Deployment experiences and postdeployment PTSD symptoms in National Guard/Reserve service members serving in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom

Abstract

This report provides basic data about risk and protective factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 189 Utah National Guard and Reserve troops who served during Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Based on comparisons with other published reports of active duty and National Guard/Reserve troops from prior conflicts, results suggest that OEF- and OIF-era National Guard and Reserve troops' combat and postbattle experiences are similar to those of active duty troops from prior conflicts (and higher than those of National Guard and Reserve troops from prior conflicts). Additionally, reported family and career concerns during deployment appeared higher in this sample than in prior samples of active duty or National Guard and Reserve troops. Moreover, such concerns accounted for unique variance in postdeployment PTSD when controlling for combat experiences, postbattle experiences, and perceived threat.