Combat Mortuary Services

Combat, by its very definition, has the potential to expose those involved to traumatic events. It always has, and it always will. Stories told by veterans of every past conflict convince us of that fact. Clinicians and researchers who work with today's combat veterans in the wake of two ongoing wars hear these narratives firsthand. In addition, although their accounts include different political and geographical backdrops from those of previous conflicts, today's warriors recount impact events, moral injuries, fatigue, and loss in a manner consistent with those who have gone before them. These factors seem to provide the same threat of developing psychological sequelae from traumatic combat experiences today that they always have.

Knowing this risk, most who have served in combat would agree that there is one group in the current wartime scenario consistently facing the highest chance of exposure to all facets of combat stress injuries, including impact or horrific events, moral wounds, exhaustion, and loss or grief. They are the men and women who provide combat mortuary affairs services for their fallen comrades.

This entry focuses on the unique wartime experience of combat mortuary affairs personnel, with emphasis, presented as a case study, on one group who served in this capacity early in Operation Iraqi Freedom. It outlines the specific factors that faced this group and how those factors placed them at risk. It summarizes how the efforts of our uniformed services in addressing this special population led to changes in the experiences of mortuary services personnel. And it discusses the very real possibility of posttraumatic growth—rather than injury—for those who volunteer to serve in this arguably most traumatic mission combat has to offer.