The health of UK civilians deployed to Iraq.

Background: Modern military operations have incorporated deployed civilians in a variety of roles (e.g. diplomats, private security staff).

The experiences of security industry contractors working in Iraq: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Objective: To explore the occupational experiences of private security contractors working in a war zone and how it impacts on their mental health.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven contractors employed by a large UK-based private security company. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the interview transcripts.

International military leaders' survey on operational stress.

Despite the importance of military leaders in moderating the impact of deployment stressors on unit members, little attention has focused on the training leaders receive in managing unit stress. As part of a NATO Research Panel (Human Factors and Medicine (HFM)-081/Research and Technology Organization Task Group (RTG)), 16 nations participated in a needs assessment survey of military leaders who had returned from an operation within the previous 2 years. Findings from 172 leaders emphasized the lack of training specifically geared for leaders to address operational stress issues for unit members and their families and the need for integrated mental health support across the deployment cycle.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Armed Forces: health economic considerations.

This paper addresses the use of health economics in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Armed Forces, with a view to assessing the feasibility of carrying out future evaluative studies. Although psychological and pharmacological interventions can be used to treat PTSD, no economic evaluations are known to exist. There is an economic burden associated with PTSD, and treatments require the use of scarce resources.