This Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), “Wounds of War II: Coping with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Returning Troops,” was convened to discuss the topic of increased Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in service men and women around the world. Research has shown that those who have served in both combat missions and peacekeeping operations are at an increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research suggests that this may result from their “wounds of war”. Some wounds may be more “invisible”; such as depression, stress, and chronic pain, while others are more visibly apparent; such as physical disabilities. Whatever the wound, however, it seems they may all lead to an increased risk of PTSD. During this workshop, we discussed many aspects of military PTSD and how to more effectively deal with this issue. Specifically, some of the questions addressed were:

1. Vulnerability to PTSD: Are certain types of people at higher risk for getting PTSD (background, ethnicity, childhood trauma, etc)?

2. Diagnostic and Assessment Issues surrounding PTSD: Which methods are used to diagnose and assess the disorder?

3. Preventing PTSD in soldiers: What ways can the military prepare soldiers so they don’t develop PTSD?

4. Treatment of PTSD: What are the latest treatment and therapy opportunities for soldiers after they have been diagnosed with PTSD?

5. PTSD comorbid with other disorders: What are the symptoms and consequences associated with PTSD?

Through this workshop, we have come closer to understanding what programs are already in place in various countries for detection, assessment, prevention, and treatment. We have begun to learn from these existing plans and can start to formulate a more common set of best practices and guidelines which can be implemented throughout organizations in all our countries; having as our common goal to always seek to serve our service members more effectively.

This Advanced Research Workshop has given participants an opportunity to foster essential international collaborative research on military PTSD, a common and disabling consequence of war, terrorism, and natural disasters. As a result, it represents an important landmark in efforts to help soldiers and civilians of NATO and partner nations become more resilient in the face of international conflict.

This publication, which contains full papers focused on the key presentations during the workshop, acts as the permanent record of this event; a tangible documentation of the ideas that formed the basis of discussion and collaboration at the workshop. This text is organized to mirror the program from the event so as to provide an overview of the ideas of presenters and participants in the ARW.

Financial support for the workshop was provided by several sponsors. Great thanks to the primary funder, the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of the Croatian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the University Hospital Dubrava, the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC), and the Austrian Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The workshop was organized and this accompanying publication was compiled and edited jointly by the Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California, USA and the Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium. Professor Brenda K. Wiederhold, program Co-chair, conceived the overall design of the workshop and recruited Co-chairs Professor Dragica Kozarić Kovačić, of the University Hospital Dubrava in Zagreb, Croatia, Professor Kresimir Cosic, of University of Zagreb, the Croatian Parliament, and Colonel Carl Castro of the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command to help with the event. With the assistance of her Co-chairs, Dr. Wiederhold selected and invited the majority of the speakers and participants, and Conference Coordinators Mr. James Cullen and Ms. Emily Butcher organized logistics including registration, travel, lodging and meals, assembling of workshop materials, and other arrangements for the ARW. Professor Dragica Kozarić Kovačić and Professor Cosic extended invitations to several distinguished international speakers, further improving the quality of the workshop. A special thank you to Mag. Christian Marolt who uncovered the beautiful Austrian location where the event took place and Mr. John Law and Mr. Don Bui who were responsible for the artistic design of all event-related materials. Mr. Cullen along with Ms. Lily Saleh and Ms. Emily Butcher reviewed the conference program and full manuscripts, helping with editing and assembly of this and other associated texts.

B.K. Wiederhold