STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF

File: 110596_sep96_decls2_0015.txt
Page: 0015
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










              generally inild and included primarily seasickness, sprained
              joints, strained muscles, headaches, and viral syndromes.

                    Heat was a problem. Initially, the air conditioning
              system functioned so poorly that the sleeping spaces

              occasionally approached 95 degrees Fahrenheit. People often

              looked tired and acted irritable. The mass desk was located

              directly below the flight deck which, not uncommonly,
              registered 130 degrees Fahrenheit. As the heat permeated

              -the mess deck, the embarrassment of dripping sweat into

              onefs plate of food soon became the norm.

                    Noise was also inescapable, and only the quantity

              varied. During dinner conversations, crew members were

              forced to yell to be heard over the roar of the machinery.

              The need to constantly overcome background noise resulted in

              chronic fatigue. Conversely, successful adaptation to this

              somewhat hostile environment gave the crew members a much

              needed sense of mastery.



              The Social Milieu -



              ....:.,--Adaptation to-military-shipboard life required a     ... . ...

              profound identity shift for many people. Those who had

              previously thought of themselves as civilians who

              occasionally wore a uniform, became acclimated to     wearing a

              uniform 24 hours a day. Everyone had ideas about      how the




                                              628

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