Stress and Coping with War: The Experience of Deployment and Reunion for Mortuary Affairs Units, Reserve Units, and First-Term Army Wives
Abstract
This volume presents a view of Operation Desert Shield/Storm from several perspectives: mortuary affairs personnel assigned to the Gulf, the 123rd Army Reserve Command (ARCOM) who participated in Operation Desert Storm, and first-term Army wives. In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait which led to the Persian Gulf War, a war characterized by 'high tech' equipment, chronic threat of nuclear/biological/chemical weapons and a rapid pace. The war entered living rooms around the world. Correspondents reported via satellite from behind enemy lines, telephones were more readily accessible than in the past, soldiers even using cellular phones from the middle of the desert. The first two sections of the book present preliminary data from a group of soldiers at high risk for exposure to psychological trauma (mortuary affairs) and a group of soldiers who presented with multiple somatic complaints and fears of having been exposed to toxic substances or infectious diseases (123rd ARCOM). The final section addresses findings from questionnaires given to a group of first-term Army wives shortly after the Gulf War. The primary focus will be on their information- seeking methods and concerns about family and friends. These data provide information about ways war affects people directly and indirectly; and insights into the stresses inherent in going to war, returning from war, and waiting for loved ones to return.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA256633
Entities
People
- Ann E. Norwood
- Carol S. Fullerton
- Florence R. Rosenberg
- James E. Mccarroll
- Robert Ursano
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences