STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF

File: 110596_sep96_decls2_0013.txt
Page: 0013
Total Pages: 48

Subject: STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF        

Unit: VAR. BUMED  

Parent Organization: BUMED       

Box ID: BX303818

Folder Title: USNS COMFORT TAH 20 MEDICAL ARTICLES 1991 1992                                                  

Document Number:          4

Folder SEQ  #:         13











             Suddenly, the ship was able to receive news broadcasts 24

             hours per day. After an initial period of euphoria, this

             thrill dissipated and the rumors started once again.

                  Contact with home was maintained through letters,
             videotapes, audiotapes, and brief phone calls. A weekly

             tape recorded message was sent to families by way of the

             Comfort Support Office in Bethesda, Maryland. The tape was

             made by the commanding officer and was available through a

             toll-free phone number. Family members used this resource

             regularly. The mail was a source of solace, excitement,

             sadness, anger, anxiety, and euphoria. Mail was

             unpredictable and came in waves. often a large shipment of
             mail was announced, but only a small shipment would arrive,
             sometimes containing only a few large packages and no

             letters. Letters were sources of extreme pleasure and

             tremendous discouragement. one sailor tearfully went to the

             chaplain after he opened a letter and his wife's gold

             wedding-band rolled out onto the deck.

             111.1 Mail served as-a reminder that the people back home

             were real. ..It also reminded crew members that loved ones

             would-not wait forever,.that bills still needed payment,-

             that family members died, and that civilian life went on.

             Some people coped with the situation by distancing
             themselves emotionally from their families and friends at

             home. -In those instances, mail was avoided because it




                                           626

Document 48 f:/Week-39/BX303818/USNS COMFORT TAH 20 MEDICAL ARTICLES 1991 1992/stress and coping with trauma of war in the pers:1104960910243
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-39
Box ID = BX303818
Unit = VAR. BUMED
Parent Organization = BUMED
Folder Title = USNS COMFORT TAH 20 MEDICAL ARTICLES 1991 1992
Folder Seq # = 13
Subject = STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERS
Document Seq # = 4
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 04-NOV-1996