STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF

File: 110596_sep96_decls2_0036.txt
Page: 0036
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










              enhanced by its availability for immediate deployment and

              adaptability to a variety of situations. The team's goal

              was to provide crisis intervention, group debriefings, and

              command consultation which would catalyze the normal process

              of recovery from psychological trauma. The team was

              intended to temporarily augment and permanently strengthen

              existing support systems.

                   The commanding officer of the USNS Comfort, a

              psychiatrist, agreed that a psychological debriefing team

              should be sent to the USS Iwo Jima. This was not an easy

              decision because sending a team meant that a significant

              portion of the Comfort's mental health personnel would be

              temporarily lost at a time when war was potentially

              imminent.

                   Arrangements for transportation were quickly made and

              the ship's psychiatrist left by helicopter about four hours

              after the steam explosion. He arrived in Bahrain several

              hours later. The Iwo ii'ma was tied to the pier but had lost

              electrical power. The ship was quiet, hot, and filled with

              unpleasant odors. The psychiatrist was met by the ship's

              doctor and escorted to meet with the commanding officer of

              the Iwo Jima. The tragedy was discussed in detail and the

              commanding officer gave permission for a psychological

              debriefing.






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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