Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR)

The Canadian Forces R2MR website was created to provide CF personnel, their families, and service providers information about the Road to Mental Readiness deployment education training program. Whether preparing for deployment or preparing to return home from deployment, you'll find what you need.

Credit: Combat Camera

What is it?

Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) is a Canadian Forces mental health education training package that includes a series of briefings/modules addressing each stage of the deployment cycle for military personnel and their families. While not referred to explicitly as ‘resilience training’, the curriculum does intend to increase both short term performance effectiveness as well as long term mental health outcomes for soldiers and their families. It aims to prepare CF personnel, leaders and their families to identify and meet the challenges related to deployed operations and geographical family separation.

Why is it important?

Just like physical health, mental health is important to all aspects of our lives. Sustaining positive mental health in soldiers and their families throughout the deployment cycle is key to operational readiness and operational success.

Military resilience is the capacity of a soldier to recover quickly, resist, and possibly even thrive in the face of direct/indirect traumatic events and adverse situations in garrison, training and operational environments. Recovery from the greatest physical and mental hardships of the military environment is geared in the near term to the soldier’s current mission, but also is required in the long term throughout one’s career.

R2MR is about improving effectiveness and preparedness - because training includes not just training your body but also your mind. Resilience is about improving short term performance and long-term well being.

Mental Health training throughout the deployment cycle

It is helpful to use the analogy of a highway to illustrate the different phases of the deployment cycle. There is the pre-deployment phase (with many separations and reunions represented by a multitude of on and off ramps), the deployment phase (where CF member and his/her family travel separate roads, each with its own challenges) and the reunion phase (where all must merge back together on the same road), and the follow-up phase (that allows for maintenance of the vehicle following the long journey).

This analogy illustrates the importance of regular checks and maintenance in preparation for and all along the drive (the deployment). R2MR training has been designed to address the unique challenges associated with each of these different phases along the highway.

Phase 1 Training: Military Pre-deployment MH Training

The first phase of the R2MR training is delivered to CF personnel prior to their deployment. It includes eight hours of in-classroom interactive training focused on understanding stress reactions, identifying challenges and their impact, learning skills and strategies to manage stress and recognizing when external support may be required.

Phase 2 Training: Military Practical Application

The second phase of the R2MR training is designed to facilitate the practical application and integration of resiliency skills taught during phase one. This is accomplished through providing both troops and leaders with educational material and aide memoires.

Phase 3 Training: Family Pre-Deployment MH Training

The third phase of the R2MR training is delivered to the families of deploying CF personnel. This training is provided both through a three hour in-classroom interactive training delivered by the local Military Family Resource Centres; as well as online through interactive web-based learning. The content in the family program is similar to what the military members have been taught, however focuses on the understanding the familial stress associated with deployment, learning skills to manage this stress and recognizing when and where to seek external support/resources.

Phase 4 Training: Third Location Decompression (TLD)

The fourth phase of the R2MR training is delivered to CF personnel during their Third Location Decompression just prior to returning home from deployment. This information is delivered through two 2-hour interactive classroom briefings and focuses on understanding the common transitional phase challenges during reintegration, learning and applying strategies to assist in overcoming these challenges and recognizing when and where to seek external support/resources.

Phase 5 Training: Home Location Decompression (HLD)

The fifth phase of R2MR training is delivered to families of deployment CF personnel prior to their return home. This information mirrors the content delivered to CF personnel during Third Location Decompression, but focuses on information to assist the family to understand and manage the transition and reintegration of their loved one. This information is provided both through a three hour in-classroom interactive training delivered by the local Military Family Resource Centres; as well as online through interactive web-based learning.

Phase 6 Training: Post Deployment Follow-up

The final phase of R2MR training is focused on ensuring all CF personnel and their families have successfully managed the deployment experience. This phase of R2MR is done through an individual Enhanced Post Deployment Screening with a mental health professional and is designed to identify and offer treatment to any of those who have deployment-related health problems.