Huvudsyftet med föreliggande studie är att belysa soldaters upplevelser av stress under utlandstjänst, samt stress i övergången utlandstjänst till hemkomst med fokus på fysisk aktivitet och träningsvanor. Vidare var det av intresse att studera soldaters upplevelse av hjälp/stöd. Studien genomfördes via ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt utifrån två semistrukturerade intervjuguider och två olika intervjutillfällen. Samtliga åtta deltagare var män mellan 2553 år gamla med erfarenheter från olika typer av förband samt från olika missioner. Utlandstjänstgöringarna utfördes i länder som Afghanistan, Bosnien och Kosovo. Upplevd stress under mission beskrevs som rastlöshet vid ledig tid på campen eller en oro inför uppdrag. Under uppdrag kunde deltagarna uppleva kumulativ stress i ovissheten att något kan hända dem eller kollegorna. Deltagarna gav uttryck för liknande symptom vid hemkomst kopplat till stress då rastlöshet under ledigheten hemma beskrev som utmanade. Fysisk aktivitet visade sig ha en stressreducerande effekt vid rastlöshet och oro under utlandstjänst samt i övergången utlandstjänst till hemkomst. Dessa fynd kopplas till en diskussionsdel utifrån föreskrivna referensramar, samt även förslag till framtida forskning och implikationer. / The main purpose of the present study is to illustrate soldiers experinces of stress during deployment and in the transition from deployment to homecoming with focus on physical activity, stress and exercise habits. Further on, it was of interest to study the soldiers experience of help/support. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach from two semistructured interviewguides and two interview occasions. The soldiers age were between 2553 years. The soldiers in this study came from various types of units as well as various deployments that took place in countries such as Afghanistan, Kosovo and BosniaHercegovina. Stress during deployment was described as perceived restlessness during freetime on the camp. During operations could the participants exeperience cumulative stress wich could be shown as anxiety becausee of the uncertainty that something could happend to them or their colleagues in the unit. The participants expressed similar symptoms at the homecoming related to stress as restlessness during the holiday and anxiety. Physical activity was found to have a stressreducing effect during deployment and in transition deployment to homecoming. Results of the study were associated with prescribed theoretical frames of reference in the discussion. Finally suggestions for future research and implications are provided.

Soldiers face complex challenges, issues, and decisions when pursuing distance learning while deployed. These challenges are encountered frequently while completing undergraduate and graduate degree programs on active duty overseas. Many learning programs and benefits are available and utilized by military online learners in a war zone. Education programs and benefits, such as, GoArmyEd, and the Post-9/11 GI Bill, have had major impacts on deployed military learners. The dissertation reviews impacts on academic enrollment, utilization of military education benefits, and course completion of soldier-students affected by military deployment. A literature review, survey, and research based on soldiers deployed from 2009-2010 identified several impacts on military learners from the time of the deployment through a two year period following return. Issues include application and utilization of benefits, beginning studies, halting studies, or transitioning from traditional to distance learning programs. In addition, challenges with soldier awareness and use of military education benefits and distance learning programs are presented.

This dissertation investigates the various levels at which the multi-scaled dynamics of war take shape in the everyday, embodied lives of the people whose job it is to produce it—soldiers and their families and communities at and around Ft. Hood, in central Texas. As the largest military installation in the world and the single biggest point of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan for all U.S. forces, Ft. Hood and its surround may represent the greatest single concentration of Americans directly involved in the production of global military force outside of Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. The repercussions of war and routinized war-making extend throughout the lives of the people who inhabit, serve and surround the base. The length, scale and distinct character of the Iraq War have exposed these soldiers and their family members to new and chronic hardships and forms of vulnerability, including the stresses of longer and more frequent tours, unprecedented rates of posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, overburdened institutional supports, and an abundance of extreme characterizations of soldiers in American public culture. These vulnerabilities are bodily and affective, intersubjective and shared, and bases for scrutiny and recognition. I base my analysis on the difficult and distinctive role that the soldier occupies as at once the agent, instrument and object of state violence. The soldier’s life is simultaneously shaped by discipline, empowered by the right to kill, and allowed to be exposed to harm and death. I use soldiers’ “exceptional” status as a starting point for understanding the dense sets of material, institutional, discursive, and social relations in which they are embedded. The dissertation chapters are organized around broad themes that emerged from my informants’ words, actions and experiences and that capture the impacts of war across diverse arenas of everyday life. I treat each theme as a field within which to explore not merely the effects of war, but its lived affects—-the “feelings” of war that are the variously sensory, psychic and emotional imprints of the everyday, organized production of military violence. / text

The use of child soldiers has troubled human rights activists, policy-makers, and local communities for decades. Although rebellions around the world routinely use children in their activities, many do not. Despite its overwhelming importance for conflict resolution, the topic of child soldiers remains understudied. My research blends classic rational choice and constructivist themes to develop an explanation for when child soldiers will be used, and when they will be avoided. The likelihood of child recruitment is influenced by the value of international opinion; this is determined by the groups' long-term goals. Secessionist rebellions desire to have their own state. However, statehood is jealously guarded by the international community and is only granted under extreme circumstances. The use of child soldiers has been condemned around the world as a crime against humanity, and it can curtail international support. Thus, secessionists should be the least likely rebel type to use child soldiers out of a concern to appear legitimate. Opportunistic rebellions face few constraints in their recruitment efforts. They do not desire international support because their long-term goal is the same as their short term goal: profit. Instead of refraining from using children in order to curry favor with external parties, they will abduct, adopt, and abuse children because they are cheaper to employ than adults. Opportunists are unconcerned with losing legitimacy or reducing the chances of victory. Therefore, they should be the most likely to use child soldiers. Concern for costs can affect all rebels. As duration grows, constraints over long-term legitimacy diminish. Therefore, all rebellions should be more likely to use child soldiers as duration increases. I test my theory quantitatively by looking at 103 rebel groups active between 1998-2008. I explore rebellions in Somalia, Colombia, Afghanistan and Sudan to further elucidate the causal mechanisms. There is considerable empirical support for the theory. These results offer policy-relevant conclusions in the areas of rehabilitation and conflict resolution. More importantly, they offer a workable strategy to curb the use of child soldiers in civil war.

This work sought to explore, evaluate and then improve the process of development for personal Military Load Carriage Equipment (MLCE), such as rucksacks. It was suspected that current MLCE had a number of user interaction deficiencies which should have been addressed during development. Three research questions were posed to determine: the influences on MLCE development, what needed improvement in MLCE development and how MLCE development could be improved. The work was based on eight studies conducted in three phases: the first to explore MLCE development and the observed deficiencies, the second to evaluate MLCE development, and the third to improve it. The chosen research strategy was henomenological, using a grounded theory methodology within which phenomena could emerge. Grounded theory approaches were adopted for this research because they were the best way in which to access the design domain. The research was framed within cycles of reflective action research to enable the researcher to re-orientate the enquiry to make the best use of the research opportunities that arose from the organisational context in which the research was sited. An initial investigation into the development of in-service equipment was done via a comparative case study, using documentary analysis and interviews with authorities in the field. Through this investigation it became clear that MLCE development was based on heuristics and tacit knowledge of manufacturing techniques, and collaboration between professional groups, including: materials / manufacturing, human systems, project management and military personnel. Deficiencies within MLCE development, determined through the comparative study, were validated against current practice through a further case study and additional evaluations. A comparison of outputs from these studies was then reviewed in a grounded manner to gain a holistic understanding of MLCE development. The interaction and importance of the various influences on MLCE development was then better understood, in particular the inadequate understanding of MLCE user needs, and requirement specification. To refine the possible avenues and target audience for an improvement of MLCE development stakeholder interviews were undertaken to develop a better understanding of how military user needs were gathered and applied. Following the interview survey, a tool was developed to analyse video and audio data of soldiers operating with MLCE on current operations. The tool was then reviewed by a panel of MLCE developers and stakeholders. The panel thought that the tool had a number of benefits to MLCE development: improving understanding of soldier environments, improved quality and reliability of information used in development, and as a conduit for concept evaluation. The research has provided a novel perspective on MLCE development, and provided a number of avenues upon which subsequent research could focus. The research has been able to make original contributions to understanding, albeit in a manner limited by the methodologies used.

This thesis examines the experience of Malawian soldiers serving in Britain's colonial army between 1891 and 1964. Until recently, the experience of East African colonial soldiers in particular has been largely overlooked, and African soldiers in general have been perceived either as collaborators in the machinery of colonial oppression or, conversely, as victims at the hands of the military authorities. However, little attempt has been made to unify these two views of military service. Using Malawi as a case study, this thesis investigates social relations within the colonial army and examines perceptions of their often-violent role within wider colonial society. Developing and expanding upon previous scholarship, this thesis provides the first sustained and unified study of the colonial army in Malawi. The project is based principally upon archival sources in Britain and Malawi, but also draws upon interviews with British and Malawian veterans. Chapter one provides an overview of the institutional history of the Malawian forces. Chapter two outlines the development of recruitment policy, with special reference to the concept of 'martial races', and examines the motivations behind Malawian enlistment. Chapters three and four investigate the reactions of African soldiers to the formal military environment and to barrack life. Chapter five examines perceptions of soldiers' roles in warfare and internal security, and contrasts this with the place of soldiers in their own communities. The thesis highlights the extent to which Malawian soldiers were successfully co-opted by the military authorities, but also stresses the capacity of soldiers to influence the conditions under which they served. This, combined with the unusually long association which many Malawians had with the army, fed into a growing perception of the colonial army as a Malawian institution.

This thesis examines how an integrative and preventative healing center is necessary for the wellness of our society and military personnel by understanding how food can react positively or negatively to someone's health depending on their blood type and the lifestyle they lead. The Health care profession predominantly focuses on curing disease while the preventative solutions are often overlooked and underestimated. Those who have food allergies' and what may seem to be a simple reoccurring sickness have very few places to go for guidance or real help since their problems are not considered a disease'. But the years of contamination could cause a complete immune system failure leading to cancer or some other life threatening disease. Our world once lived as one with nature relying on the earth's natural healing plants and foods. We were once fully dependent on it for healing but now we have isolated ourselves causing pain and confusion to not only our mind and body but to our earth and our environment. Misguided, lost and alone. This thesis responds to the problem of medical physicians overlooking or ignoring the natural healing aspects of plants and food and how our nation has become a fast food' processed nation that has caused an increase in health problems and blood disorders. A holistic healing arts center and resort. will combine the traditional medical practices with the alternative therapies to provide a treatment facility that is in search for the answers on an individual level. The patient or visitor will be the educated on their blood type and what types of food and fitness will be best to enhance their lives and create a daily balance for optimum wellness. / US Navy (USN) author.

The frequency and seriousness of facial injuries during the First World War account for the presence of disfigured men in significant numbers in European interwar society. Physical reconstruction, psychological and social consequences had long-term consequences for experts and lay people alike. Despite the number of wounded men and the impact of disfigurement, the facially injured soldiers of the First World War have rarely been the focus of academic research. This thesis aims to bridge this gap through a careful investigation of the lives and representations of gueules cassées, as they came to be known in France. It examines the experience and perceptions of facial disfigurement from the moment of the injury and throughout the years following, thereby setting the parameters for a study of the real and the mediated presence of disfigured veterans in interwar society. The chronological frame of this study begins in 1914 and ends in 1939, since the perception and representations of facial disfigurement were of particular significance during the First World War and its aftermath. Using a comparative approach to explore the experience and representations of disfigurement, this study investigates the presence of facially injured combatants and veterans in 1920s and 1930s society. With an interdisciplinary perspective, literary and artistic depictions as well as historical documents are examined in order to complement contemporary descriptions with the voices of the men themselves. This study sheds new light on the history of wounded soldiers of the First World War through in-depth analysis of original documents from France, Germany and Great Britain. This thesis provides the first detailed comparative study of British, French and German disfigured men. It emphasises the at times paradoxical situation of veterans who sought to lead ordinary lives but also became symbols of the war. All five chapters highlight the visibility of facially injured men and explore different responses to their presence whilst also interrogating their role and image in wartime and interwar societies. As such it aims to make a contribution to the cultural history of the First World War and its aftermath.

Soldier caste is the oldest altruistic caste in termites, highly specialized for defensive tasks. Therefore, a number of adaptations in anatomy and behaviour can be observed in soldier, lacking in other termite castes. The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that in disturbed groups the soldiers will prefer to stand by and defend the reproductives, the most valuable individuals. Therefore, I studied in two species of the genus Prorhinotermes (P. simplex and P. canalifrons) the ability of soldiers to discriminate neotenic reproductives and provide them with defence. In agreement with the initial hypothesis, the soldiers of both species prooved to be able of an instantaneous recognition of reproductives and remained close to them. In P. simplex, the neotenic female was the most attractive individual, while in P. canalifrons, neotenics of both sexes were equally attractive. The observed preference of reproductives appears to occur only with a certain age of the reproductives in incipient colonies, along with their sexual maturation. Caste specificity of cuticular lipids supports the presumption that the caste recognition is based on olphactoric cues in the cuticle of reproductives.

5 ABSTRACT The rules governing the protection of children in armed conflicts has undergone an extensive evolution over the last few years. From the beginning of 20th century when the first international instruments for acknowledging children as a specific group requiring better attention and a special approach started to form, through the boom in the 1980 when the binding Convention on the rights of the child was dedicated solely to children and children's protection became the key question for many international participants, till the 21th century where the protection of children began to be oriented towards the balance between accepted obligations and their realization. Today, many international documents deal with the protection of children; however, their implementation and realization is often lacking. Armed conflicts are no longer of a traditional international character today and the norms, which dealt with relations between states, are no longer valid and need to be reassessed. Mixed and internal armed conflicts prevail and the attention is focused on civilian children included as an easy targets. In this kind of situation, children are particularly vulnerable for various reasons. First, many children live in a large-scale poverty and any kind of participation in an armed conflict allows them to...