Signature Wounds

Signature Wounds
Author: David Kieran
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 543
Release: 2019-04-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1479824003

The surprising story of the Army’s efforts to combat PTSD and traumatic brain injury The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a tremendous toll on the mental health of our troops. In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama took to the Senate floor to tell his colleagues that “many of our injured soldiers are returning from Iraq with traumatic brain injury,” which doctors were calling the “signature wound” of the Iraq War. Alarming stories of veterans taking their own lives raised a host of vital questions: Why hadn’t the military been better prepared to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI)? Why were troops being denied care and sent back to Iraq? Why weren’t the Army and the VA doing more to address these issues? Drawing on previously unreleased documents and oral histories, David Kieran tells the broad and nuanced story of the Army’s efforts to understand and address these issues, challenging the popular media view that the Iraq War was mismanaged by a callous military unwilling to address the human toll of the wars. The story of mental health during this war is the story of how different groups—soldiers, veterans and their families, anti-war politicians, researchers and clinicians, and military leaders—approached these issues from different perspectives and with different agendas. It is the story of how the advancement of medical knowledge moves at a different pace than the needs of an Army at war, and it is the story of how medical conditions intersect with larger political questions about militarism and foreign policy. This book shows how PTSD, TBI, and suicide became the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, how they prompted change within the Army itself, and how mental health became a factor in the debates about the impact of these conflicts on US culture.

Signature Wounds

Signature Wounds
Author: David Kieran
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 411
Release: 2019-04-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 147989236X

The surprising story of the Army’s efforts to combat PTSD and traumatic brain injury The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a tremendous toll on the mental health of our troops. In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama took to the Senate floor to tell his colleagues that “many of our injured soldiers are returning from Iraq with traumatic brain injury,” which doctors were calling the “signature wound” of the Iraq War. Alarming stories of veterans taking their own lives raised a host of vital questions: Why hadn’t the military been better prepared to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI)? Why were troops being denied care and sent back to Iraq? Why weren’t the Army and the VA doing more to address these issues? Drawing on previously unreleased documents and oral histories, David Kieran tells the broad and nuanced story of the Army’s efforts to understand and address these issues, challenging the popular media view that the Iraq War was mismanaged by a callous military unwilling to address the human toll of the wars. The story of mental health during this war is the story of how different groups—soldiers, veterans and their families, anti-war politicians, researchers and clinicians, and military leaders—approached these issues from different perspectives and with different agendas. It is the story of how the advancement of medical knowledge moves at a different pace than the needs of an Army at war, and it is the story of how medical conditions intersect with larger political questions about militarism and foreign policy. This book shows how PTSD, TBI, and suicide became the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, how they prompted change within the Army itself, and how mental health became a factor in the debates about the impact of these conflicts on US culture.

Atlas of Conducted Electrical Weapon Wounds and Forensic Analysis

Atlas of Conducted Electrical Weapon Wounds and Forensic Analysis
Author: Jeffrey D. Ho
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2012-06-15
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1461435439

Atlas of Conducted Electrical Weapon Wounds and Forensic Analysis provides a comprehensive publication on the subject of Conducted Electrical Weapon (CEW) wounds and signature markings created by this class of weapon. This volume will serve as a very useful resource for all professions tasked with assisting persons that have allegedly been subjected to a CEW exposure. The volume provides an introduction to basic CEW technology and the types of CEWs currently available. It also serves as a comprehensive pictorial atlas of signature markings that CEW exposures make in the immediate and more remote post-exposure periods. Also, it discusses the ability of forensic specialty examinations of the CEW itself to aid in the determination of whether the alleged CEW exposure is consistent with the objective evidence and the subjective statements. Finally, this text addresses the important and growing area of factitious CEW markings that will be useful for consideration by investigators and litigators. Atlas of Conducted Electrical Weapon Wounds and Forensic Analysis provides an objective atlas of evidence for reference that will benefit those professionals who often must make diagnostic, treatment or legal judgments on these cases including Emergency and Primary-Care Physicians, Medical Examiners, Forensic Pathologists, Coroners, Law Enforcement Investigators, and Attorneys.

Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts

Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts
Author: Patricia P. Driscoll
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2009-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1935149016

Compelling stories of American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with what are now considered this war's signature injuries-- TBI and PTSD -- along with the experiences of our mental health professionals newly mobilized to assist them.

Translational Research in Traumatic Brain Injury

Translational Research in Traumatic Brain Injury
Author: Daniel Laskowitz
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2016-04-21
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1498766579

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant source of death and permanent disability, contributing to nearly one-third of all injury related deaths in the United States and exacting a profound personal and economic toll. Despite the increased resources that have recently been brought to bear to improve our understanding of TBI, the developme

Wounds to Bind

Wounds to Bind
Author: Jerry Burgan
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2014-04-10
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0810888629

The dawn of folk rock comes to life in Jerry Burgan’s unforgettable memoir of the pre-psychedelic 1960s and the summer that changed everything. As a naïve folksinger from Pomona, California, Burgan was thrust to the forefront of the counterculture and its aftermath. The Byrds, the Rolling Stones, the Mamas and Papas, Barry McGuire, Bo Diddley and many others make appearances in this 50th Anniversary reminiscence by the surviving cofounder of WE FIVE, the San Francisco electro-folk ensemble whose million-seller, "You Were On My Mind,” entered the world two months before Bob Dylan plugged in an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival. Vying with the Byrds to record the first folk-rock hit, Burgan and his lifelong friend Mike Stewart embarked on a road they thought well paved by the latter's older brother, Kingston Trio member John Stewart. Little did they realize that they would join the largest-ever American generation in an ecstatic, sometimes tortured, journey of invention and disillusion. Wounds to Bind bears witness to a lost and hopeful convergence in American history—that missing link between the folk and rock eras—when Bob Dylan and Sammy Davis Jr. were played on the same radio station in the same hour. A survivor of the human realignments, tragedies and triumphs that followed, Burgan tracks down the demons that drove the genius of We Five cofounder Mike Stewart and sheds light on the 40-year enigma of what became of the band’s reclusive lead singer, Beverly Bivens, a forerunner of Grace Slick, Linda Ronstadt, and Stevie Nicks.

Photobiomodulation in the Brain

Photobiomodulation in the Brain
Author: Michael R. Hamblin
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 658
Release: 2019-07-13
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0128153067

Photobiomodulation in the Brain: Low-Level Laser (Light) Therapy in Neurology and Neuroscience presents the fundamentals of photobiomodulation and the diversity of applications in which light can be implemented in the brain. It will serve as a reference for future research in the area, providing the basic foundations readers need to understand photobiomodulation's science-based evidence, practical applications and related adaptations to specific therapeutic interventions. The book covers the mechanisms of action of photobiomodulation to the brain, and includes chapters describing the pre-clinical studies and clinical trials that have been undertaken for diverse brain disorders, including traumatic events, degenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. - Provides a much-needed reference on photobiomodulation with an unprecedented focus on the brain and its disorders - Features a body of world-renowned editors and chapter authors that promote research, policy and funding - Discusses the recent and rapid accumulation of literature in this area of research and the shift towards the use of non-invasive techniques in therapy

Invisible Wounds of War

Invisible Wounds of War
Author: Terri L. Tanielian
Publisher: Rand Corporation
Total Pages: 499
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0833044540

Since October 2001, approximately 1.64 million U.S. troops have been deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. Early evidence suggests that the psychological toll of these deployments -- many involving prolonged exposure to combat-related stress over multiple rotations -- may be disproportionately high compared with the physical injuries of combat. In the face of mounting public concern over post-deployment health care issues confronting OEF/OIF veterans, several task forces, independent review groups, and a Presidential Commission have been convened to examine the care of the war wounded and make recommendations. Concerns have been most recently centered on two combat-related injuries in particular: post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. With the increasing incidence of suicide and suicide attempts among returning veterans, concern about depression is also on the rise. The study discussed in this monograph focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and traumatic brain injury, not only because of current high-level policy interest but also because, unlike the physical wounds of war, these conditions are often invisible to the eye, remaining invisible to other servicemembers, family members, and society in general. All three conditions affect mood, thoughts, and behavior; yet these wounds often go unrecognized and unacknowledged. The effect of traumatic brain injury is still poorly understood, leaving a large gap in knowledge related to how extensive the problem is or how to address it. RAND conducted a comprehensive study of the post-deployment health-related needs associated with these three conditions among OEF/OIF veterans, the health care system in place to meet those needs, gaps in the care system, and the costs associated with these conditions and with providing quality health care to all those in need. This monograph presents the results of our study, which should be of interest to mental health treatment providers; health policymakers, particularly those charged with caring for our nation's veterans; and U.S. service men and women, their families, and the concerned public. All the research products from this study are available at http://veterans.rand.org. Data collection for this study began in April 2007and concluded in January 2008. Specific activities included a critical reviewof the extant literature on the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and traumatic brain injury and their short- and long-term consequences; a population-based survey of service members and veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq to assess health status and symptoms, as well asutilization of and barriers to care; a review of existing programs to treat service members and veterans with the three conditions; focus groups withmilitary service members and their spouses; and the development of a microsimulation model to forecast the economic costs of these conditions overtime. Among our recommendations is that effective treatments documented in the scientific literature -- evidence-based care -- are available for PTSD and major depression. Delivery of such care to all veterans with PTSD or majordepression would pay for itself within two years, or even save money, by improving productivity and reducing medical and mortality costs. Such care may also be a cost-effective way to retain a ready and healthy military force for the future. However, to ensure that this care is delivered requires system-level changes across the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. health care system.

Brain Neurotrauma

Brain Neurotrauma
Author: Firas H. Kobeissy
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 718
Release: 2015-02-25
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1466565993

With the contribution from more than one hundred CNS neurotrauma experts, this book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account on the latest developments in the area of neurotrauma including biomarker studies, experimental models, diagnostic methods, and neurotherapeutic intervention strategies in brain injury research. It discusses neurotrauma mechanisms, biomarker discovery, and neurocognitive and neurobehavioral deficits. Also included are medical interventions and recent neurotherapeutics used in the area of brain injury that have been translated to the area of rehabilitation research. In addition, a section is devoted to models of milder CNS injury, including sports injuries.

Substance Use Disorders in the U.S. Armed Forces

Substance Use Disorders in the U.S. Armed Forces
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2013-03-21
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309260558

Problems stemming from the misuse and abuse of alcohol and other drugs are by no means a new phenomenon, although the face of the issues has changed in recent years. National trends indicate substantial increases in the abuse of prescription medications. These increases are particularly prominent within the military, a population that also continues to experience long-standing issues with alcohol abuse. The problem of substance abuse within the military has come under new scrutiny in the context of the two concurrent wars in which the United States has been engaged during the past decade-in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn). Increasing rates of alcohol and other drug misuse adversely affect military readiness, family readiness, and safety, thereby posing a significant public health problem for the Department of Defense (DoD). To better understand this problem, DoD requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) assess the adequacy of current protocols in place across DoD and the different branches of the military pertaining to the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs). Substance Use Disorders in the U.S. Armed Forces reviews the IOM's task of assessing access to SUD care for service members, members of the National Guard and Reserves, and military dependents, as well as the education and credentialing of SUD care providers, and offers specific recommendations to DoD on where and how improvements in these areas could be made.