| Summary: | Since the start of the Global War on Terror, the Navy has provided individual augmentee (IA) sailors to support contingency operations in order for other Services to effectively perform their missions. This study analyzes the effects of IA deployments on the mental health outcome among Navy sailors. Data for this study came from three different sources: PERS-4G3 (Active Duty Augmentation Branch), Army Medical Surveillance Activity, and Defense Manpower Data Center. A multivariate analysis using probit models was used to estimate the effects. Analyses on the officer and enlisted models indicate that an IA deployment by itself does not appear to adversely affect mental and physiological health outcomes. However, an IA officer deployed to a hostile location substantially increases the probability of requiring a mental health referral compared to a non-IA officer who is also deployed to a hostile region. In contrast, an enlisted service member on an IA tour to a hostile location has a lower probability of an adverse mental and physiological health outcome compared to a non-IA enlisted service member who is also assigned to a hostile region. Due to the long period of manifestation of mental health problems, future study should follow up with those soldiers one year after the deployment.
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