The Foreign Service Institute's
High Stress Assignment Outbrief Program
Foreign Service and Civil Service employees from the State Department who have spent more than 90 days in Iraq or Afghanistan are required to attend. Additionally, any State employee serving at any high stress post is highly encouraged to attend. Employees of other non-State agencies are welcome to attend MQ-950.
General Iraq Information (News & Profiles)
Library of Congress Country Study
Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force (Department of Commerce)
Iraq Peacebuilding Links (Peacemakers Trust)
First-Person Accounts on Iraq
United States Institute of Peace provides two Oral History Interviews on Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Teams and The Iraq Experience Project
The Foreign Service Journal March 2010 article, Iraq and It's Neighbors: New Challenges as the U.S. Shifts Focus (PDF)
Toolkit for an Iraq Assignment
International News Safety Institute (main site and Safety Tips)
Basics of Iraqi Arabic (online language learning from the Defense Language Center)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers a variety of publications related to stress and managaing stress during a crisis. Two such publications are:
Tips for Managing and Preventing Stress (PDF)
A Guide to Managing Stress in Crisis Response Professions (PDF)
Managing Fatigue in Operational Settings
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Includes fact sheets, videos, guides for families and more
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Unaccompanied Assignments (PDF), Chapter 25 of the Foreign Service Assignment Notebook
Support during an Iraq Assignment
The Family Liaison Office offers support and information for unaccompanied tours. (Investigate the resources listed on the left menu bar).
The Transition Center offers the workshop Maintaining Long-Distance Relationships (MQ801), which identifies behaviors that strengthen relationships during separations. Participants can enroll directly by contacting the Transition Center by phone at (703) 302-7268, or FAX at (703) 302-7452 or e-mail at FSITCTraining@state.gov.
Sesame Street's Deployments, Homecomings, Changes and Grief website offers families many resources to help children cope during an unaccompanied tour.
Coming Home
High Stress Assignment Outbrief Program
NOTE: All non-U.S. Government links are for informational purposes only and do not imply endorsement of the sites or their privacy policies.
