Assignment Iraq

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)

U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

State Department Iraq Pages

United Nations News on Iraq

Library of Congress Country Study

CIA World Factbook

USAID Assistance to Iraq

Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force (Department of Commerce)  

Iraq Peacebuilding Links (Peacemakers Trust)

First-Person Accounts on Iraq

United States Institute of Peace Oral History Interviews on Iraq

Foreign Service Journal March 2006 issue on Service in Iraq

Toolkit for an Iraq Assignment

International News Safety Institute (main site and Survival Tips - Word document)

Basics of Iraqi Arabic (online language learning)

Tips for Managing and Preventing Stress (brochure in PDF format)
A Guide to Managing Stress in Crisis Response Professions (longer material geared to managers)
Both from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

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," 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 offers an Elmo video on deployment that might be very helpful to view with younger children. Watch it online or download it at the Sesame Street site (lower left) or the Military Homefront site (scroll down).

Coming Home

High Stress Assignment Outbrief Program

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