Early in our endeavor in Iraq, and more frequently as our troop strength in Afghanistan increased, we heard emotional reports of civilians being killed by American forces during operations. These reports usually included tearful relatives and possibly a bullet-riddled car in the background.
28.5%
The percentage of "443,360 active duty service Veterans who deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq and subsequently utilized VHA services between Fiscal Years 2004 and 2013" who "had a non-routine military service discharge," according to a new study recently published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine -- Non-routine Discharge From Military Service: Mental Illness, Substance Use Disorders, and Suicidality.
Welcome to this week’s edition of CDP News! We like to use this space to review recent happenings in and around the Center for Deployment Psychology, while also looking ahead to upcoming events. We’re well into the new year now and we’re starting to pick up steam in 2017.
The CDP's weekly research update contains the latest news, journal articles and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:
● Evidence-based training in the era of evidence-based practice: Challenges and opportunities for training of PTSD providers.
● Verbal memory functioning moderates psychotherapy treatment response for PTSD-Related nightmares.
One of my first memories from my deployment to Fallujah, Iraq was seeing the phrase “Complacency Kills” spray-painted in red on large concrete barriers and signs around the base. This simple phrase was a sober reminder to all who read it to be on guard at all times and men and women in theater rapidly internalized and adapted their behaviors to accommodate its warning. For many, it not only shaped their mindset and behaviors in theater, but continued to impact their post-deployment lives through the adoption of war-related safety behaviors.