Because of a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (10-20%) among veterans seeking care in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, current US military forces were evaluated for HCV infection. Banked serum samples were randomly selected from military personnel serving in 1997 and were tested for antibody to HCV (anti-HCV). Overall prevalence of anti-HCV among 10,000 active-...

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BACKGROUND The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in the highest rates of combat casualties experienced by the U.S. military since the Vietnam conflict. These casualties suffer wounds that have no common civilian equivalent and more frequently require massive transfusion (greater than 10 units of packed red blood cells [PRBCs] in less than 24 hrs) than civilian injured. DISCUS...

FeatuReS | 33 American-led interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan are drawing to an end and the political climate inside the Beltway has turned decidedly hostile toward large deployments of U.S. troops and civilians overseas. Consequently, stability operations have dropped off the radar for many analysts and commentators. The policy community that once feverishly tackled questions over how to st...

Military and civilian first responders must be able to recognize and effectively manage mass disaster casualties. Clinical management of injuries resulting from nerve agents provides different challenges for first responders than those of conventional weapons. We evaluated the impact of a mixed-methods training program on competency acquisition in cholinergic crisis clinical management using mu...

United States veterans are a multifaceted population with a distinct culture that includes, but is not limited to, values, customs, ethos, selfless duty, codes of conduct, implicit patterns of communication, and obedience to command. Veterans experience mental health disorders, substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress, and traumatic brain injury at disproportionate rates compared to their...

BACKGROUND Women who have served in the military are a rapidly growing population. No previous studies have compared directly their health status to that of civilians. PURPOSE To provide estimates of several leading U.S. health indicators by military service status among women. METHODS Data were obtained from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, a U.S. population-based study...

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have seen the advancement of combat medicine. The nature of the conflicts, with troops located in remote areas and faced with explosive ordinance designed to focus massive injuries on dismounted personnel, have forced military medical personnel to adapt accordingly. There has been a rekindling of interest in the use of tourniquets to stop exsanguination fro...

The US military conducts missions that range from major ground combat operations to disaster and humanitarian relief efforts. A primary goal of military medical professionals is disease prevention, which can be made more difficult in the context of short preparation times and prolonged deployment duration. The military uses a 6-component approach to deployment medicine, emphasizing preparation,...