STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF

File: 110596_sep96_decls2_0016.txt
Page: 0016
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











                ship should be run. Few of the senior medical officers were

                comfortable with their loss of autonomy and the increased

                military structure which placed them squarely in a chain of

                command. Half of the crew felt that the ship should be a

                floating hospital and half wished that the Comfort could be

                a warship.

                     on this 900 foot ship with 1300 crew 'members privacy

                was impossible. People who were accustomed to their own

                homes or apartments, their own rooms, and their own lives

                now shared space. The officers lived with 5 to 7 others,

                while the enlisted crew lived with up to 126 roommates.

                This return to dormitory-type living frequently resulted

                disagreements about issues such as when to turn out the

                lights, when and how many alarms to set, who gets the sink

                first, and who gets the top bunk. Yelling matches often

                ended in tears, and occasionally in fist fights.

                     Among the physicians, there was a general lack of
                purpose and activities. Several became compulsive about

                exercise, while others became excellent sleepers and spent

                what seemed like 20 hours per day in bad. The surgeon's

                motto became, "Sleep till you're hungry, eat till you're

                tired." People who were used to spending 12-14 hours per
                day working, now searched for ways to fill their time.

                Boredom was a major problem. Many crew members could not

                understand why they were not allowed to go home until they



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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