Effects of Repeated Deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the Health of New Jersey Army National Guard Troops: Implications for Military Readiness

Abstract

Repeated OEF and OIF deployments may adversely affect the military readiness of New Jersey National Guard combat soldiers.

Epidemiology of psychiatric disorders sustained by a U.S. Army brigade combat team during the Iraq War

“…This has been delineated in great detail in studies of the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War [1][2][3][4][5]. Many recent studies have analyzed the medical aspects of the current Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Conflicts [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Several of these studies described the medical evacuation (MEDE-VAC) rates out of the combat theater and in-theater hospitalizations, with the finding that a psychiatric disorder was the primary cause in 6% to 8% of all evacuations and hospitalizations, ranking as the fourth to seventh most common etiology for disease and nonbattle injury (DNBI) [6,7,12,13].…”

Perceived danger during deployment: a Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone

“…Specifically, we included variables of previous deployments (yes/no), rank and gender. Studies hitherto have found a relatively consistent positive association between previous deployments and depression, as well as PTSD (Kline et al, 2010; Reger, Gahm, Swanson, & Duma, 2009; Xue et al, 2015). An association between lower rank and higher risk of post-deployment PTSD has also been found (Iversen et al, 2008; Xue et al, 2015).…”

Current and Projected Characteristics and Unique Health Care Needs of the Patient Population Served by the Department of Veterans Affairs

“…Another plausible predictor of Veterans' future health conditions is their experience while in active military service. In particular, deployment and exposure to combat may increase the risk of injury and chronic health conditions and exacerbate existing conditions, although the evidence is mixed (Buckman et al, 2009;Kline et al, 2010;Hoge, Auchterlonie, & Milliken, 2006;Dobkin and Shabani, 2009). This is particularly important for considering demand for VA health services, because Veterans with service-connected disabilities are placed in a higher priority group for enrollment in VA than those without such conditions.…”