Background: Ex-armed forces personnel constitute 3.5% of the prison population in England and Wales but we know little about why some former service personnel end up in prison. Furthermore, understanding what the mental health needs of this group are and how to meet them will inform service delivery and offending prevention strategies. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the mental health needs, and explore the pathways to offending, of ex-armed forces personnel in prison. Methods: A mixed methods design was used. A researcher administered questionnaire collected demographic information; details of pre-service; military experience; circumstances post-armed forces; and a detailed assessment of mental health of 105 male ex-armed forces personnel in prison. Their healthcare and offending records were accessed to record any formal mental health diagnoses and details of previous offending. Two studies made up the qualitative arm of the study: study 1 used semi-structured interviews (n = 20) to explore the pathways to offending of ex-armed forces personnel in prison from their perspective and study 2 employed semi-structured interviews with prisoners (n = 10) and a focus group with professionals (n = 5) to explore the service needs and treatment barriers of former service personnel in prison. Results: Of 105 participants, 40 (38%) screened positively for a current common mental health (CCMH) problem (i.e. depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) and a high prevalence of alcohol misuse was assessed (n = 59, 56%). Over half of the sample were serving their first custodial sentence (n = 58, 55%). Violent offences were the most common index offence (n = 34, 32%) and the majority of the sample had previous convictions recorded (n = 70, 71%). Participants considered their pathways to offending as complex and incorporating pre-service, military service and post-service factors. Perceived influences on offending included mental health and substance misuse problems, impulsivity and problem solving difficulties. Prison was considered an opportunity to access help and staff having military awareness was thought to encourage help-seeking. However, stigma and previous negative experiences were perceived to make asking for help difficult and the variability in support across the prison estate was considered a barrier to support by all. Discussion: The findings of this study add to the literature and our knowledge of ex-armed forces personnel in prison. The study found that the mental health needs of the group are largely similar to the general prison population but that potential nuances exist regarding alcohol misuse and PTSD. The pathways to offending of the group are complex and are influenced by a number of factors in veterans' lives. Based on the findings of the study implications and directions for future work are discussed.

This thesis aims to analyse how well recruits of the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) have embraced soldier ideals put forward by the SAF following a shift in means of recruiting, changing from a system of compulsive conscription to an All-volunteer force (AVF). This has been done using a Governmentality-analysis of an extensive survey conducted at Ärna Air Base in November of 2019. The concept of Governmentality has to do with the way states and other forms of authorities govern. Launched in the 1970s by French philosopher Michel Foucault, it is based on an understanding that states no longer governing mainly by force, but rather by appealing to its citizens’ free will governing through “the conduct of conduct”, through the creation of self-governing subjects. The recruits were asked to rank different reasons for enlisting, and to assess various ideal qualities of a soldier, as well as pictures used by the SAF with the intention to recruit soldiers. The results were widespread and showed a big dissonance both among the recruits internally but also between the SAF’s military identities promoted by the SAF and the recruits. In some instances, the recruits seem to embrace the SAF’s ideals and in others they seem to be hostile of them. A few reasons for this are suggested in the final chapter of the thesis for example the societal collective understanding of the SAF or the role of the instructing officers.

This dissertation examines the military occupation of the Afro-Indigenous Moskitia region of Central America in the context of the “War on Drugs.” Despite the ideological differences professed by the regimes that have clung to power in Nicaragua and Honduras from the late 2000s to 2020, both governments have channeled “anti-narcotics” military assistance from the United States to install Army and Navy outposts in practically every Caribbean Afro-Indigenous coastal village during the last decade. For the first time in history, Miskitu male soldiers have been systematically recruited and deployed to these new posts. While the War on Drugs is often theorized as a “thanatopolitical” intervention enforced by disembedded, sovereign state forces, this dissertation focuses instead on the everyday life of petty sovereignty: soldiers working in contexts where state and market infrastructure is rudimentary, and where they typically turn to local villagers for labor, supplies, and logistical support. Violating military rules, Nicaraguan and Honduran soldiers habitually find sexual and romantic companionship in Miskitu villages. Ricocheting between the vantage point of soldiers, their lovers and former lovers, occasional and dedicated drug merchants, and other residents of Miskitu villages across the Nicaragua-Honduras border, the dissertation interrogates Central American security regimes not only in relation to the history of war and extractivism in Afro-Indigenous regions, but also vis-à-vis Afro-Indigenous kinship and gender norms, property forms and economic practices, and overlapping jurisdictions of regional governance. Based on 27 months of participant-observation research in occupied Miskitu villages between 2014 and 2018, the dissertation compares the operations of the national armed forces of Nicaragua and Honduras to those of the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In 2012, the DEA launched a 90-day, drug-interdiction “pilot program” code-named Operation Anvil in Miskitu land under Honduran jurisdiction. The operation manifested differentiated practices of articulation and disarticulation across various spatial scales: a peculiar form of articulation to the Honduran central government –which DEA saw as a corrupt but corrigible ally in the fight against drug trafficking— and a radical form of disarticulation vis-à-vis Miskitu regional authorities—who were perceived, alternatingly and contradictorily, as 1) inexistent, 2) irrelevant, 3) nomadic, 4) foreign to the region, or 5) hopelessly corrupt. This imaginary gave shape to a governmental intervention that relegated indigenous criminalization to a discourse of last resort, but that upheld nation-state sovereignty over the Moskitia and elided all the questions of indigenous economic and political autonomy which have been central to the Moskitia’s regional politics since the 1980s. DEA agents disavowed relationships with regional authorities and residents on an a priori basis. In combination with the privileged forms of legal immunity protecting US law enforcement and military officials, such disavowal carried homicidal consequences. The Nicaraguan and Honduran militaries, on the other hand, interact closely with local residents, Afro-Indigenous authorities, and drug merchants. These relationships represent both resources and risks for Nicaragua and Honduras as geopolitically subordinate states. The risks largely derive from the contradictory demands of superordinate geopolitical entities that Nicaragua and Honduras “respect indigenous human rights” and simultaneously participate in the hemispheric “war on drugs.” Nicaragua and Honduras have addressed this contradiction by organizing multiculturalism and militarization on the basis of indirect rule. Indirect rule involves the limited incorporation of indigenous forms of socioeconomic and political organization into state governance, as well as the appointment of regional intermediaries such as Miskitu soldiers. These intermediaries act as lightning rods onto whom state institutions might displace responsibility. More than a “hearts and minds” strategy of counterinsurgency, military indirect rule fosters displacement and sublimation: displacement of risk towards the lower, racialized levels of governance; sublimation of refusal of the occupation towards questions of sex, love, and parental abandonment.

The activities of the Department of National Defence (DND) account for more than half of the Government of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. This research examines a clean energy propulsion solution to DND’s carbon footprint using a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) battery hybrid powertrain for military armoured vehicles as a means of meeting Canada's Greening Defence initiatives. Real-world military vehicle operational data is used to create the operation profile for military vehicle powertrain design requirements. Following the model-based design (MBD) approach, the vehicle dynamics, fuel cell system and powertrain system models implemented in MATLAB/Simulink are used to predict the vehicle's performance, emissions, and operational costs. This research examines the feasibility of using a fuel cell-battery electric powertrain for a military armoured vehicle and produces a feasible design solution to meet the identified vehicle operation and performance requirements. The fuel cost and powertrain component performance degradations are modelled to predict the operation costs of the clean vehicle with the benefits of reduced emissions, noise and thermal profiles. The results of this research suggest there are viable, clean propulsion system and energy storage system (ESS) configurations that satisfy the requirements of the operational profile of military armoured vehicles. This research serves as a foundation for the use of clean military vehicle propulsion in Canada. / Graduate

This work entitled "Legal and internal regulations in Czech armed forces" endeavours to tackle the relation between legal and internal regulations in public administration focusing on their hierarchy, quantity, liability in specific area of armed forces. At first sight military service is independent on legal code, because there is wide range and amount of relatively autonomous service regulations and official channels. Career soldiers and civil employees have to obey not only the texts of legislation composed of laws, govermental directions etc., but also must maintain discipline and work rules founded on internal orders, guidelines and advices. All commanders and managers as military superiors are obliged to enforce their authority through this regulations. Relation between legal and internal level is not clear. There are many doubts and questions based on facts regarding for instance these features and issues of any internal system of rules: delegation of authority to creation and publishing; verification of compatibility and harmony with legal framework; persistence, integrity, perpetual modifications and amendments.

Most Canadian adults do not meet recommended levels of physical activity; this phenomenon has persisted for many years and is associated with health concerns and chronic disease. These trends appear to affect Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel who have heightened mandates around physical activity. CAF operational mandates combined with these trends highlight the importance of addressing divides between expectation and reality. Traditionally the CAF has used approaches targeted to individuals to manage activity levels; however, there have been no studies exploring the relationship between the environment and activity levels among CAF personnel which has the potential to affect far more people. This dissertation examined built environments where CAF personnel live and explored the relationship between the built environment and active living among CAF personnel. There are two studies in this work. The first study developed a scale with and for the CAF and used this to examine the built environments where CAF personnel live. The results indicated a factor solution and demonstrated good-to-strong psychometric properties. Among the environments, it highlighted areas of strength and potential areas of improvement. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the built environments where CAF personnel live. The second study used data from several sources at individual and neighbourhood levels to conduct a hierarchical linear model analysis to explore the relationship between the built environment and physical activity among CAF personnel. The findings revealed information about the different relationships between active living (measured by physical activity level) of CAF personnel and individual and neighbourhood characteristics. The findings in this dissertation provide novel evidence about the relationship of the built environment and active living among CAF personnel. The aim of this research was to provide evidence and information to decisionmakers that serves to meaningfully contribute to the pursuit of the overall health and wellbeing of CAF members. The findings provided meaningful information to help guide and inform Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS) policy, programming, and resource decisions that affect CAF personnel.

Western countries are regarded as open democracies where free speech is viewed assomething that people have fought and died for throughout history; several westernmilitary forces label themselves as defenders of (liberal) democratic values, wherethe citizens’ right to speak is held as utmost importance. Swedish military officershave a unique, compared with other countries, right to participate in public debatesand voice their opinions in news media and on the internet. However, throughouthistory, there have been events that indicate that soldiers do not enjoy the samerights as other citizens. This thesis explores how the Swedish Armed Forces handlefreedom of expression within its ranks and define the perceived existence of a“sphere of unsuitability”. All reviewed cases refer to a situation where the individualpublicly contradicts the organisations’ own expressed views and interests. Thisthesis has identified the existence of a “sphere of unsuitability” that, together withambiguous messages from the Swedish Armed Forces, has led to military personnelwithdrawing from public debates, even under anonymity. The conflict between theindividual’s freedom of expression and military interests occurs on several levelswhen criticism lies outside what the Armed Forces perceive as acceptable.In summary, the tentative conclusion is that although loyalty and reliabilitymay be called into question by the military, it is when the Armed Forces’ labels anexpression or opinion as unsuitable that the individual may lose any furtheropportunities of a career. The study makes two main research contributions. First,addressing how the Swedish Armed Forces deal with freedom of expression withinits organisation provides an empirical investigation of a critical democratic issue.Second, by identifying a perceived “sphere of unsuitability”, including how such asphere is constructed, the thesis adds theoretical substance to a developing researchfield.

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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Management (in the field of Public and Development Management) 2016 / The purpose of this research study was to obtain the views and perceptions of Namibia veterans of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), the armed wingof SWAPO, on compensation as a part of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) process. This process compensates former freedom fighters as a reward for having contributed to the liberation struggle. DDR is one of the most important peace stabilising tools that is internationally recognised and the UN has adopted it as a pre-requisite for any peace agreement process in countrieswhich had experienced violent conflict. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the war veterans’ perception regarding ‘compensation’ being paid as a reward to former fighters of the Namibia liberation struggle by the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs.Structured interviews were conducted to collect data, and data analysis was done by identifying themes.Microsoft Excel statistics functions were used to calculate the totals, produce tables, graphs and pie charts. The main finding of the study was that the former freedom fighters were facing many challenges and the government was far from addressing these challenges in their totality. The study found that the government was committed to address the plight of the former freedom fighters; however, the implementation of such a programme was fraught with challenges, such as the lack of resources and good governance. Moreover, the study established that the reintegration process was not addressing the issues of both groups of ex-combatants in Namibia. / GR2018

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