Deployment Psychology Blog

By the Numbers: 18 August 2025

$47,838 and $85,872
The "average annual pay" for "a single mid-grade enlisted servicemember (E-5)" in 2025, and his or her average "regular military compensation" (RMC). RMC is "a statutorily defined measure of the cash or in-kind compensation elements which all servicemembers receive every payday. It is widely used as a basic measure of military cash compensation levels and for comparisons with civilian salary levels," according to a recently updated Defense Primer from the Congressional Research Service on Regular Military Compensation.

Research Update: 14 August 2025

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The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:
● Body Dissatisfaction Is Central to Military Eating Disorder Pathology: A Multi- Time-Point Network Analysis.
● Cognitive Behavioral Therapy App, Resting State Functional Connectivity, and Anxiety.
● Psychopathology and Gaming Disorder in Adolescents.

Staff Perspective: Sleep is for the Strong - Empowering Service Members Through Shared Decision Making

Sleep isn’t just a personal health issue for service members; it’s a mission-critical factor that affects unit cohesion, operational performance, and overall force readiness. Yet for years, military culture sent a different message. Pushing through exhaustion was worn like a badge of honor, and phrases like “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” were all too common. Sleep deprivation was seen as a sign of toughness rather than a threat to mission success. Thankfully, the conversation is shifting.

Research Update: 7 August 2025

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The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:
● Collective Impact: A Practitioner-Scholar Framework for Serving Military- Connected Youth.
● Benefits of the “worst-case scenario”: a multi-level examination of the effects of confronting the feared outcome during imagery-based exposure.
● Addictive Screen Use Trajectories and Suicidal Behaviors, Suicidal Ideation, and Mental Health in US Youths.

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