Iraq War Educational Initiatives

The Global War on Terror has increased the need to get information into the hands of the people who are working with active-duty troops and veterans of these conflicts. A number of educational projects have been specifically designed to focus on these groups.

Videos

The National Center recently released two eagerly-awaited video sets: The New Warrior: Combat Stress and Wellness, targeted to the needs of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Women Who Served in Our Military. The films, in versions for veterans and their families as well as for providers, are soon to be distributed to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Vet Centers nationwide. These videos are narrated by television journalists Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley, who generously donated their time to the projects.

Training and Outreach

The Center continues to provide other materials, trainings and outreach efforts to returning veterans and their family members, collaborating with family programs, chaplains, and mental health services to facilitate reintegration. Topics covered included identifying war zone stress and other mental health responses to trauma, promotion of resilient functioning, and understanding differing expectations about homecoming. Programs have also incorporated the concept of ÒBattlemindÓ thinking, an Army-developed concept that refers to behaviors that are useful in combat but maladaptive back home.

The Center also provides training to military personnel. Throughout the country there are military commanders and mental health providers who educate instructors, practitioners, and family members to identify combat stress and promote resilient functioning, assess trauma-related sequelae, and evaluate early interventions for PTSD. National Center staff provide on-site Òtrain the trainerÓ sessions at military installations and in communities where Reserve and Active Duty forces are located as well as provide education on evidence based treatments for PTSD.