Character Strengths of Junior Australian Army Officers.

Introduction: Armed forces view their officers' character as foundational to their ability to lead the personnel entrusted to them. The character of junior officers is of particular interest, because they must increasingly make quick, morally-laden decisions while dispersed among civilians without time to consult their commanders. However, little is systematically known about the character of officers.

The Character Strengths of Special Forces Personnel: Insights for Civilian Health Care Practitioners.

Civilian employees, contractors, and private community clinicians are increasingly providing health treatment to currently serving and former military personnel. This study addresses recent calls for evidence-based information to assist civilian practitioners in understanding the perspectives of their military clients. To this end, the self-reported character strengths of military personnel were elicited as an operationalized expression of their underlying personal values that shape their perspectives and conduct as soldiers.

Character Strengths and Hardiness of Australian Army Special Forces Applicants.

Australian Army Special Forces (SF) applicants (N = 95) were asked to rank themselves on 24 character strengths at the start of the selection process. Across all applicants, the character strength of integrity was most frequently assigned a top-four rank (45%), followed by team worker (41%), persistence (36%), and love of learning (25%). Successful applicants assigned a top-four rank to team worker significantly more often than unsuccessful applicants (65% versus 32%).

A prospective study of character strengths as predictors of selection into the Australian army special force.

For entry into the Australian Army Special Forces (SF), applicants undergo a barrage of strenuous physical and psychological assessments. Despite this screening, subsequent attrition rates in the first weeks of initial selection courses are typically high, and entry testing results have had limited success for predicting who will complete these courses. An SF applicant's character is often thought to be a decisive factor; however, this claim has remained untested.