EXPANDED OPERATIONAL STRESS CONTROL (E-OSC)

Overview
Expanded Operational Stress Control (E-OSC) is part of the Navy’s Culture of Excellence, designed to enhance resilience, readiness, and stress navigation across the fleet. E-OSC employs evidence-based practices to build toughness and resilience through peer-to-peer support, self-care, and connectedness.

Vision: A Navy team proficient in recognizing and navigating stress to foster growth and mitigate undesired outcomes.
Mission: Build resilience through toughness, trust, and education to sustain mission and personnel readiness.

Background
The Navy's Operational Stress Control (OSC) program began in 2008 and has since evolved to address the changing needs of sailors and commands.
Key milestones:
     - 2008: Initial OSC framework launched, encouraging Sailors and families to foster and maintain psychological health..
     - 2013: Adapted into Caregiver Operational Stress Control (CgOSC) by Navy Medicine.
     - 2016: "Mind, Body, Mental Fitness" introduced by Fleet and Family Support Centers.
     - 2020: E-OSC developed by OPNAV N17 and NCCOSC, incorporating advanced resilience concepts.

Objectives
     1. Develop resilience, self-care, and peer support techniques.
     2. Manage stress to support positive outcomes and mitigate negatives.
     3. Foster connection among sailors to promote growth.

Program Features
The E-OSC program emphasizes resilience as the ability to persevere, adapt, and grow through adversity. It also introduces the Expanded Stress Continuum, which recognizes stress as a tool for growth, with defined states ranging from Idle (Blue) to Ill (Red).
     - Blue: Idle. Lethargic or recovering.
     - Green: Ready. Mission-ready with manageable stress.
     - Yellow: Reacting. Temporary stress impacts like irritability.
     - Orange: Injured. Need for outside support.
     - Red: Ill. Requires medical attention.

STRESS-O-METER (SOM)

The Stress-O-Meter (SOM) is a versatile survey tool to assess stress and resilience within commands. Choose the version that suits your command’s technical capabilities:
     1. Paper-Based SOM for commands without internet or SharePoint access.
     2. Local SharePoint SOM compatible with various SharePoint versions (guidance available for 2019 and 2013; contact for older versions).
     3. Cloud-Based SOM: Under development for commands seeking automated capabilities.