Strengthening our soldiers SOS and their families: contemporary psychological advances applied to wartime problems. Why now? Why us? What next?

摘要

Since October 2001, approximately 2 million U.S. troops have been deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. Serving in military campaigns such as OEF/OIF provides service members with income to support themselves and their families, job skills, opportunities for physical fitness, health care, educational opportunities (especially in regards to cutting edge technology), and a support network. However, early evidence suggests that the psychological toll of these deployments-many involving prolonged exposure to combat-related stress over multiple rotations-may be disproportionately high compared with the physical injuries of combat (Tanielian et al., 2007). Between 11% and 42% of returning service members report some type of mental health problem during post-deployment screenings (Hoge et al., 2004; Milliken, Auchterlonie, & Hoge, 2007).