• Corpus ID: 33561609

Comparison of Civilian Trauma and Combat Trauma

@inproceedings{Vincenzes2013ComparisonOC,
  title={Comparison of Civilian Trauma and Combat Trauma},
  author={Kristin A. Vincenzes and Vincenzes},
  year={2013}
}

• Kristin A. Vincenzes, Vincenzes
• Published 2013
• Political Science

In an attempt to understand the impacts of multiple deployments on military service members, the author illustrates a comparison between civilian traumas and combat traumas. Furthermore, civilian single and multiple traumatic experiences are compared to military single and multiple traumas as experienced by veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The author presents a literature review to compare these traumas in an effort to decipher potential differences in military veterans. Implications for counselors and researchers are noted. As of 2007, the United States had sent 1.4 million military troops to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan (Korb, Rundlet, Bergmann, Duggan, & Juul, 2007). Due to the increasing needs in these two countries, 31 brigades (more than 420,000 troops) have served two or more tours in Iraq or Afghanistan (Korb et al., 2007; Tanielian & Jaycox, 2008). To further complicate the matters, numerous brigades who served in Iraq returned home for less than one year before deploying back to Iraq or Afghanistan for another tour (Korb et al., 2007). With the number of troops serving more than one tour, there are likely to be repercussions and lasting effects on these men and women who have little time to recover before serving abroad again. Of the men and women who served multiple combat tours, an Army survey revealed that soldiers are 50% more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) if they serve more than one tour (Army Medical Department, 2008). Due to the relative newness of OIF and OEF, there are various deficiencies and gaps in the literature. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will be on multiple traumas and its relationship to combat veterans who served more than one tour to Iraq and/or Afghanistan. The paper will discuss civilian trauma (trauma experienced by someone not in the military) and the symptoms that may be found in relation to one’s experiences. In addition, multiple civilian traumas will be compared to a single traumatic experience in Ideas and Research You Can Use: VISTAS 2013 2 an effort to illustrate the differences that may occur when trauma is compounded. Next, military combat trauma will be discussed emphasizing trauma symptoms for veterans, which are different than those experienced through civilian trauma. In conclusion, implications for counselors, counselor educators, and future research will be discussed. During the literature research, I attempted to find various articles that pertained to traumatic incidents. Various articles pertaining to the topic were found; however, there was a paucity of research pertaining directly to the effects of multiple deployments on active duty combat veterans. In order to make connections among the current research, I reviewed single and multiple traumas within communities that excluded military veterans as participants. In addition, I examined the literature pertaining to the veterans who served single deployments to the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The impacts of these wars were needed to discuss the correlation (or lack thereof) to PTSD, post-traumatic stress symptomology (PTSS), depression, and alcohol use. Due to the increased number of soldiers that serve more than one deployment (Korb et al., 2007) and the paucity of research on this particular community of individuals, it is important that we understand the magnitude of the impact that several deployments may have on an individual. These effects could create ripples that may be seen in crime rates with veteran involvement, healthcare costs of veterans, increased divorce rates in this population, and increased domestic violence among the military population.