Heavy Combat Research Articles

Nunc Dimittis

Woodrow R. Jenkins, 76, retired Poultry Scientist, SEA/Extension, USDA, Washington, D.C. died at his home in Seneca, South Carolina, on January 13, 1995. Jenkins was born on June 15, 1918 and grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana. He married Sara Rainbolt, also from Indiana, in 1944.Jenkins received the B.S. Degree in Poultry Husbandry in 1940 and the M.S. Degree in Physiology and Genetics in 1947, both from Purdue University.After receiving the B.S. degree, Jenkins worked for nearly two years as an assistant hatcheryman for Swift & Co. in Iowa. He joined the Armed Services in 1941, served as a Combat Infantry Unit Commander during heavy combat action in North Africa and Italy, then completed his military service in 1945. He returned to Purdue University for graduate studies from 1945 to 1948. He accepted the position as Extension Poultryman at Utah State University in 1948. He accepted the position …

Posttraumatic stress disorder, exposure to combat, and lower plasma cortisol among Vietnam veterans: findings and clinical implications.

Several clinical studies suggest that individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience neuroendocrine system alterations, resulting in significantly lower plasma cortisol. To test this hypothesis, morning serum cortisol was compared among a national sample of Vietnam "theater" veterans (n = 2,490) and a sample of Vietnam "era" veterans (n = 1,972) without service in Vietnam. Analysis of covariance was used to compare cortisol concentrations after adjusting for 9 covariates (education, income, race, age, smoking status, alcohol use, illicit drug use, medication use, and body mass index). Adjusted cortisol was lower among theater veterans with current PTSD but not era or theater veterans with lifetime PTSD. Among theater veterans, cortisol was inversely related to combat exposure, with veterans exposed to heavy combat having the lowest concentrations. Analysis of plasma cortisol, together with other clinical data, may be instrumental in the future diagnosis and treatment of stress disorders.

Combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in older men.

Nearly 25% of U.S. men aged 55 or older served in combat, yet its impact on aging is unknown. The relationship of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms to combat exposure was examined in 1,210 veterans of World War II (WWII) and the Korean War, who were participants in the Normative Aging Study. Over 54% of WWII and 19% of Korean veterans reported combat experience. The relationship between combat exposure and PTSD symptoms was stronger in the WWII cohort. The sample prevalence of PTSD by combat exposure ranged from 0% to 12.4%, differing by the PTSD measure. WWII veterans exposed to moderate or heavy combat had 13.3 times greater risk of PTSD symptoms measured 45 years later, compared with noncombat veterans. It is suggested that military service in general, and combat exposure in particular, is a "hidden variable" in the study of aging men.

Combat exposure and the etiology of postdischarge substance abuse problems among Vietnam veterans

This study finds a highly significant (p < 0.0002) relationship between combat exposure and problems with drugs or drinking too much following discharge from the Armed Forces among a large (N = 1,176) national random probability sample of Vietnam veterans. Exposure to heavy combat more than doubled a typical Vietnam veteran's risk of reporting a postdischarge substance abuse problem, as compared to what would have been expected had he served, but seen no combat, in Vietnam. Employing an ordinary least-squares multiple regression model, this study also found a highly significant relationship (p < 0.0001) between the self-report of a postdischarge substance abuse problem and age at assignment to Vietnam. These findings support the residual stress theory proposed by Figley (1978), as opposed to the stress evaporation hypothesis advanced by Borus (1973). Providing empirical support for the psychoanalytic construct of normal developmental lines advanced by Anna Freud (1965) and Erikson (1968), this study posits that younger Vietnam combat veterans, having achieved less developmental stability and personality integration than relatively older veterans, were therefore at greater risk for the subsequent emergence of substance abuse problems as a result of their exposure to combat.

Combat exposure and the etiology of postdischarge substance abuse problems among Vietnam veterans

AbstractThis study finds a highly significant (p &lt; 0.0002) relationship between combat exposure and problems with drugs or drinking too much following discharge from the Armed Forces among a large (N = 1,176) national random probability sample of Vietnam veterans. Exposure to heavy combat more than doubled a typical Vietnam veteran's risk of reporting a postdischarge substance abuse problem, as compared to what would have been expected had he served, but seen no combat, in Vietnam. Employing an ordinary least‐squares multiple regression model, this study also found a highly significant relationship (p &lt; 0.0001) between the self‐report of a postdischarge substance abuse problem and age at assignment to Vietnam. These findings support the residual stress theory proposed by Figley (1978), as opposed to the stress evaporation hypothesis advanced by Borus (1973). Providing empirical support for the psychoanalytic construct of normal developmental lines advanced by Anna Freud (1965) and Erikson (1968), this study posits that younger Vietnam combat veterans, having achieved less developmental stability and personality integration than relatively older veterans, were therefore at greater risk for the subsequent emergence of substance abuse problems as a result of their exposure to combat.

Vietnam veteran levels of combat: Related to later violence?

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not a relationship exists between levels of combat experienced by Vietnam veterans and later perceptions of violence, violent attitudes, or violent behavior. Comparison groups included (1) heavy combat Vietnam veterans, (2) light combat Vietnam veterans, (3) Vietnam era veterans, and (4) nonveterans (civilians). Based upon the results of this study, levels of combat appear to be unrelated to postwar violent attitudes. Also, neither heavy nor light combat Vietnam veterans appear to engage in violent behavior any more than their Vietnam era veteran or civilian peers.

Vietnam veteran levels of combat: Related to later violence?

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not a relationship exists between levels of combat experienced by Vietnam veterans and later perceptions of violence, violent attitudes, or violent behavior. Comparison groups included (1) heavy combat Vietnam veterans, (2) light combat Vietnam veterans, (3) Vietnam era veterans, and (4) nonveterans (civilians). Based upon the results of this study, levels of combat appear to be unrelated to postwar violent attitudes. Also, neither heavy nor light combat Vietnam veterans appear to engage in violent behavior any more than their Vietnam era veteran or civilian peers.

Combat experience and emotional health: impairment and resilience in later life.

War's influence on emotional health includes potential psychological gains as well as losses. In a sample of 149 veterans from longitudinal samples at the Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley, this study explores two questions on the legacy of combat in World War II and the Korean conflict. The first concerns the subjective experience or meanings of combat that veterans hold in later life, with particular attention to how such accounts are linked to the severity of combat and postwar adaptations. The second question links these accounts to the psychosocial functioning of veterans before the war and in later life using reports from veterans and their spouses and Q-sort ratings in adolescence and at age 40. Findings center on veterans of heavy combat. Compared to the noncombatants and light combat veterans, these men were at greater risk of emotional and behavioral problems in the postwar years. In mid-life, they hold mixed memories of painful losses and life benefits associated with military experience. Clinical ratings show that heavy combat veterans became more resilient and less helpless over time when compared to other men. As in the case of life events generally, short- and long-term effects may impair and enhance personal growth.

Alcoholism and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Combat Veterans

This article proposes that there is a much stronger correlation between alcohol-related problems and the symptomatology of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than has generally been recognized in clinical literature or in treatment programs for Vietnam veterans. The article describes the world of the Vietnam veteran both while in the war and since returning home. Through a review of pertinent literature, it establishes a rationale why Vietnam veterans, especially those exposed to prolonged periods of heavy combat, are at-risk to develop alcohol-related problems. It examines the correlation between alcohol-related problems and the symptomatology of PTSD, demonstrating how they synergistically interact with each other, which exacerbates both the alcoholism and the readjustment problems of Vietnam veterans. Finally, the article offers treatment considerations when working with alcoholic Vietnam veterans.

Wartime losses and social bonding: influences across 40 years in men's lives.

By 1990 over half of all American men entering the retirement years will be veterans with a life history shaped by participation in the Armed Forces. This investigation traces the burden of war mortality and social bonding across the life span of 149 veterans of World War II and the Korean conflict. These veterans come from longitudinal samples at the Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley. Data were also obtained from the record of a Marine unit that served on Iwo Jima. The study is organized around two lines of inquiry. The first examines the relationship between combat and social ties, with emphasis on exposure to combat deaths, the loss of comrades/friends, and postwar stress reactions. The second concerns the healing potential of social ties with service friends and spouses in later life. According to the analysis, heavy combat veterans are more likely than other veterans to have enduring ties from the service. But combat experience alone does not explain these ties; it is war trauma and especially the loss of significant others during war, both comrades and friends, that intensify and maintain postwar relationships. Painful memories of war and stress symptoms in later life are likely to weaken through exposure to a supportive community of service mates and spouses, an effect that suggests the healing potential of periodic reunions of the primary military unit and marital sharing.

Post-traumatic stress disorder in Hispanic Vietnam veterans. Clinical phenomenology and sociocultural characteristics.

The complex symptomatology of Hispanic Vietnam veterans receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) was explored with the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule, a structured diagnostic interview that yields current and lifetime operational diagnoses (e.g., DSM-III). Social networks and level of acculturation of these veterans were also examined and compared to those of a "control" group and a sample of veterans with DSM-III schizophrenic disorder (both samples included only Hispanic veterans from the Vietnam and post-Vietnam eras). All subjects reported heavy combat stress and met DSM-III criteria for PTSD. Most were very symptomatic and had significant social impairment. PTSD was rarely seen as a discrete entity but appeared instead mixed with symptom clusters cutting across various DSM-III diagnoses. Social networks of PTSD veterans were intermediate in size, frequency of contact with network members, and network density to those of the comparison groups. A distinctive feature of the PTSD group was the high proportion of negative relationships with close family members, especially spouses. "Highly" symptomatic PTSD veterans reported significantly smaller networks, fewer contacts outside the close family circle, and more negative emotionality directed toward family members than "minimally" symptomatic veterans. While all Hispanic groups studied were not significantly different in level of acculturation, PTSD veterans appeared more alienated from their cultural heritage than the other groups. The severe and polymorphous psychopathology found among these veterans suggests that "rap" groups alone may not constitute an adequate therapeutic approach and that more formal psychiatric therapies should be additionally considered in the management of Vietnam-linked PTSD.

Violence and Vietnam: a Comparison between Attitudes of Civilians and Veterans

Based on a multidimensional concept of violence, this study introduces a questionnaire permitting the assessment of general and specific orientations toward violence, and compares responses obtained from six representative groups: middle-aged males, females, college males, females, enlisted Vietnam veterans, and serving field grade officers. Findings indicate that among the civilian groups, middle-aged males are most positive toward violence, while college females are least positive. In the enlisted veteran and officer samples, those who report heavy combat experience have the highest general violence scores. Factor analyses reveal specific attitude patterns for the different samples, with violence in the service of law and order being the major dimension of response variance. Several implications are discussed.

Military communication equipment observed at winter tests

Task Force “Frost” operations during the months of January and February 1947 at Camp McCoy, Wis., were observed by representatives of several companies. Purpose of the task force was to service test items of equipment under heavy winter and simulated combat conditions. Observations and recommendations for improvement of the equipment tested are included.