CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Military-Connected Well-Being Issues Jennifer E. C. Lee and Sanela Dursun Together, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are among the most hostile con- flicts seen in recent history. Since 2001, over 2.7 million U.S. troops have been deployed in support of these operations, while over 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members have been deployed in support of the mission in Afghanistan (Ramchand, Rudavsky, Grant, Tanielian, & Jaycox, 2015 Zamorski & Boulos, 2014). There have been more than 8,000 military casu- alties among members of the coalition and over 52,000 U.S. military person- nel wounded in action for the conflicts combined (Defence Casualty Analysis System, 2016). Furthermore, it is widely recognized that the impacts of war go beyond the immediate fatalities and injuries. Having faced extreme stress and hostile situations, military personnel are at increased risk of experienc- ing mental health problems. These “invisible wounds” of war have garnered a great deal of attention in recent years (Tanielian & Jaycox, 2008), with research on the mental health impacts of recent conflicts in Southwest Asia having surged over the past decade and a half. A number of well-designed epidemiological studies have now contributed to a better understanding of the overall burden of postdeployment mental health outcomes, such as post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Averill, Fleming, Holens, & Larsen, 2015).
Previous Page Next Page