Traumatic event management in Afghanistan: A field report on combat applications in Regional Command-South

Abstract

This article provides information on the use of Traumatic Event Management (TEM) strategies to debrief combat arms personnel whose units sustained traumatic losses in Afghanistan. The specific focus is on the application of Event-Driven Battlemind Psychological Debriefings to combat units. This article offers the first published account of TEM services employed in southern Afghanistan during intensive surge operations in 2009-2010. This article unfolds in three parts: (1) background to the region in which the debriefings occurred; (2) three case examples with a data summary of types of incidents observed; and (3) discussion of observations, lessons learned, and recommendations for training future clinicians to provide effective debriefings to combat arms personnel. © Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. All rights reserved.