Accompanying CD-ROM contains graphic footage of various war wound surgeries.

It has been shown that those who have served in both combat missions and peacekeeping operations are at increased risk for pain syndromes. Research suggests that this may result from their “wounds of war.” Some wounds may be “invisible,” such as depression, stress, and chronic pain, while others, such as physical disabilities, are more obvious. In October 2011, twenty-seven scientists and representatives from NATO and partner countries met in Südkärnten, Austria for a three-day NATO Advanced Research Workshop entitled “Wounds of War: Pain Syndromes – From Recruitment to Returning Troops.” The aim of this publication, which presents papers from that workshop, is to critically assess the existing knowledge and to identify directions for future actions. The book addresses four key questions: 1. Vulnerability to Pain syndromes: Are certain types of people at a higher risk for pain syndromes (background, ethnicity, childhood trauma, etc.)? 2. Diagnosis and Assessment Issues of Pain Syndromes: Which methods are used to diagnose and assess pain? 3. Treatment of Pain Syndromes: What are the latest treatment and therapy opportunities for soldiers who experience pain syndromes? 4. Clinical Updates on Pain Syndromes: What can we learn from recent clinical updates on pain syndromes?

It has been shown that those who have served in both combat missions and peacekeeping operations are at increased risk for pain syndromes. Research suggests that this may result from their "wounds of war." Some wounds may be "invisible," such as depression, stress, and chronic pain, while others, such as physical disabilities, are more obvious. In October 2011, twenty-seven scientists and representatives from NATO and partner countries met in Südkärnten, Austria for a three-day NATO Advanced Research Workshop entitled "Wounds of War: Pain Syndromes - From Recruitment to Returning Troops."The aim of this publication, which presents papers from that workshop, is to critically assess the existing knowledge and to identify directions for future actions. The book addresses four key questions:1. Vulnerability to Pain syndromes: Are certain types of people at a higher risk for pain syndromes (background, ethnicity, childhood trauma, etc.)?2. Diagnosis and Assessment Issues of Pain Syndromes: Which methods are used to diagnose and assess pain?3. Treatment of Pain Syndromes: What are the latest treatment and therapy opportunities for soldiers who experience pain syndromes?4. Clinical Updates on Pain Syndromes: What can we learn from recent clinical updates on pain syndromes? ...

In 1983, when Evans came up with the vision for the first-ever memorial on the National Mall to honor women who’d worn a military uniform, she wouldn’t be deterred. She remembered not only her sister veterans, but also the hundreds of young wounded men she had cared for, as she expressed during a Congressional hearing in Washington, D.C.: “Women didn’t have to enter military service, but we stepped up to serve believing we belonged with our brothers-in-arms and now we belong with them at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. If they belong there, we belong there. We were there for them then. We mattered.” In the end, those wounded soldiers who had survived proved to be there for their sisters-in-arms, joining their fight for honor in Evans’ journey of combating unforeseen bureaucratic obstacles and facing mean-spirited opposition. Her impassioned story of serving in Vietnam is a crucial backstory to her fight to honor the women she served beside. She details the gritty and high-intensity experience of being a nurse in the midst of combat and becomes an unlikely hero who ultimately serves her country again as a formidable force in her daunting quest for honor and justice.