Cognitive skills training has been linked to greater skills, self-efficacy, and performance. This study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, examined cognitive skills training in a high-risk occupation by randomizing 48 platoons in basic combat training to either (a) mental skills training or (b) an active comparison condition (military history). The study found that soldiers in the mental skills training group reported greater use of a range of cognitive skills and increased confidence relative to those in the control condition, and soldiers in the mental skills training condition also performed better on obstacle course events, rappelling, physical fitness, and initial weapons qualification scores, although effects were generally moderated by gender and previous experience. The study findings contribute to the broader literature by providing supporting evidence that cognitive training skills can enhance performance in occupational and sports settings. Similar programs may be helpful for clinicians, although more research is needed to come to definitive conclusions.