Documented combat‐related mental health problems in military noncombatants

Although combat‐related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been documented for military combatants, little is known about PTSD in noncombatants. Active‐duty U.S. Air Force noncombatants (N = 5,367) completed a Post‐Deployment Health Assessment upon return from combat zones in Iraq (n = 4,408) or a noncombat zone in Qatar (n = 959). Those deployed to Iraq were significantly more likely to report exposure to someone who was wounded or killed (20.8% vs. 6.3%), feeling in great danger of being killed at some point during deployment (18.9% vs. 3.5%), symptoms of PTSD (4.1% vs. 0.7%), and symptoms of major depression (9.9% vs. 5.4%). These findings suggest that deployment to a war zone is associated with increased mental health problems, even for noncombatants.