Within the United States Army, it is estimated that as many as 10,000 soldiers are Muslim. However, in 2008, only 3,086 active duty personnel self-identified as Muslim. Following the attacks of September 11 and more recently, the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, there has been a marked shift in the general public’s perception toward Muslim citizens, and for American soldiers whom are Muslim; they have been placed in incredibly difficult circumstances. In this report, I aim to document the experiences of soldiers who are Muslim within the U.S. Armed Forces, and report on their struggles, successes and lives, in an era when Islamic terrorist and extremist groups are considered to be the United States nemesis. A vast majority of soldiers never encounter prejudice or experience religious or ethnic discrimination, but some do. And for soldiers who face prejudice in the military based on their religion or ethnicity, there is often little internal protection available from the higher chain of command. The problem may be relatively small in scope with regard to the number of soldiers affected on a daily basis, but fundamentally important constitutional rights are at stake in these cases of institutional lack of protection / text

Jaunuoliai, kurie ateina į profesinę karo tarnybą, kasmet yra fiziškai silpnesni. Karių fizinio rengimo programa skirta pagerinti jų fizinį parengtumą, kuris reikalingas jų profesinei veiklai. Todėl fizinis rengimas - viena iš pagrindinių kovinio rengimo kariuomenėje dalių. Pagrindinis fizinio rengimo uždavinys - visapusiškai fiziškai lavinti karį (Greičius ir kt., 1998). Pagrindinis fizinio rengimo tikslas bazinio kario kurso (toliau – BKK) metu yra fizinio pasirengimo lygio, būtino tolesnei kario tarnybai, pasiekimas. Tai reiškia, kad karys, baigęs BKK, turi atitikti jo būsimoms pareigoms ir karinei specialybei keliamus fizinio pasirengimo reikalavimus bei įvykdyti karių fizinio pasirengimo normatyvus. Nustatyta, kad žmogaus organizmas naudojant tam tikras specialių adaptacinių sistemų funkcijas (mechanizmus) prie padidėjusio fizinio ir psichologinio krūvio visiškai adaptuojasi tik per 6 – 10 savaičių. PKT kariams BKK trunka 13 savaičių, o pirmo kurso kariūnams - 9 savaites, todėl karys prie karo tarnybos sąlygų visiškai adaptuotis gali tik baigiantis šiam kursui. Šio darbo tikslas - ištirti profesinės karo tarnybos karių ir pirmo kurso kariūnų fizinio rengimo programą, pritaikytą rengti karius bazinio kario kurso metu. Buvo ištirtas 120 profesinės karo tarnybos karių ir 80 pirmo kurso kariūnų fizinis išsivystymas, funkcinis pajėgumas ir fizinis parengtumas. PKT karių tyrimai vyko bazinio kario kurso pradžioje, bazinio kario kurso penktą savaitę ir kurso... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Youngsters coming to the professional military service every year are weaker physically. The program for soldiers’ physical training is intended to improve their physical qualification which is necessary for their career. That is why physical training is one of the most important parts in the combat training in the army. The main aim of the physical training is to educate the soldier comprehensively physically. (Greičius ir kt., 1998). The main aim of the physical training during the Basic Combat Training (BCT) is the development of the level of physical readiness which is necessary for the further soldiering. That means that the soldier who is finished this course has to be able to meet requirements which are necessary for his future position and military service and he has to be able to fulfil all requirements of soldier physical readiness. It is stated that adaptation of the human body to the enlarged physical and mental strain with the help of the certain special functions of the adaptation systems is fully formed only in 6 to 10 weeks. The Basic Combat Training lasts 13 weeks, for the soldiers of the first course it lasts just 9 weeks, so the soldier can specialize to the conditions of military service only at the end of this course. The aim of this work is to research the program of the soldiers of the professional military service and the first course soldiers, which is adapted for the Basic Combat Training. It was researched physical development, functional fitness... [to full text]

Women's exit from employment has been explained in relation to their individual characteristics and family status, but little attention has been given to the relationship between women's experience in employment and their decision to leave. Attrition data indicates that women become even more likely to leave the Canadian Forces, relative to their male counterparts, after 10 years of service. A qualitative approach was used to explore the relationship between organizational environment and exit among women who left the Canadian Forces after serving more than 10, but less than 20 years. The analysis, which is based on interviews with 23 women, suggests that although organizational policies and regulations are evolving in attempts to integrate women, the experiences of women as women within a male-dominated organization contribute significantly to the attrition of women from that environment.

Problem alcohol use has far-reaching economic, intra-, and interpersonal consequences. One particularly hazardous form of drinking pertains to the consumption of alcohol as a means of regulating stress, or drinking to cope. As such, it is critical to identify pathways through which stress-related alcohol use occurs, as well as protective factors which may mitigate the aforementioned consequences. To achieve this, I conducted three studies examining these topics at multiple levels of analysis among two at risk populations for engaging in problematic drinking: College students and military service members. Study 1 is a published manuscript examining the association between personality, a known vulnerability factor, and daily alcohol use among college students. This study tested whether these associations were mediated by the utilization of daily coping behaviors. Study 2 is an exploration of the association between of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and alcohol involvement among employed service members. I conducted conditional process analysis to determine whether the indirect association of PTSS on alcohol involvement through coping motivations was conditional on one's perceived level of social support. Finally, Study 3 examined how daily experiences of occupational stressors influence alcohol consumption using a subsample of married and cohabiting participants from Study 2. I tested the moderating roles of coping motives and more adaptive, support-based coping strategies on work stress-daily drinking associations. Together, these studies help elucidate why individuals typically drink when stressed, who may be more apt to do so, and under what conditions these effects hold true.

Angola is a country that faced 27 years of conflict, from 2002 facing its peaceful moments. The situation with former girls soldiers during this process is not appropriately addressed, and this brings reflection on both human rights and development structure. The unknown social reintegrations done by Christian Child Fund Angola was responsible for solving those problems. Those pioneer solutions resolved the issue during and after the conflicts. Former girls soldiers need to be recognised in the current Law of Former and Disable Combatants. A vector of rights for the public health framework looks at the holistic structure of former girls soldiers and the needs that should follow to reintegrate this group since they are marginalised. The study is based on qualitative research and an abductive approach. Therefore, a vector of rights approach for public health framework was used focusing on the social reintegration programs done by CCF Angola together with other actors. This will reflect on the law of former combatants, which is a direct result of the formal DDR Program. The results show that there are still women, former girls soldiers that were not reintegrated yet and still marginalized in the current social context. The State needs to revise the Law 13/02 favouring former girl ex-combatants since the reintegration process done by CCF/Angola matches the UN International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement.

No description available.

During the Philippine War, 1899 – 1902, America attempted to quell an uprising from the Filipino people. Four regular army regiments of black soldiers, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, and the Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Infantry served in this conflict. Alongside the regular army regiments, two volunteer regiments of black soldiers, the Forty-Eighth and Forty-Ninth, also served. During and after the war these regiments received little attention from the press, public, or even historians. These black regiments served in a variety of duties in the Philippines, primarily these regiments served on the islands of Luzon and Samar. The main role of these regiments focused on garrisoning sections of the Philippines and helping to end the insurrection. To carry out this mission, the regiments undertook a variety of duties including scouting, fighting insurgents and ladrones (bandits), creating local civil governments, and improving infrastructure. The regiments challenged racist notions in America in three ways. They undertook the same duties as white soldiers. They interacted with local "brown" Filipino populations without fraternizing, particularly with women, as whites assumed they would. And, they served effectively at the company and platoon level under black officers. Despite the important contributions of these soldiers, both socially and militarily, little research focuses on their experiences in the Philippines. This dissertation will discover and examine those experiences. To do this, each regiment is discussed individually and their experiences used to examine the role these men played in the Philippine War. Also addressed is the role ideas about race played in these experiences. This dissertation looks to answer whether or not notions on race played a major role in the activities of these regiments. This dissertation will be an important addition to the study of the Philippine War, the segregated U. S. Army, and African American history in the modern period.

Thesis (MMil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Over the last forty years Africa has been one of the most conflict-ridden regions in the world, resulting in untold human suffering. It has been estimated that between 1955 and 1999 some nine to ten million people have died as a result of violent conflict in Africa. However, those suffering the most in these wars are not merely the defenceless victims of conflict, but also its active perpetrators. More than 120 000 children under the age of 18 years have been forced or recruited to participate in armed conflicts across Africa. Although the use of children in armed conflict is not a new phenomenon, it has never been as widespread and as brutal as during the past decade. Governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions, security institutes and the media have conducted extensive research on the phenomenon of child soldiers, specifically focusing on the demobilisation and reintegration of child combatants. Surprisingly, not much research has been conducted on why particular states are more prone to utilise these little soldiers than others. This thesis attempts to fill that gap by analysing the circumstances under which children are utilised as soldiers in Africa. This aim is divided into three subdivisions, namely to describe the type of states in which children are utilised as soldiers, to analyse the conflicts in which child soldiers are utilised, and to describe the socio-economic conditions that urge children to take up arms. An analysis of the child soldier-phenomenon suggests that it transpires in weak states. These states exhibit very distinct characteristics, including serious problems of legitimacy, the absence of one cohesive national identity, the presence of opposing local strongmen, high levels of institutional weakness, economic underdevelopment, and a vulnerability to external international forces. The weakness of these states is created by the fragmentation of social control amongst various social organisations, which is in turn caused by the expansion of the world economy from Europe and also by colonialism. This fragmentation poses immense challenges to state leaders and forces them to adopt very distinct political policies, which put certain limitations on the process of state-making. In response to this, leaders have adopted a number of social, political and economic strategies. These, together with the socio-economic conditions - specifically poverty - within weak states often create civil violence. These strategies include political centralisation, authoritarianism, ethnic politics, the manipulation of democratic processes and mechanisms, patronage politics and the manipulation of state economic structures and policies. However, in order to successfully execute these strategies, rulers need wealth-creating resources, which usually result in the exploitation of scarce natural resources. Warlords and local strongmen also exploit resources to purchase arms to combat both government forces and opposing strongmen. In addition, large international private companies cash in on the financial advantages accrued from conflict. This leads to the formation of entrenched war economies. In the end then, these wars becomean excuse to plunder natural resources for private enrichment. A very distinct characteristic of these conflicts is the widespread use of child soldiers. All the armed groups in Africa's wars, including government armed forces, paramilitary groups and armed opposition groups, are to a greater or lesser extent guilty of recruiting, forcefully conscripting, press-ganging and deploying child soldiers. However, states that utilise child soldiers all exhibit similar socio-economic characteristics. Poverty is endemic. Famine is widespread and magnifies the problems caused by war and poverty even further. The provision of medical and health care is insufficient because of the vast number of war wounded and the destruction of hospitals and clinics. This is also aggravated by the high numbers of HIV/AIDS sufferers. Schools are destroyed, educational systems are often poorly developed and illiteracy is widespread. In addition, due to years of war and civil unrest, millions of people are displaced and forced to become refugees. These socio-economic characteristics create the ideal breeding ground for the recruitment of child soldiers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Oor die afgelope veertig jaar was Afrika een van die mees konflikgedrewe streke in die wêreld wat op onbeskryflike menslike lyding uitgeloop het. Dit is bereken dat tussen 1955 en 1999 ongeveer nege tot tien miljoen persone gesterf het as gevolg van die gewelddadige konflikte in Afrika. Maar diegene wat die meeste in sulke oorloë gely het, was nie maar net die weerlose slagoffers van die konflik nie, maar hulle was inderdaad ook aktiewe deelnemers daaraan. Meer as 120 000 kinders onder die ouderdom van 18 jaar is gedwing of gewerf om aan gewapende konflik regoor Afrika deel te neem. Alhoewel die deelname van kinders aan gewapende konflik nie 'n nuwe verskynsel is nie, was dit nog nooit so wydverspreid en so brutaal soos tydens die afgelope dekade nie. Regeringsorganisasies, nie-regeringsorganisasies, akademiese instellings, sekerheidsinstellings en die media het uitgebreide navorsing onderneem oor die verskynsel van kindersoldate, en spesifiek gefokus op die demobilisering en herintegrasie van kinderkrygers. Verbasend genoeg is nie veel navorsing gedoen oor waarom spesifieke state meer gereed staan om hierdie klein soldaatjies aan te wend as andere nie. Hierdie tesis poog om hierdie kennisgaping te vul deur die omstandighede waaronder kinders as soldate in Afrika aangewend word, te analiseer. Die doel hiermee word in drie onderafdelings verdeel, naamlik om die tipes state te beskryf waarin kinders as soldate aangewend word, om die konflikte te analiseer waarin kindersoldate gebruik word en ook om die sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede te beskryf wat kinders aanspoor om die wapen op te neem. 'n Analise van die kindersoldaatverskynsel dui aan dat dit in swak state voorkom. Hierdie state openbaar besonderse kenmerke, insluitende ernstige probleme rakende legitimiteit, die afwesigheid van 'n enkele samebindende nasionale identiteit, die aanwesigheid van plaaslike sterk leiers, hoë vlakke van institusionele swakhede, ekonomiese onderontwikkeling en In blootstelling aan eksterne internasionale kragte. Die swakhede van hierdie state het ontstaan deur die fragmentering van sosiale beheer onder verskeie sosiale organisasies, wat op hul beurt veroorsaak is deur die uitbreiding van die wêreldekonomie vanuit Europa en ook deur kolonialisme. Hierdie fragmentering gee aanleiding tot ontsaglike uitdagings vir staatsleiers en dwing hulle om onderskeidende politieke beleidsrigtings toe te pas wat weer sekere beperkings op die proses van staatsvorming plaas. In antwoord hierop het leiers 'n aantal sosiale, politieke en ekonomiese strategieë aanvaar. Tesame met die sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede - en spesifiek armoede - skep hierdie strategieë dikwels burgerlike geweld binne swak state. Sulke strategieë sluit in politieke sentralisasie, outoritêre oorheersing, etniese beleidsrigtings, die manipulering van demokratiese prosesse en meganismes, die politiek van beskerming en begunstiging, asook die manipulering van die staat se ekonomiese strukture en beleidsrigtings. Maar om hierdie strategieë suksesvol uit te voer, benodig die heersers welvaartskeppende hulpbronne wat gewoonlik uitloop op die uitbuiting van skaars natuurlike hulpbronne. Gewapende aanvoerders en plaaslike onderdrukkers plunder ook hulpbronne om wapens aan te skaf om sowel regeringsmagte asook opponerende onderdrukkers te beveg. Daarby trek internasionale private maatskappye ook voordeel uit die finansiële opbrengste wat uit konflik verkry word. Dit alles lei tot die totstandkoming van verskanste oorlogsekonomieë. In die finale analise word hierdie oorloë bloot 'n verskoning om natuurlike hulpbronne vir eie verryking te plunder. 'n Baie onderskeidende kenmerk van hierdie konflikte is die wydverspreide aanwending van kindersoldate. AI die gewapende groepe in Afrika se oorloë, insluitende regerings se gewapende magte, paramilitêre groepe en gewapende opposisiegroepe, is almal tot mindere of meerdere mate skuldig aan die werwing, gewelddadige rekrutering en aanwending en ook die ontplooiing van kindersoldate. State wat kindersoldate gebruik, toon almal soortgelyke sosio-ekonomiese kenmerke. Armoede is endemies. Hongersnood is wydverspreid en vererger die probleme wat deur oorloë en armoede veroorsaak is. Die voorsiening van mediese- en gesondheidsorg is onvoldoende as gevolg van die hoë aantal HIVNigslyers. Skole is vernietig, onderwysstelsels is dikwels onderontwikkeld en ongeletterdheid is wydverspreid. As gevolg van jare se oorloë en burgerlike onrus word miljoene mense verder ook uit hul huise gedryf en gedwing om vlugtelinge te word. Hierdie sosio-ekonomiese kenmerke skep die ideale teelaarde vir die werwing van kindersoldate.

This quasi-experimental study investigates neuropsychological functioning differences between 63 active duty soldiers who were placed into three groups (MTBI, PTSD, control) to provide better information for differentiating PTSD and MTBI. The ANAM and MicroCog were utilized to measure psychomotor speed, memory, and attention. Participants with PTSD performed worse on most measures of psychomotor speed and attention, and endorsed more symptoms of depression and anxiety when compared to MTBI and control participants. Further, attention appears to be the best cognitive domain for differentiating PTSD from MTBI, whereas memory variables did not differentiate these groups. Clinical and research implications of these findings are discussed.

No description available.