STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF

File: 110596_sep96_decls2_0042.txt
Page: 0042
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













                                      Conclusion



                  In many ways, the Desert Shield/Storm deployment of the

             USNS Comfort was similar to other Naval deployments. Crew

             members were separated from their families, they lacked

             privacy, living was structured, and physical stress was
             plentiful. In other ways, the experience was unique. It
             was the first deployment for the ship, there was no time for

             the crew to prepare, the crew was unaccustomed to shipboard

             life, and the crew spent seven months preparing for mass

             casualties that never arrived. Operational necessities and

             the potential for war to begin any day contributed to the

             tension, anxiety, lack of reliable information,

             unpredictability, and radically altered personal and
             professional roles. The crew responded to this stressful
             environment by employing a variety of coping mechanisms that

             prevented disabling depression and despair.
                  Initial responses of the crew included denial and

             minimization of the stress. over time, new or previously

             forgotten skills and strategies were used. Maintaining

             communication with each other and those back home, training,

             exercise, and the social network were important coping

             strategies. The mental health team focused its limited

             resources to catalyze these processes, "inoculate" the crew,

             and provide command consultation, education, and




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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