Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Donald J. Mrozek / This study analyzes the effect of the Army Air Forces’ wartime experience on the selection and training of aviation cadets and the steps taken by the Army Air Forces to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities. Over the course of the war, the US Army Air Forces suffered over 54,000 accidents in the continental United States. These accidents accounted for over 15,000 fatalities, the equivalent of a World War Two infantry division. As a result of this wartime experience the Army Air Forces began instituting and enforcing stricter safety measures and emphasizing safety in all phases of training. By the end of the war, the Army Air Forces had transitioned from an organization with loose standards for selection, training, and safety to one with formal procedures for all three. In the process, the Army Air Forces established a new culture of professionalism for the US Air Force.

Thesis advisor: Timothy W. Crawford / Images of burly men painted in green, outfitted in camouflage and a Rambo-esque bandana, donning night-vision goggles, and armed with the newest weaponry are drawn forth when thinking of the phrase "Special Operations." There is a certain myth surrounding the community: Special Operators are the greatest warriors in the world. The use of these warriors is usually only thought of in a tactical context. This thesis, in looking beyond the battlefield adventures of Special Operators, asks the question: "How do these warriors do this job, and what ends do they serve in greater US security strategy?" The thesis discusses the development of the special operations capability since World War II and shows that special operations forces can be precisely tailored by U.S. policy-makers to meet specific high-level strategic objectives. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2006. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Former United States military members have consistently faced mental health concerns post discharge from the military. Some researchers have argued that the use of mental health services by veterans does not parallel the prevalence and need of such services (Hoge, Castro, Messer, McGurk, Cotting, & Koffman, 2004; Milliken, Auchterlonie, & Hoge, 2007; Vogt, 2011). Reasons why veterans do not access mental health care are varied and broad, however, they tend to be consistent with explanations rooted in the stigma of mental health care, and in the barriers that prevent the use of mental health care. The degree of the impact of factors contributing to stigma and barriers to mental health care is not fully understood. Particularly lacking from previous research is an examination of how the education received while in the military about mental health symptoms and treatment impacts the likelihood that a service member will access care. In the current study, I used theories of stigma and barriers to care outlined by Overton and Medina (2008) to examine the relationships among demographic characteristics, self-reported diagnoses of common mental health disorders that veterans experience, and likelihood of accessing mental health care based on the education received while in the military with self-reported levels of stigma and barriers to care in a sample of 355 former military service members from several branches. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships among these variables. Results revealed statistically significant relationships among gender, age, self-reported diagnosis of depression, the impact of education, and stigma. Results also revealed statistically significant relationships among employment and barriers to care. In addition, stigma was found to have significant relationships with the positive impact of education, and the likelihood of accessing care. Lastly, results revealed that when in the presence of the mediation variable impact of education, stigma was no longer associated with the likelihood veterans would access care post discharge.

Early into the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, reports revealed that less than half of individuals displaying symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder sought help from the mental health community. As a means to cope with the stresses of war, many soldiers turned to animals for emotional support, and anecdotal reports identified reduction in the severity of distress among soldiers. However, no study was found that investigates this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of service members with combat-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and the human-animal bond. The study applied a blend of constructivism and phenomenology to address how the construction of knowledge and perception interacts with trauma exposure to develop distress--the diathesis-stress theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. The single research question inquired into the lived experiences of Operational Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom military personnel with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms who have a companion animal. Data collection consisted of 12 in-depth, participant interviews, which were analyzed using the phenomenological techniques created by Moustakas. The analysis revealed 4 themes: (a) rich descriptions of deployment events, (b) the experiences of returning from a deployment, (c) participants' perceptions on their pets' influence on posttraumatic stress symptoms, and (d) other personal comments and opinions related to participants' experiences. These findings illuminate the experiences of combat-related posttraumatic stress and the importance of animals in the therapeutic process. These detailed descriptions may help develop alternative treatment options and help policy makers assess the current management of posttraumatic stress in the military and Veteran's Administration systems.

The Mexican War was one of the most significant events in American history, but only recently have historians begun to examine the men who fought it. Building on the pioneering work of these social, cultural, and intellectual historians, this study furthers our understanding of the participants in the Mexican War. By combining elements of the new military history and studies of Jacksonian America this dissertation focuses new light on why men volunteered for service, and how their understanding of that service changed over time Beginning with an examination of how and why Americans volunteered for the war, the dissertation then takes a detailed look at what these men believed they knew about Mexico. The study makes use of many of the most popular books written about Mexico that were available to the potential recruits, and determines that their views of the nation were deeply shaped by these works. From there the dissertation examines what Americans believed they were fighting for once they arrived in Mexico. Influenced by their own society, volunteers believed that they were crusaders for republicanism. Their goal was to turn Mexico into a nation more in step with the United States. The dissertation concludes by following the volunteers back to America after the war. By looking at their memoirs, and other writings, it is clear that the hope to spread republicanism was generally left in Mexico / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

U.S. Army helicopter maintenance condition is affected by operation environment and high flight hours. Due to the environmental conditions and high operation tempo of Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. Army Aviation created the RESET aviation maintenance program to provide restorative maintenance following deployments in theater. The RESET maintenance program was created in addition to the existing two-level maintenance programs. Following deployment, RESET is a thorough cleaning to remove contaminants, inspection of airframe and components, and repair cycle to restore the condition of the helicopter to acceptable condition. Based on the original intent of RESET, it was projected that at the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the RESET maintenance program could be discontinued. Because of the presumed safety, reliability, and mission readiness created by RESET, this thesis appraised the RESET maintenance program as a permanent addition to U.S. Army Aviation maintenance programs. The hypothesis was that RESET does improve safety, reliability, and mission readiness of the Army UH-60 Black Hawk fleet. The design was a quantitative survey of three variables: safety, reliability, and mission readiness. The survey featured Likert scale and open-ended questions of three groups: UH-60 maintenance test pilots, UH-60 AVUM/AVIM maintenance supervisory personnel, and ACE (Airframe Condition Evaluation) technical evaluators. Data from each of the three survey groups verified the hypothesis that RESET improved safety, reliability, and mission readiness. Data from open-ended questions indicated that the additional disassembly and special inspections of RESET are more extensive than the aviation unit and intermediate Phased Maintenance Inspection (PMI). Therefore, given the disassembly and special inspections of RESET, and the verification that RESET improves safety, reliability, and mission readiness, it was concluded that RESET is a successful program that should be continued. Based on the effectiveness of RESET in discovering these deficiencies, RESET should be a permanent addition to the Army aviation maintenance programs.

Contemporary militaries depend on volunteer soldiers capable of dealing with advanced technology and complex missions. An important factor in the successful recruiting, retention, and employment of quality personnel is the set of personnel policies which a military has in place. It might be assumed that military policies on personnel derive solely from the functional necessities of the organization's mission, given that the stakes of military effectiveness are generally very high. Unless the survival of the state is in jeopardy, however, it will seek to limit defense costs, which may entail cutting into effectiveness. How a state chooses to make the tradeoffs between effectiveness and economy will be subject to influences other than military necessity. In this study, I argue that military personnel management policies ought to be a function of the interaction between the internal pressures of military mission and the external pressures of the national economic infrastructure surrounding the military. The pressures of military mission should not vary significantly across advanced democratic states, but the national market economic type will. Using written policy and expert interview data from five countries, this study analyzes how military selection, accessions, occupational specialty assignment, and separations policies are related to the country's educational and training system, the significance of skills certification on the labor market, and labor flexibility. I evaluate both officers and enlisted personnel, and I compare them across countries and within countries over time. I find that market economic type is a significant explanatory variable for the key military personnel policies under consideration, although other factors such as the size of the military and the stakes of military effectiveness probably also influence the results. Several other potential explanatory factors such as the ease of recruiting appear to be subordinate to market economic type in predicting policy. / Dissertation

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brown University, 2008. / Vita. Advisor : P. Terrence Hopmann. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 303-309).

<p>Using Fort Bragg and Fayetteville, North Carolina, as a local case study, this dissertation examines the GI dissent movement during the Vietnam War and its profound impact on the ending of the draft and establishment of the All-Volunteer Force in 1973. I propose that the US military consciously and methodically shifted from a conscripted force to the All-Volunteer Force as a safeguard to ensure that dissent never arose again in the ranks as it had during the Vietnam War. This story speaks to profound questions regarding state power that are essential to making sense of our recent history. What becomes of state and military legitimacy when the soldier refuses to sanction or participate in the brutality of warfare? And perhaps more importantly, what happens to the foreign policy of a major power when soldiers no longer protest, and thereby hold in check, questionable military interventions? My dissertation strives to answer those questions by reintroducing the dissenting soldier into the narrative of the All-Volunteer Force.</p> / Dissertation