| Summary: | <p>The Global War on Terror has routinely exposed military personnel to PTSD qualifying traumatic events. Scant research has included a military training and occupational context among combat Veteran populations who leave military service. This retrospective cohort study explored the influence of pre-exposure training on the relationship between combat exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and functioning impairments after discharge from military service. The results confirmed an occupational associated exposure risk for approximately 15% of the US military. Despite the combative specialty Veteran experiencing more combat in frequency and intensity, there were no differences in PTSS or functioning impairment any time after discharge or within the last thirty days between occupational cohorts. The study concluded that combative occupational training is protective against the effects of battle exposure experiences, but not post battle experiences. The study results suggest that military organizational resilience training is not effective in bolstering hardiness after discharge and transitioning into the civilian population. These findings support the creation of a military occupational mental health model for future PTSD diagnosis and treatment for combat Veteran populations.
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