Project Narrative Relevance to Veterans Health Although military personnel may have vulnerabilities and susceptibilities for anxiety disorders similar to the non-military population, the extreme and constant stressors of deployment, war and war time service enhance the likelihood of developing anxiety disorders. In fact, the rates of veterans developing anxiety disorders have been estimated to be 4 times higher than the general population. Accordingly, anxiety disorders are a major focus for VA medical and psychiatry services. Basic science research focused on a mechanistic account of how vulnerability factors interact with stress has the potential to contribute to an understanding of the etiological basis of PTSD and other anxiety disorders. The success of this research will provide the opportunity to develop preventative procedures and identify targets for pharmacological treatments, resulting in significant cost saving to the VA and allowing medical specialists to concentrate their efforts on fewer patients.