ABSTRACT
Military personnel who deploy in support of combat operations serve in a variety of unusual contexts and face a wide range of personal and professional challenges. Some of these challenges are common to most, if not all, service members. Other challenges are unique to the circumstances, roles, and responsibilities of a particular soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine. The most obvious and lethal challenge deployed service members face is combat itself. Data from four U.S. combat infantry units who deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq provide evidence for high levels of combat experience (Hoge et al., 2004). Of Army personnel who deployed to Iraq, 93% reported being shot at or receiving small arms fire and 95% saw dead or seriously injured Americans. Out of this group, 50% reported handling or uncovering human remains, and 48% were responsible for the death of an enemy combatant. In a follow-up, populationbased study of soldiers returning from Iraq (Milliken, Auchterlonie, & Hoge, 2007), researchers again documented high rates of difficult combat experiences. Specifically, 70% of reserve and 66% of active-duty soldiers reported potentially traumatic combat experiences during their deployment.
