Government Information Resources that Provide Facts for Your Fiction
I am loving the crisp air and feeling like it’s time to do some organization and clean-up. My fall plans for this blog are to do some maintenance work including one last look at the old site’s posts to determine if any more need to come over and then find some new sites to showcase.
What do you need? What would you like to see? I’d love to hear from you!
Marine Corps FMST Student Manual – Field Medical Service Technician
https://www.tecom.marines.mil/Portals/131/Docs/fmst4.0.pdf
Post by Daniel Cornwall 12/31/2013
Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:
Description:
This manual is divided into the following sections:
Representative manual chapters include: Perform Care of the Feet, Perform Emergency Cricothyroidotomy, Manage Abdominal Injuries, Manage Chemical Agent Casualties, Recognize Combat Stress Disorders and IED.
National Park Service (NPS) History Collection – https://www.nps.gov/subjects/hfc/nps-history-collection.htm
Representative questions that may be answered with this resource:
The National Park Service History Collection has several ways to explore including:
NPS Archives
NPS Historic Photograph Collection (has a selection of digitized online)
NPS Oral History Collection
NPS Uniform Collection
NPS History Collection
While most of the collections are not fully digitized, you can do much of your research here and learn about the collections through finding aids and the NPS Web Catalog. Note: the Digital Archive database can actually be searched without keywords and can see all by pressing “Search All Archive Assets.” One can also request copies of documents and scans of photographs, so a trip to the Harpers Ferry Center in WV may not be needed.
Rehabilitation (MedlinePlus) – https://medlineplus.gov/rehabilitation.html
Post by Daniel Cornwall 12/31/2013 (Updated by KM)
Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:
Description:
After serious illness, injury or surgery, or a side affect from a medical treatment comes rehabilitation, which comes in many forms. In addition to providing general information about rehabilitation, including sections outlining who needs it, what the goals of rehabilitation are, and what happens in a rehabilitation program. Some of the types of treatments in the last section are listed below:
Additional sections and links including articles and clinical trials. This page is a good start if your character will be undergoing rehabilitation to figure out what the likely course of action would be.
The truth is out there…but as Mulder knows, it’s not easy to find! In case you missed it, The Department of Defense has announced a new task force, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force (UAPTF), this August.
This task force doesn’t seem to have a dedicate website or any reports/announcements publicly available yet, so I’ll keep an eye on any updates. It’s 2020, so anything can happen. 😉
In the meantime, here are some publicly available and declassified resources that may be a help or serve as an for writers:
https://www.nsa.gov/news-features/declassified-documents/ufo/
– Scanned materials from NSA’s UFO Documents Index
https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos
– National Archives information on Project BLUE BOOK
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/collection/ufos-fact-or-fiction
-CIA Library’s list of scanned documents 1940’s-1990s
https://www.loc.gov/collections/finding-our-place-in-the-cosmos-with-carl-sagan/articles-and-essays/life-on-other-worlds/ufos-and-aliens-among-us
– Essay on Library of Congress site
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/
– Released Navy videos
First Responders (Department of Homeland Security) – https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/first-responders
Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:
Description from the website:
S&T works hand-in-hand with members of all first responder disciplines — law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services and emergency management officials, as well as innovators and industry — to develop capabilities that:
If your characters are first responders, this is a good site to visit to get a realistic view of technologies currently available to them and to also to understand some of the challenges they continue to face. The Project First Responder report that came out in 2017 is particularly helpful in understanding their needs.
First Aid (MedlinePlus) – https://medlineplus.gov/firstaid.html
Post by Daniel Cornwall 12/21/13 (Updated by KM)
Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:
Description:
Overview of common first aid needs. The pictures and photographs section have slideshows of creating a sling and hand splint. This page links to first aid treatments for a number of conditions including burns, cuts, frostbite, nosebleeds and unconsciousness.
Good resource to make sure either your characters ARE following the proper protocols in an emergency situation or not, if that’s part of the story.
Going to the Hospital: Tips for Dementia Caregivers – https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/going-hospital-tips-dementia-caregivers
Post by Daniel Cornwall 12/31/13 (Updated by KM)
Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:
Description:
This page, just one in the Alzheimer’s Caregiving section, provides guidance for caregivers on how to prepare their dementia challenged loved one for a hospital visit. Tips could be helpful for stories on Alzheimer’s or amnesia.
Marine Corps MCECST Student Manual – Chaplain & Religious Program Specialist
https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil/Units/South-Atlantic/FMTB-E/Students/Student-Materials/MCECST-Manual/
Post by Daniel Cornwall 12/30/13 (Updated by KM)
Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:
Description:
Note: MCECST (Marine Corps Expeditionary Combat Skills Training) and was renamed from CREST-RP (Chaplain and Religious Program Specialist Expeditionary Skills Training).
Medical training manual for chaplains and other religious program specialists. The manual is divided into the following sections:
Aside from providing basic medical information useful in battlefield stories, the skills described here could easily be incorporated into stories of priests and ministers with surprising skill sets in civilian life. Kind of like Shepherd Book in the Firefly television series.
Complex PTSD (Veterans Affairs) –https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/complex_ptsd.asp
Post by Daniel Cornwall 12/30/13 (updated by KM)
Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:
Description:
From the website:
Many traumatic events (e.g., car accidents, natural disasters, etc.) are of time-limited duration. However, in some cases people experience chronic trauma that continues or repeats for months or years at a time. Some have suggested that the current PTSD diagnosis does not fully capture the severe psychological harm that occurs with prolonged, repeated trauma. Treatment considerations for those with such complex trauma histories are reviewed.
This article includes examples of the situations that appear to contribute to Complex PTSD and a listing of symptoms. There is also a reading list for more information.
More information on PTSD is included under PTSD Essentials under the Trauma, PTSD, and Treatment menu on the left.
Fiction Writer's Guide to Reality: 