owerful bombs or improvised explosive devices, and drove along country roads, never knowing when they would drive into the next ambush. After returning to the U.S., these young men were among the huge number of soldiers and Marines (1.6 million and counting) who have suffered the devastating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms of this condition vary, but typically involve hypervigilance (jumpiness, irritability), detachment, avoidance of situations that trigger memories of the traumatic events, flashbacks and nightmares – as memories spring unbidden into consciousness, accompanied by drenching sweat, a pounding heart and other signs of system overload. Needless to say, living with these symptoms can feel like torture. To escape, some resorted to drugs, alcohol or even suicide. Surveys show that only half of those affected by PTSD seek help. According to one of the five men in our study (I’ll call him Joe), “My biggest fear was being unemployed and unmarketable in the work force. I believe that if, as a retired solder, I were to whisper any of my symptoms, it would mean certain unemployment and immediate loss of security clearance.”  That’s why Joe chose a research study instead of receiving care through conventional channels. The only current treatment for combat-related PTSD approved as effective is aversive deconditioning – which involves exposing patients to simulated battlefield conditions by means of specialized computer equipment operated by specially trained personnel.  As you can imagine, this is far from universally available, and studies show that half of those suffering from combat-related PTSD receive inadequate care. To make matters worse, a recent Pentagon study found that after almost a decade at war, the U.S. military is showing “a significant decline in individual morale” and a significant increase in self-reported “acute stress” as compared with data from just two years ago. Clearly new approaches to treating traumatized veterans are sorely needed. The approach we took in our small pilot study was to teach the young men Transcendental Meditation (TM). Once properly taught, this simple technique can be easily carried out twice a day – which is exactly what these young men did. While the specific results of the study are currently in press in the refereed journal Military Medicine, it is fair to say that they were highly encouraging.  Transcendental Meditation is known to be able to reduce responses to stress, as evidenced, for example, by its capacity to lower blood pressure in numerous controlled studies. TM appear