Through the Sand: Day 382: Short Timer Syndrome

CASE: 31 y/o male, Navy physician who has been deployed to Afghanistan for a year in support of US Army operations. As his first deployment, he has been assigned to a small forward operation base in the Southeastern province of Khowst where Taliban activity is highly prevalent and mortar/rocket attacks are commonplace. After 10 months of mentoring Afghan Army soldiers, running into bunkers for cover, eating with plastic silver ware, being subject to dial up speed internet, and providing medical care for US troops, he has now been offered to be released from theater to be back home with his family within the next 2 weeks.

A Popular Depiction of a Short Timer's Calendar

Since that time he has been experiencing a myriad of symptoms to include a heightened increase in morale, anxiety, restlessness, euphoria, and an intense urge to do nothing. He is often seen with big smile on his face as soldiers walk by him and refer to him as, "Short Timer", not realizing that they are only exacerbating his symptoms further.

DISCUSSION: The Short Timer's Syndrome, or STS, was described and studied in the military especially during the first 2 World Wars. The STS has been well-documented in every military conflict since that time. Associated with longer tours of duty, the STS is described as a shift in morale, rise in anxiety, and a withdrawl from commitment to combat. In many cases, the soldier has lost so much combat effectiveness that they had to be moved to noncombatant positions as the end of their tour approached. The behavioral patterns noted among short timers in the military can be dramatic, such as this classic description from 1967,

"There is the period of anxious apprehension, a potentially severe syndrome of emotional distress beginning mildly two to three months before rotation,but usually occurring obviously in the last three weeks of the tour and most marked the last three days prior to rotation. Irritability seems to alternate with euphoria. Pacing is a common sign. Quiet hard working individuals who for eleven and three quarters months have put up with deprivations, long working hours, and continually increased demands will suddenly behave in a rather inappropriate manner.”