English

DTIC ADA306149: The Army Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), Soldier Deployment and Military Family Separation During Operation Desert Shield/Storm (1991-1993).

Over 350,000 US soldiers were in the Persian Gulf Region during Operation Desert Shield and Storm (ODS/S). This deployment required rapid short-notice deployment of Active Army Units and Army Reserve and National Guard Unit Soldiers. The Individual Ready Reserve soldier was the focus of the present study. Given the fact that the reserve soldiers differ from active duty soldiers on a number of dimensions, the unique deployment and activation experiences of IRR soldiers offers a number of valuable lessons regarding the effects of stressors, stress buffers, mediators, and family and unit support. Of the findings, two were most significant: (1) Because Individual Ready Reservists were not a part of any particular unit, they and their families felt isolated in many respects and (2) soldiers and their families were still experiencing impact from their deployments several years after Operation Desert Shield and Storm.

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