• Nikki E Barczak-Scarboro, Lisa M Hernández, and Marcus K Taylor.
• Leidos Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA.
• Mil Med. 2023 Mar 20; 188 (3-4): e646e652e646-e652.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the unique and combined associations of various military stress exposures with positive and negative mental health symptoms in active duty service members.Materials And MethodsWe investigated 87 male U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians (age M ± SE, range 33.7 ± 0.6, 22-47 years). Those who endorsed a positive traumatic brain injury diagnosis were excluded to eliminate the confounding effects on mental health symptoms. Using a survey platform on a computer tablet, EOD technicians self-reported combat exposure, deployment frequency (total number of deployments), blast exposure (vehicle crash/blast or 50-m blast involvement), depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, perceived stress, and life satisfaction during an in-person laboratory session.ResultsWhen controlling for other military stressors, EOD technicians with previous involvement in a vehicle crash/blast endorsed worse mental health than their nonexposed counterparts. The interactions of vehicle crash/blast with deployment frequency and combat exposure had moderate effect sizes, and combat and deployment exposures demonstrated protective, rather than catalytic, effects on negative mental health scores.ConclusionsMilitary stressors may adversely influence self-reported symptoms of negative mental health, but deployment experience and combat exposure may confer stress inoculation.© The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2021. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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