Exposure to Death, Disasters, and Bodies
Abstract
This is the fourth of a series of six volumes addressing the various psychological and behavioral factors of performance and medical care delivery in a chemical and biological warfare (CBW) environment. This volume addresses the unique stress of exposure to death and disaster both for individuals and for a community. In December 1985, the U.S. Army suffered its largest peacetime loss when a chartered plane carrying 248 soldiers crashed in Gander, Newfoundland. This tragedy resulted in 248 soldiers killed, all of whom were from one Army Post, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. This was one-third of a force which had been deployed to the Sinai Desert in a multi-national peacekeeping effort. The impact of this disaster upon the soldiers, unit and community at Fort Campbell, and the impact to the body recovery and body identification process at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, are the focus of this volume. Such research is conducted to obtain answers which will assist in establishing programs that will be in place and available when disaster, tragedy, or CBW strike. As shown here, a research team was able to enter a community that had suffered a mass disaster and gather information which provides important directions for the development of prevention programs and training plans in the case of CBW which will involve the entire community in unexpected and unfamiliar events.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA203163
Entities
People
- Robert Ursano
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences