Doug Thompson; Ashley Fisher, MA The war in Iraq is the largest and longest sustained combat operation by the U.S. military since the Vietnam war. An estimated nearly 2 million U.S. military personnel have been deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom [1]. Dr. Chuck Scoville, Col. Ret., Chief of Amputee Patient Care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, stated that as o...

Many political scientists and policymakers argue that unmediated events—the successes and failures on the battlefield—determine whether the mass public will support military excursions. The public supports war, the story goes, if the benefits of action outweigh the costs of conflict. Other scholars contend that the balance of elite discourse influences public support for war. I draw upon survey...

BACKGROUND The present study aimed to determine the rate and cause of the mortality of the Iranian ex-prisoners of war in Iraqi detention camps during a ten- year period (1980 - 1990) according to the documented reports. METHODS The information extracted from the documented death certifications that have been provided by the Iraqi authorities and the Red Cross delegation. RESULTS At least a...

Chemical warfare agents are the most brutal weapons among the weapons of mass destruction. Sulfur mustard (SM) is a potent toxic alkylating agent known as “the King of the Battle Gases”. SM has been the most widely used chemical weapon during the wars. It was widely used in World War I. Thereafter, it was extensively employed by the Iraqi troops against the Iranian military personnel and even c...

Thermal injury historically constitutes approximately 5% to 20% of conventional warfare casualties. This article reviews medical planning for burn care during war in Iraq and experience with burns during the war at the US Army Burn Center; aboard the USNS Comfort hospital ship; and at Combat Support Hospitals in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Two burn surgeons were deployed to the military hospital i...

CONTEXT The effects of war-zone deployment on neuropsychological health remain poorly understood. Neuropsychological performance deficits serve as sensitive measures of neural dysfunction and are often associated with psychosocial and occupational problems. Previous studies have not conducted objective neuropsychological assessments both before and after a major war-zone deployment. OBJECTIVE...