Once a Warrior—Always a Warrior

May 15, 2010
Retired army physician Hoge (research director, Division of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Inst. of Research) addresses the psychological problems returning combat veterans face and the social stigma attached to seeking mental health care. As a remedy, he redefines their symptoms as a physiological condition including behaviors that had been necessary for combat survival but are less functional in a civilian setting. Beginning with a discussion of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), including incidence, checklists of symptoms, causes, and associated conditions, and the current professional debate over whether combat-related reactions are based on psychological (PTSD) or physical causes (MTBI), Hoge then presents his own system for managing transition problems. Skills for life survival, managing stress, monitoring feelings and emotions, and navigating the mental health-care system are outlined. Strategies for family members are offered, and the book concludes with a section on loss and coping. VERDICT More self-help and less policy-oriented than Victor Montgomery III's "Healing Suicidal Veterans", this work addresses a similar audience by using the language of military camaraderie and acknowledging that war changes people in ways only other warriors may fully grasp. A workmanlike but user-friendly guide for returning combat vets experiencing a broad variety of adjustment problems.Antoinette Brinkman, MLS, Evansville, IN

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