Troops chill in 'stress reduction' unit

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer

A doctor at Tripler Army Medical Center is arming soldiers with a new weapon in Afghanistan: a "combat stress reduction chamber" that's designed to help soldiers in the battle zone get away from it all — for a little while — with an easy chair, massage and soothing videos.

The idea came from Lt. Col. Howard F. Detwiler Jr., a doctor in the psychiatry department. Detwiler imagined a soldier returning from a combat patrol tired, exhausted and on edge.

He created a hinged, box-like unit that unfolds into a micro-lounge in which a soldier sits back in a comfortable chair to watch peaceful videos in a climate-controlled chamber as technicians measure pulse rates and skin responses to help gauge the soldier's stress level.

This is the first time such a device has been deployed to the battlefield, he said. The chambers have been used at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., and have helped to reduce stress, Detwiler said.

Detwiler and his wife, Lisa, built the three chambers themselves with the medical monitoring equipment, a TV set, VCR, comfortable lighting, massage chair and speakers. Each is about 200 pounds and sports desert camouflage.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.