Reserve Component Research Articles

Problems With Veteran–Family Communication During Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Military Deployment

Twenty Reserve component (Army and Marines) and Army National Guard male veterans of Operational Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom discuss their deployment and postdeployment family reintegration experiences. A Grounded Theory approach is used to highlight some of the ways in which family miscommunication during deployment can occur. Communication with civilian family members is affected by the needs of operational security, technical problems with communication tools, miscommunication between family members, or because veterans have "nothing new to say" to family back home. These communication difficulties may lead to an initial gulf of understanding between veterans and family members that can cause family strain during postdeployment family reintegration. We end with a discussion of veteran family reintegration difficulties.

Mental and Physical Health Status and Alcohol and Drug Use Following Return From Deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan

We examined (1) mental and physical health symptoms and functioning in US veterans within 1 year of returning from deployment, and (2) differences by gender, service component (Active, National Guard, other Reserve), service branch (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines), and deployment operation (Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom [OEF/OIF]). We surveyed a national sample of 596 OEF/OIF veterans, oversampling women to make up 50% of the total, and National Guard and Reserve components to each make up 25%. Weights were applied to account for stratification and nonresponse bias. Mental health functioning was significantly worse compared with the general population; 13.9% screened positive for probable posttraumatic stress disorder, 39% for probable alcohol abuse, and 3% for probable drug abuse. Men reported more alcohol and drug use than did women, but there were no gender differences in posttraumatic stress disorder or other mental health domains. OIF veterans reported more depression or functioning problems and alcohol and drug use than did OEF veterans. Army and Marine veterans reported worse mental and physical health than did Air Force or Navy veterans. Continuing identification of veterans at risk for mental health and substance use problems is important for evidence-based interventions intended to increase resilience and enhance treatment.

Acidocalcisomes as calcium- and polyphosphate-storage compartments during embryogenesis of the insect Rhodnius prolixus Stahl.

BackgroundThe yolk of insect eggs is a cellular domain specialized in the storage of reserve components for embryo development. The reserve macromolecules are stored in different organelles and their interactions with the embryo cells are mostly unknown. Acidocalcisomes are lysosome-related organelles characterized by their acidic nature, high electron density and large content of polyphosphate bound to several cations. In this work, we report the presence of acidocalcisome-like organelles in eggs of the insect vector Rhodnius prolixus.Methodology/Principal findingsCharacterization of the elemental composition of electron-dense vesicles by electron probe X-ray microanalysis revealed a composition similar to that previously described for acidocalcisomes. Following subcellular fractionation experiments, fractions enriched in acidocalcisomes were obtained and characterized. Immunofluorescence showed that polyphosphate polymers and the vacuolar proton translocating pyrophosphatase (V-H+-PPase, considered as a marker for acidocalcisomes) are found in the same vesicles and that these organelles are mainly localized in the egg cortex. Polyphosphate quantification showed that acidocalcisomes contain a significant amount of polyphosphate detected at day-0 eggs. Elemental analyses of the egg fractions showed that 24.5±0.65% of the egg calcium are also stored in such organelles. During embryogenesis, incubation of acidocalcisomes with acridine orange showed that these organelles are acidified at day-3 (coinciding with the period of yolk mobilization) and polyphosphate quantification showed that the levels of polyphosphate tend to decrease during early embryogenesis, being approximately 30% lower at day-3 compared to day-0 eggs.ConclusionsWe found that acidocalcisomes are present in the eggs and are the main storage compartments of polyphosphate and calcium in the egg yolk. As such components have been shown to be involved in a series of dynamic events that may control embryo growth, results reveal the potential involvement of a novel organelle in the storage and mobilization of inorganic elements to the embryo cells.

How Do They Compare?: An Assessment of Predeployment Fitness in the Arizona National Guard

Currently, there is a paucity of literature that describes physical fitness levels in deploying service members. There has been no data collected that evaluate the Army National Guard or Reserves. This descriptive study will provide physical fitness data for soldiers in the Arizona National Guard (AZNG), allowing for a comparison between the active and reserve components. Sixty soldiers from the AZNG were tested before deployment. Body composition was measured by using air displacement plethysmography. Flexibility testing included the sit and reach (SNR), trunk extension (TE), and shoulder elevation (SE) assessments. Muscular strength was determined by the completion of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) bench press and back squat. Muscular endurance was determined by the completion of the Army push-up (P/U) and sit-up (S/U) test. Muscular power was assessed by the completion of the Wingate cycle test and the standing broad jump (SBJ). Cardiorespiratory fitness was determined by the completion of a VO2peak test. The AZNG soldiers demonstrated a fat mass of 22.7 ± 8.9%, SNR, TE, and SE of 30.0 ± 8.9, 117.1 ± 25.2, and 145.5 ± 50.3 cm, 1RM bench press and back squat of 82.2 ± 29.9 and 104.6 ± 29.0 kg, P/U and S/U of 50 ± 18 and 53 ± 14 reps, peak power of 660.9 ± 177.8 W, SBJ of 191.8 ± 28.4 cm, and VO2peak of 48.9 ± 8.8 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1). This is the first study that provides descriptive data for physical fitness in a reserve component. The data demonstrate that these AZNG soldiers are relatively fit and have comparable results to their active duty counterparts. This descriptive data will provide military leadership a better understanding of the condition of soldiers before deployment and will assist them in better preparing soldiers for future conflicts.

Structural and Functional Imaging Correlates of Cognitive and Brain Reserve Hypotheses in Healthy and Pathological Aging

In the field of ageing and dementia, brain- or cognitive reserve refers to the capacity of the brain to manage pathology or age-related changes thereby minimizing clinical manifestations. The brain reserve capacity (BRC) hypothesis argues that this capacity derives from an individual's unique neural profile (e.g., cell count, synaptic connections, brain volume, etc.). Complimentarily, the cognitive reserve (CR) hypothesis emphasizes inter-individual differences in the effective recruitment of neural networks and cognitive processes to compensate for age-related effects or pathology. Despite an abundance of research, there is scarce literature attempting to synthesize the BRC the CR models. In this paper, we will review important aging and dementia studies using structural and functional neuroimaging techniques to investigate and attempt to assimilate both reserve hypotheses. The possibility to conceptualize reserve as reflecting indexes of brain plasticity will be proposed and novel data suggesting an intimate and complex correspondence between active and passive components of reserve will be presented.

The effect of activation on the post-activation civilian earnings of reservists

To fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of Defense has relied heavily on its reserve components. Among the hardships of activation is the possibility that reservists might suffer an earnings loss following their period of active-duty service due to difficulties reentering the civilian labor market. This paper reports estimates of the effect of activation on the post-activation civilian earnings of reservists employing administrative data on earnings and periods of activation. Our results indicate that reserve activations lead to moderate losses in civilian earnings in the year immediately following activation that disappear and turn to earnings gains in subsequent years.

Characteristics and Correlates of Cigarette Use Among Recent U.S. Veterans

Little is known about the smoking habits and cessation efforts of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom will seek health care services in the public sector. This project documents rates of smoking and quit attempts among veterans receiving Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) health care and describes the relationship between current smoking use/cessation and demographic characteristics, quality of life, and potential alcohol misuse. A large representative sample of Iraq/Afghanistan era veterans was surveyed using the VA Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients (Wright, Craig, Campbell, Schafer, & Humble, 2006). One third of respondents reported smoking during the past year and 24% reported currently smoking. Current smoking status was more prevalent among those who reported less education and lower household income. Current smoking status was also related to lower mental and physical health quality of life and higher potential alcohol misuse scores. Quit attempts were significantly less common among reserve component veterans and quitters reported higher incomes and were slightly older. The frequency of cigarette smoking among recent veterans underscores the importance of addressing smoking cessation efforts within this population. Individual characteristics associated with current smoking, cessation efforts, and relapse may help tailor cessation treatment for this growing cohort of new veterans.

Cognitive reserve and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers are independent determinants of cognition.

The objective of this study was to investigate how a measure of educational and occupational attainment, a component of cognitive reserve, modifies the relationship between biomarkers of pathology and cognition in Alzheimer's disease. The biomarkers evaluated quantified neurodegeneration via atrophy on magnetic resonance images, neuronal injury via cerebral spinal fluid t-tau, brain amyloid-β load via cerebral spinal fluid amyloid-β1–42 and vascular disease via white matter hyperintensities on T2/proton density magnetic resonance images. We included 109 cognitively normal subjects, 192 amnestic patients with mild cognitive impairment and 98 patients with Alzheimer's disease, from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative study, who had undergone baseline lumbar puncture and magnetic resonance imaging. We combined patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease in a group labelled ‘cognitively impaired’ subjects. Structural Abnormality Index scores, which reflect the degree of Alzheimer's disease-like anatomic features on magnetic resonance images, were computed for each subject. We assessed Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (cognitive behaviour section) and mini-mental state examination scores as measures of general cognition and Auditory–Verbal Learning Test delayed recall, Boston naming and Trails B scores as measures of specific domains in both groups of subjects. The number of errors on the American National Adult Reading Test was used as a measure of environmental enrichment provided by educational and occupational attainment, a component of cognitive reserve. We found that in cognitively normal subjects, none of the biomarkers correlated with the measures of cognition, whereas American National Adult Reading Test scores were significantly correlated with Boston naming and mini-mental state examination results. In cognitively impaired subjects, the American National Adult Reading Test and all biomarkers of neuronal pathology and amyloid load were independently correlated with all cognitive measures. Exceptions to this general conclusion were absence of correlation between cerebral spinal fluid amyloid-β1–42 and Boston naming and Trails B. In contrast, white matter hyperintensities were only correlated with Boston naming and Trails B results in the cognitively impaired. When all subjects were included in a flexible ordinal regression model that allowed for non-linear effects and interactions, we found that the American National Adult Reading Test had an independent additive association such that better performance was associated with better cognitive performance across the biomarker distribution. Our main conclusions included: (i) that in cognitively normal subjects, the variability in cognitive performance is explained partly by the American National Adult Reading Test and not by biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease pathology; (ii) in cognitively impaired subjects, the American National Adult Reading Test, biomarkers of neuronal pathology (structural magnetic resonance imaging and cerebral spinal fluid t-tau) and amyloid load (cerebral spinal fluid amyloid-β1–42) all independently explain variability in general cognitive performance; and (iii) that the association between cognition and the American National Adult Reading Test was found to be additive rather than to interact with biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease pathology.

Challenges and Opportunities for Intervening with Couples in the Aftermath of the Global War on Terrorism

The unique culture of the military family in the early part of the twenty-first century will be examined, including the high operational tempo, frequent geographic moves, high rates of service among women, and the unique constellation of deployed troops from Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve components. Challenges faced by these couples are described, followed by key issues for clinicians to assess. Several developing couple-based interventions will be described, followed by a vignette which will highlight the issues and opportunities for these couples. In addition to reviewing common difficulties among military families, the authors will highlight strengths inherent to the military culture that clinicians can utilize in helping families develop resiliency.

Home From Deployment: A Soldier’s Challenge

This is not surprising, given the fact that 55 percent and 49 percent of active and reserve component personnel, respectively, are married; and approximately 56 percent of active and reserve component personnel have a child or other dependent under their care (Department of Defense, 2009). In fact, Pentagon estimates suggest that nearly 900,000 service members with children have deployed to war since 2001, and approximately 234,000 children have one or both parents currently deployed to a combat zone (Zoroya, 2009).

Decades of transition for the US reserves: Changing demands on reserve identity and mental well-being

The US strategic defence policy has undergone dramatic changes in the last two decades, with more recent changes having placed increased demands on members of the reserve components. Rapid and often unexpected call-ups of reserves for operational missions, both domestic and international, required meeting standards for mobilization and deployment. Standards were in place but not necessarily met. Mobilizations pointed to several areas of unpreparedness; at first, obvious areas, such as members being physically unfit, inadequately trained and improperly equipped and less than competent unit leaders; and later, less obvious areas, in particular, emergent personal adjustment problems. During these mobilizations, unique consequences of stressors on individual reservists were evident, including worries about family and civilian job during deployment, adjustments to returning and reintegration, post-deployment post-traumatic stress disorder and related symptoms, and now suicide. Some have explained these findings, though lacking is a broad explanatory framework. Reserve identity is offered as a preliminary concept to interpret reservists’ deployment experiences, post-deployment adjustment, and associated mental health needs, providing a basis for preventive intervention strategies.

Access to Mental Health Services for Active Duty and National Guard TRICARE Enrollees in Indiana

Mental health problems are a well-known consequence of combat exposure, and the problem of barriers to receiving mental health care for veterans is well known. The current heavy reliance on reserve component soldiers may aggravate this problem. This study tries to characterize problems with access to mental health care for activated members of the National Guard reserve component, active duty service members, and their families in the state of Indiana. Data from a telephone survey of Indiana mental health providers listed in the TRICARE provider revealed that only 25% were accepting new TRICARE patients, although regression analyses revealed that acceptance of patients was positively related to market population and negatively related to the number of deployed soldiers in the market. The primary barrier to obtain care appears to be the accuracy of the TRICARE provider list.

Deployment and the Citizen Soldier

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made unprecedented demands on the nation's citizen soldiers, the National Guard and Reserve. A major concern involves the repeated deployment of these forces overseas. Using data from the Department of Defense Survey of Health Related Behaviors among the Guard and Reserve Force, we examined the effects of deployment on 6 health outcomes. The Department of Defense Survey of Health Related Behaviors among the Guard and Reserve Force is a sample (n = 17,754) of all Reserve component personnel (including full time and/or activated Guard and Reservists) serving in all pay grades throughout the world. We relied on inverse probability of treatment weights to adjust for observed confounders and used sensitivity analyses to examine the sensitivity of our findings to potential unobserved confounding. Observed confounders explain much of the apparent effect of deployment. For men, the adjusted relationships could very well reflect further confounding involving unobserved factors. However, for women, effects of deployment on marijuana use, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation are robust to adjustments for multiple testing and possible unobserved confounding. These effects are large in practical terms and troubling but suggest that media reports of the harm caused by deployment may be overstated. Such exaggerations run the risk of stigmatizing those who serve.

Epilogue: Theoretical and Comparative Notes on Reserve Forces

This concluding epilogue places the individual studies presented in the special volume in wider perspective. The importance of studying reserve forces centers on (1) their centrality in missions carried out by the militaries of the contemporary industrial democracies and (2) their unique cultural and organizational characteristics. Concretely, reserve components are a foundation for the legitimacy of the military, yet are often a source for criticism of missions; they provide a ready pool of manpower but one that is sometimes expensive; their skills are sometimes needed but their military abilities do not always meet the perceived standards of standing forces’ professionals. Research into this military group that is situated between the military and civil society clarifies not only the interlinkages between these spheres but also their dynamic and contextual nature.

Development and Initial Validation of the Response to Stressful Experiences Scale

This report describes the development and initial validation of the Response to Stressful Experiences Scale (RSES), a measure of individual differences in cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to stressful life events. We validated this instrument with active-duty and reserve components of military and veterans samples (N = 1,014). The resulting 22-item scale demonstrated sound internal consistency (alpha = 0.91-0.93) and good test-retest reliability (r = 0.87). Factor analysis suggested 5 protective factors: (a) meaning-making and restoration, (b) active coping, (c) cognitive flexibility, (d) spirituality, and (e) self-efficacy. Associations with other measures supported convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. In separate military samples, the RSES accounted for unique variance in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms above and beyond existing scales measuring resilience-related constructs, thereby demonstrating incremental validity. The RSES provides a brief, reliable, and valid measure of individual differences in cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to life's most stressful events.

The Governor’s Focus on Servicemembers, Veterans, and Their Families

The Governor's Focus on Servicemembers, Veterans, and Their Families is a coalition of federal, state, and local agencies and professional and consumer organizations. Its goal is to develop and maximize public and private services and supports for service members in active and reserve components of the armed forces, veterans, and their families.

The Theory of Planned Behavior and Reserve Component Veteran Treatment Seeking

The theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1985) was used to predict whether Reserve Component veterans reported seeking treatment for a psychological problem. In support of the TPB, perceived stigma and beliefs about psychological problems were related to the overall attitude toward treatment seeking, and practical barriers were related to perceived control. A series of logistic regressions revealed that overall attitude and beliefs that psychological problems should not be handled oneself were uniquely related to treatment for the psychological problem. Results are discussed in terms of novel interventions needed to change perceptions of psychological problems.

Perceived burden in spouses of National Guard/Reserve service members deployed during Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom

Spouses of combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience elevated psychological distress. Recent research indicates that spouses’ perceptions of burden may be one mechanism of such distress, but there are several gaps in this literature. No research has examined perceived burden in relation to symptoms other than PTSD or subclinical levels of psychological distress, and very little research has focused on characteristics of spouses that may be related to their perceptions of burden. The current study examined these variables in 130 spouses of reserve component troops deployed during Operations Enduring/Iraqi Freedom. Spouses’ burden was positively associated with symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety in service members, regardless of clinical severity. Moreover, burden fully mediated the relation between each type of symptom and spouses’ own psychological distress. Furthermore, levels of burden were significantly related to spouses’ neuroticism, avoidant coping, and self-efficacy, but only avoidant coping remained a significant predictor of burden when accounting for service members’ distress. These results suggest that a broad range of service members’ symptoms are related to spouses’ burden and distress, and although individual characteristics of spouses may be related to their perceptions of burden, service members’ symptoms play a primary role.

Screening for Alcohol Misuse and Alcohol-Related Behaviors Among Combat Veterans

Screening for Alcohol Misuse and Alcohol-Related Behaviors Among Combat Veterans

Coarse woody debris stocks as a function of forest type and stand age in Costa Rican tropical dry forest: long-lasting legacies of previous land use

The ecological importance of trees lasts much longer than their life spans. Standing dead trees (snags) and fallen trunks and branches are an important component of above-ground carbon stocks and nutrient reserves, provide habitat for wildlife, and interact with disturbance regimes (e.g. by serving as fuel for fires) (Clark et al. 2002, Harmon et al. 1986, Pyle et al. 2008). Despite these diverse functions, woody debris stocks remain poorly quantified in tropical forests in general (Brown 1997), and in tropical dry forests in particular (Harmon et al. 1995). More empirical studies of the patterns of woody debris and processes that control its dynamics are needed to understand its role in global biogeochemical cycles and for ecosystem simulation models, many of which do not represent coarse woody debris (CWD) as a separate pool (Cornwell et al. 2009).