Deployment Psychology Blog

Staff Perspective: Three Caskets - A Personal Story of Complicated Grief

By Erin Frick  on 03.02.2021 9:13 am
Dr. Erin Frick

It was odd that my brother was calling me. I hadn’t even unpacked after just returning home from visiting my family in Indiana for the Christmas holiday. He said, “Erin, Wendel and the kids were killed in a car accident on their way back home.” On 29 December 2005, the date of the accident, my journey through complicated grief began and continues to this day. Just as my grief process continues, I expect there are many who have been thrown into grief and will be attempting to find their way through this journey, especially due to the pandemic. As a devoted helper, I will share a few things that have guided me in my journey…

By the Numbers: 1 February 2021

By Shirl Kennedy  on 01.02.2021 12:36 pm

46%

The percentage of "COVID-19 cases diagnosed in active-duty military personnel through the end of fiscal 2020" that were concentrated in four military occupation fields -- repair, engineering, communications, and intelligence -- according to a recent article in Military Times reporting on an article in the December 2020 issue of the Defense Health Agency's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report.

Research Update: 28 January 2021

By Shirl Kennedy  on 28.01.2021 11:18 am
Research Update Icon

The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include: 
● Virtual Reality Exposure Simulation for Student Veteran Social Anxiety and PTSD: A Case Study.
● Gender Differences in Mental Health Screening Outcomes Among U.S. Marines in Combat Support Occupations.
● Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Their Relationship to Health-Related Behaviors in Over 12,000 US Military Personnel: Bi-Directional Associations.

Staff Perspective: Pandemic Environment, Combat, and Depression – How Memory and Tradition Can Help

By Debra Nofziger  on 25.01.2021 8:34 pm

The ongoing pandemic has created an environment of chronic stress, fear, tension and vigilance. While this is a difficult combination for all of us to experience, it can be especially difficult for those who have experienced this combination before, such as our combat Veterans. Traditions and rituals can help us remember more peaceful times and experience subsequent emotions, temper difficult memories from our past and stress of our present.  

By the Numbers: 25 January 2021

By Shirl Kennedy  on 25.01.2021 1:26 pm

80%

The percentage of "recruits who exceeded the weight-for-height standards but subsequently entered the military because they passed the standards later or received a waiver" who "left the military before completing their first term of enlistment but after the expenditure of training costs," according to a recent Congressional Research Service "In Focus" report -- Obesity in the United States and Effects on Military Recruiting.

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