Stress and Psychological Support in Modern Military Operations: A Military Leader's Perspective

Abstract

From the experiences as a commander taking part in 6 peace support operations in Hong Kong, Cambodia, Bosnia and Africa, the principles of Leadership and Stress Management appeared to be useful to provide psychological support to deployed troops. Key factors in Stress Management are realistic training, fostering unit cohesion in arduous environments, communicating and providing time outs. Systematic evaluations of post deployment care show that third location decompressions allow deployed personnel to share their experiences immediately after a deployment and help to reach mental health care professionals if necessary. Evaluations of mental health care and reunions, which are organized five years after a deployment, show that the deployed personnel highly appreciates this type of care and the possibility to share the memories of those days. Commanders need the support of military mental health professionals in caring for those deployed personnel who cannot cope with their deployment experiences.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA472668

Entities

People

  • P. C. Cammaert

Organizations

  • Ministry of Defense

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Cambodia
  • Deployment
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Health Services
  • Leadership
  • Marine Corps
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • Training
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • United Nations

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.