress between
periods of challenge.
Since even the best preventive efforts cannot eliminate all
stress reactions and injuries that might impact occupational
functioning or health, effective application of identification
requires continuous monitoring of stressors and stress
outcomes.
Operational leaders must know the individuals in their units,
including their specific strengths and weaknesses and the
nature of the challenges they face both in the unit and in
their home lives. Leaders must recognize when individuals’
confidence in themselves, their peers, or leaders is shaken
or when units have lost cohesion because of casualties,
changes in leadership, or challenges to the unit.
Most importantly, every unit leader must continuously
monitor the stress zones of each unit member.
Treat
Available tools for the treatment of stress injuries and
illnesses exist along a broad spectrum and include:
1. Self-aid or buddy aid
2. Support from a small unit leader, chaplain, or
corpsman.
3. Definitive medical or psychological treatment.
Reintegrate
Although some forms of treatment can only be delivered by
trained medical or mental health providers (MHPs), many
others require little special training and can be applied very
effectively by anyone in almost any setting.
The normal course for a stress injury, as for a physical
injury, is to heal over time, with most able to do so with or
without treatment. Similarly, the normal course for a stress
illness, especially if properly treated, is to improve
significantly over time or completely remit.
Hence, operational commanders face one final challenge in
the management of Service members treated for stress
injuries or illnesses—to continually monitor their fitness for
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duty, including worldwide deployment, and mentor them
back to full duty as they recover.
Combat Defined
The Marine Corps defines combat as “engaging the enemy with individual or crew
served weapons; being exposed to direct or indirect enemy fire; and otherwise
undergoing a high probability of direct contact with enemy personnel and firepower, to
include the risk of capture.” (MCTP 3-30E)
Elements and Stresses of Combat
The nine common elements found in the combat
environment are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Confusion and lack of information.
Casualties.
Violent, unnerving sights and sounds.
Feelings of isolation.
Communication breakdowns.
Individual discomfort and fatigue.
Fear, stress, and mental fatigue.
Continuous operations.
Homesickness.
All of these common elements cause stress, which
manifests in combat. The Marine Corps identifies five
stresses of combat:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Boredom.
Fog of war.
Casualties.
Discomfort and fatigue.
Extreme risk and fear.
These stresses of combat are explained further below:
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Boredom
Combat has short periods of intense terror followed by long
periods of inactivity. Marine leaders must be able to
manage these periods of boredom to battle the complacency
that can set in during these long periods of inactivity.
Fog of War
The fog of war (confusion, or the unknown) affects every
participant from the newest private to the four-star general.
Marine leaders can help mitigate the fog of war by keeping
their Marines informed.
Casualties
Even if leaders do everything correctly, Marines can still get
injured or killed. Taking the time to ensure that Marines
appropriately deal with “cherry pickers” (simulated
casualties) during training helps them to be prepared to deal
with casualties in combat. In addition, realistic casualty
training develops confidence in your Marines and their unit,
so they know that they will be taken care of if they are
injured or killed.
Discomfort and Fatigue
Marines experience some of the most dreadful conditions
humans ever have to endure. Sleep deprivation, lack of
food, and experiencing the impact of the elements quickly
wears on individuals who are not prepared both physically
and mentally for the demands of combat. Marine leaders
must ensure their Marines endure discomfort and fatigue
first in training, prior to experiencing them in a combat zone.
Marines must be exposed to these stresses gradually, but
leaders must manage this risk through the use of operational
risk management (ORM).
Extreme Risk and Fear
Principles that help overcome fear are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Morale.
Discipline.
Esprit de corps.
Proficiency.
Motivation.
Training.
Ensuring that these factors are ingrained into your unit will
ensure that Marines are accustomed to aspects of the fear
that they will face in combat.
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Application of principles for overcoming fear are further
explored below:
Overcoming Fear
Morale
Listen to your Marines and Sailors, keep unit members
informed, set and achieve realistic unit goals
Additionally, service level functions can include minimizing
the length of deployments and maximizing dwell time
between deployments.
Discipline
Discipline is the means by which leaders at all levels
communicate relentlessly to subordinates the entire set of
knowledge, skills, and actions they need to absorb and to
master in order to answer every threat they will face with an
immediate and resounding, “Yes, I can handle this!”
Espirit de Corps
Military leaders know that individuals with high levels of self
esteem are more resilient and capable, especially if their
pride and self-esteem are based in large measure on their
belonging to a military unit with a high collective pride and
esprit de corps.
Effective military leaders are highly skilled at developing
collective and individual pride in units and unit members.
Proficiency
Develop a solid base of the technical and tactical skills
required to perform the unit’s jobs and tasks through tough,
realistic training.
Motivation
Foster mental strength through:
1. Willpower
2. Fortitude
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Both of these together will contribute which contribute to
courage, which is a powerful source of motivation.
Fortitude is the ability to encounter danger or bear pain or
adversity without faltering; whereas willpower is the
motivation to convert that mental strength into courageous
behavior.
Dealing with Combat Stress
Leader
Responsibilities
Marine leaders always have two primary responsibilities:
1. Mission accomplishment
2. Troop welfare
There are certain steps leaders can take before, during,
and after deployment to minimize the impacts of combat
stress on their units.
Before Deployment
Some actions that small unit leaders can take to minimize
the effects of combat stress before a deployment to a
combat zone are
1. Conduct Unit Training
a. Hard realistic training is the primary technique
for preventing combat stress.
b. Marines must have confidence in their
leaders, training, unit, and equipment.
2. Educate yourself and your Marines on human
factors in combat.
3. Train for casualties – combat first aid builds
confidence.
4. Educate Marines on procedures for:
a. Notification of next of kin
b. MEDEVAC
c. Wounded and killed in action
5. Focus your training around building cohesion –
every Marine has a place on the team.
6. Prepare Marines for changes in sleep schedules.
7. Avoid overloading responsibilities on Marines before
deploying.
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8. Select the right Marine for each job. Fit the right
person to the task based on the requirements and
Marines’ talents and abilities.
9. Duplicate critical tasks and cross-train Marines.
10. Develop SOPs.
11. Attend to personal and family matters, ensure
Marines have their lives in order.
a. Update and make wills.
b. Update SGLI and life insurance.
c. Ensure all personal goods and property are
planned and provided for.
12. Brief Marines and families as a group, leverage
deployment readiness coordinators (DRCs) and unit
readiness coordinators (URCs) for assistance.
During Deployment
The key to battling combat stress during deployment is to
know what signs to look for in your Marines. Once you have
identified Marines who could possibly be suffering from
combat stress, you can better take corrective action.
Be confident and decisive. Your leadership directly impacts
your unit’s morale and combat effectiveness.
Encourage and talk to your Marines about non-mission
related subjects.
Learn to recognize the signs of mild and sever battle
fatigue, the signs of various levels of fatigue are outlined
below and on the next page:
Mild Battle Fatigue Symptoms
Physical Signs
Emotional Signs
• Tears.
• Anxious; indecisive.
• Cold sweats
• Irritable.
• Increased heart
• Forgetful; unable to
rate.
concentrate.
• Insomnia; nightmares.
• Nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea.
• Grief.
• Mild fatigue.
• Anger; beginning to
• Brief “thousandlose confidence.
yard stare”.
• Difficulty focusing or
communicating.
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Serious Battle Fatigue Symptoms
Physical Signs
Emotional Signs
• Constantly moves
• Night terrors
around.
• Talks rapidly and/or
• Flinches or ducks
inappropriately.
at sudden sound
• Is argumentative; acts
or movement.
recklessly.
• Shakes, trembles.
• Inattentive to personal
• Cannot use part of
hygiene.
body for no
• Indifferent to danger.
physical reason.
• Memory loss.
• Cannot see, hear,
• Stutters severely,
or feel.
mumbles, or cannot
• Is physically
speak at all.
exhausted.
• Insomnia; nightmares.
• Uncontrolled
• Sees or hears things
crying.
that do not exist.
• Freezes under
• Rapid emotional shifts.
fire or is totally
• Socially withdrawn.
immobile.
• Apathetic.
• Stares vacantly
• Hysterical outbursts.
without response.
• Frantic or strange
• Staggers, sways
behavior.
when standing.
• Panics; runs
under fire.
Treat Marines showing battle fatigue using the BICEPS
guideline:




Brevity: Treatment lasts no more than three days.
Those who require further treatment are moved to
higher level of care.
Immediacy: Provide care as soon as symptoms
appear.
Centrality: If possible, treat combat stress cases in
one location near but separate from the BAS
(Battalion aid station). Marines continue to think of
themselves as Marines, rather than patients (sick
people).
Expectancy: The unit and the Marines’ small unit
leaders tell Marines that their comrades need and
expect them to return and that they will only be off
the lines for a couple of days.
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
During Deployment
Proximity: Care for Marines suffering from battle
fatigue that has turned into combat stress as close
as possible to the Marines’ parent units.
 Simplicity: Deep psychoanalytic work is not done.
Treatment is kept simple to restore the Marines’
psychic defense mechanisms so that they function
and return to duty again.
The job is not finished at the conclusion of the deployment.
Leaders must continue to take active roles in the welfare of
their Marines’ mental health:

Warrior Transition: The unit conducts training before
returning home. This is vital on the modern
battlefield since the Marines can return home within
72 hours of conducting combat operations.

Counseling: Prevent/identify combat stress. If you
change billets, do not forget about your old Marines.

Physical Training: Emphasize unit cohesion. Use it
to relieve, not cause, stress. Understand that your
Marines will not be in the best PFT shape and need
to slowly build back up to a higher level of physical
fitness.

Small Unit Training: Focus on the basics, individual
and fire team skills.

Chaplain/Medical Officer: If you suspect your
Marines are suffering from combat stress, refer them
to the Chaplain. If the Chaplain concurs, your
Marines should see the Medical Officer who
evaluates each one. If the Medical Officer concurs,
the Medical Officer schedules appointments for your
Marines to see a psychiatrist who will actually
diagnose and treat the Marines’ condition.
Summary
•
Man is subject to human factors that apply equally to the enemy as well as
friendly troops.
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•
•
•
Marines can be inoculated against these factors. Marines must face them in
training to avoid first exposure in combat.
As a leader, you must use physical courage, intellect, and will power to
mitigate human factors.
As a leader, you must understand the steps you can take before, during, and
after deployment to minimize the effects of combat stress on your Marines
and your unit.
References
Reference
Reference Title
NAVMC 2767
User's Guide to Marine Corps Leadership Training
MCCS Handbook
Marine Corps Common Skills Handbook, Book 1A,
Chapter 8
MCRP 6-11c
Combat Stress
Axelrod, Allen
Patton on Leadership
Chang, Iris
The Rape of Nanking
Ghiglieri, Michael
The Dark Side of Man
Grossman, Dave
On Killing
Holmes, Richard
Acts of War
Marshall, SLA
Men Against Fire
McCoy, B. P., Colonel
Passion for Command
Sledge, E. B.
With the Old Breed
Von Schell, Adolf, Captain Battle Leadership
Notes
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