Abstract

Six months after the end of the Gulf War, 95 non-Regular Services health care professionals called-up and volunteers were recruited opportunistically to a study of their social, psychological and health reactions to the experiences from participation in this event. This part of the study focusses upon their reactions to and expectations of pre-departure mobilization and their subsequent deployment in the Gulf. During pre-deployment anticipatory fear was expressed often with excitement at the prospect of going to war. The reality of war, once they had arrived in the Gulf was of a different and more intense fear than before departure and some tried hard to disguise this emotion in order to not be seen as weak. Fear was not the most difficult aspect coped with during deployment, rather inter-military disharmony between the three groups of Reservists, those in the TA and Regular soldiers was identified as being the most difficult Some Reservists blamed their late arrival in the Gulf as a cause of feeling ‘outsiders’ to ‘in’ groups, while those in the TA complained that their rank was disrespected by Regulars’. Poor management by senior command officers was often blamed for not taking action to resolve this problem. Reservists were found to have the most difficult time in the Gulf perhaps because their expectations of Regulars in particular was that the latter were not as able as they were when in full time service.

Keywords: Gulf war; Health care professionals; Reservists; Pre deployment; Deployment