This dissertation explores the combat performance of the Union soldiers who filled newly-raised regiments that fought through the Civil War’s final year. Period observers and historians have typically regarded such later arrivals as substandard to the “Boys of ‘61” who enlisted at the war’s start. Tapping the methods of social and traditional military history, this work is among the first to assess the record of these soldiers under fire. It does so by tracing the experiences of the 17th Vermont and 31st Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiments, starting with their formation and continuing with their service throughout the Overland and Petersburg Campaigns (May 1864 – April 1865). Both outfits fought in the Army of the Potomac, the Union’s largest field army, in which only half of whose veterans reenlisted on the expiration of their original three-year terms. The 17th and 31st maintained moderate to high levels of unit cohesion, showed determination to accomplish battlefield objectives, and sustained heavy casualties in the process. This project justifies a reappraisal of the later arrivals, a population of approximately 820,000 white men who donned the uniform between 1863 and 1865. These forgotten boys in blue left behind a record of valor and sacrifice essential to achieving the destruction of the Confederacy. / History

In this PhD thesis, the lives and experiences of a group of combat veterans who began surfing following their return from war are explored. Having encountered life changing traumatic events and experienced much suffering (with many becoming diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder), these veterans joined an ex-services charity called Surf Action where they were introduced to surfing alongside other veterans who shared their suffering. The purpose of this research is to explore the effects of surfing and, more broadly, of participation in the charity Surf Action in the veterans lives and on their well-being. It is the first in-depth qualitative investigation of surfing in the lives of combat veterans. Using a combination of life history interviews and participant observation, I collected and analysed stories from the veterans about their lived experiences. Through rigorously applying the innovative analytical approach of dialogical narrative analysis (Frank, 2010, 2012), also inspired by phenomenology, the effects of the veterans stories both on and for their lives and well-being are examined. The analysis first demonstrates that stories of surfing were focused on the veterans physical and sensory interactions with the ocean environment, and helped to cultivate the notion of embodied respite from suffering. It is then suggested that by telling and enacting a collective story, the veterans at Surf Action (the Combat Surfers ) created a therapeutic community through which they accessed mutual support, recreated positive military identities associated with camaraderie, and legitimised their struggles with PTSD. Next, the masculine performances which shaped the veterans actions and narratives around help-seeking and dealing with PTSD are highlighted. Furthermore, the analysis reveals the meanings associated with moving beyond the chaotic influence of trauma in the veterans lives and suggests ways of keeping well following trauma and PTSD. The thesis also incorporates an ethnographic creative non-fiction as a way of enhancing knowledge translation and facilitating wider impact and dissemination of the findings. Finally, the thesis concludes with empirical, theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the research, with an emphasis throughout on what to the study adds to knowledge. The potential of surfing to contribute to veterans healthcare is discussed alongside recommendations for the charity Surf Action and future possibilities for expanding this research.

<p>Research on the military has historically focused on the potentially de-stratifying effects of service, including reductions of racial inequality and social mobility. Taking a life course approach, this prior research tends to claim that the military is a positive turning point in the lives of disadvantaged men. Scholars point to the educational benefits of the GI Bill, racial integration, and health care to claim that military service, especially during peacetime, is largely beneficial to service members. While it is certainly the case that the military has provided some historical benefits to marginalized groups, recent research has given us strong reasons to question how beneficial military service is to stigmatized groups. Significant racial and gender inequalities remain, and in some cases, are deepening. Drawing on 50 in-depth interviews with veterans this dissertation examines how the organizational habitus of the military, despite organizational proclamations of meritocracy, may contribute to inequality. Focusing on the unintended consequences of military polices surrounding mental health problems, discrimination, and family relations, I create a synthesis of organizational and critical race theories to show how military policies may compound problems for soldiers and veterans. Focusing on the contradictions between stated organizational policies and actual practice, I show how the organizational arrangements of the military normalize overt expressions of racial and gender based discrimination, creating a sometimes-hostile environment for women and minorities and leaving them little recourse for recrimination. When policies protecting the stigmatized undermine the power and prerogatives of commanders or conflict with the militaries mission, it is not the powerful that suffer. Further, I show how military policies promoting family, such as extra pay for married soldiers, are at odds with the multiple deployments and high mental health incidences of this generations wars. Although the military relies on women on the "home front," as a basis of support, the exigencies of service undermine relationship stability. </p><p>I argue that traditional findings on the de-stratifying effects of service are partially a product of an analytical frame that neglects internal organizational dynamics.</p> / Dissertation

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Senior officers in the United States Army have a high degree of confidence that National Training Center simulated combat results are representative, under similar circumstances, of actual combat. A validation methodology for high resolution combat models, primarily based on data acquired from the National Training Center, is the focus of this thesis. The validation methodology, where appropriate, translates confidence in National Training Center realism, to confidence in the combat model. Theoretical issues, existing methodologies, and the impact of model purpose are considered in this research. The final product is a validation methodology that makes use of a realistic representation of combat, automatically updates validation criteria to account for changes in weapons and tactics, and is responsive to the purpose for which the model was designed. / http://archive.org/details/methodologyforva00covi / Captain, United States Army

It is critical that anyone responding to a traumatic event must be able to fulfill his or her purpose in the situation. The US Army Chaplain must be prepared to provide valued minisry during times of traumatic injury and death in a combat environment. The purpose of the investigation was to establish core ministry actions based upon identified common expectations and standards between chaplains, officers, and Soldiers of their command relating to ministry during times of traumatic injury and death in a combat environment. The intent was met though a series of steps beginning with the identification of the problem that US Army Chaplains have not been adequately prepared for the task of Combat Trauma Ministry. A review of current scholarship in the field demonstrated that significant works on Combat Trauma Ministry are almost non-existent. In order to accomplish the investigation two research methodologies were employed. There was use of quantitative data and large scale use of qualitiative research. The qualitative research provoed to be particualrly useful becauise of its focus on the study of problems in the social context. Research of the issue began with an examination of chaplain qualifications. This included a rebiew of the educational and ministerial prerequsities applicants must meet. A study of the training provided by the Army to those newly entering the US Army Chaplain Corps follows. This process revealed the challenges posed in trying to teach clergy from civilian parishes tom minister in the Army context of which many have no experience. The heart of the research is the body of interviews of chaplains, officers, and Soldiers. These personal accounts of ministry done, and failing to be done, with the theological impetus behind it provided the groundwork from which to draw the research conclusions. The research concludes that preparation for Combat Trauma Ministry within theArmy is still lacking but improving. In order to covercome remaining deficiencies individual chaplains, supervisory chaplains, and the US Army Chaplain Corps need to personally and professional augment training to ensure that the Chaplain Corps' Core Competencies Continuum - Nuture the Living, Care for the Wounded, and Honor the Dead - are adequately performed. The research identified three priorities of ministry to accomplish this intent. They are: Maintain Composure, Give them Something Tangible, and Share in the Burden. Finally, there is the recognition that the US Army Chaplain Corps must become more stringent in three specific concerns: Training and Qualification standards, developing self and supervisory care for chaplains, and prepating for the long-lasting effects of combat exposure and PTSD with a Soul Care emphasis.

Purpose: Since September 11, 2001 military personnel have experienced a pattern of frequent deployment and reintegration, known as the deployment cycle. Deployments present unique challenges and opportunities to military personnel with lasting effects. This study examines group differences based on risk and protective factors, which were grouped into four domains (physical, mental, social, and spiritual) according to the Comprehensive Airman Fitness model in use by the U.S. Air Force to teach and increase resilience. The groups represent various levels of exposure to deployment dangers, up to and including combat, and time, recent deployment within two years and past deployment more than two years ago. Method: Secondary analysis was conducted with the 2013 Air Force Community Assessment Survey, a large, anonymous survey collected among U.S. Airmen. Discriminant analysis was utilized to determine and describe group differences. Results: The null hypothesis of no difference between group centroids was rejected. The primary group difference existed between Airmen who experienced combat and all other Airmen. The result of the discriminant analysis demonstrates at least two, possibly three, distinct groups exist among Airmen related to deployment experiences. The discriminant analysis generated six functions. Health and PTSD demonstrated the highest discriminant ability, although social support systems also played a significant role. Recent deployers reported higher levels of resilience and hardiness compared to past deployers regardless of exposure to deployment danger and combat. Meanwhile, past deployers reported higher levels of spirituality across all groups. Discussion: This study utilized aspects of resilience theory through the incorporation of time and a person-in-environment approach to the study of deployment and resilience. Implications related to social work practice include assessment of deployment frequency and the cumulative effects of deployment stressors. A specific policy recommendation is to ensure adequate leadership training in resilience promotion, as leadership represented an important component of resilience in this study. Finally, future research following this study could include qualitative analysis and studies utilizing more comprehensive scales among Airmen.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Name: Characteristics and Development of Combat Sport Sambo Objective of the work: Characterize sambo and its development in the world and the Czech Republic, to point out the differences between sambo and judo. Acquaint the public with this sport, so they gain knowledge of the rules, literature, history, personalities and organizations. Methods: The method of collecting information was studying literature, interviews and personal communication trainers and representatives of the Czech sambo federation, also Slovakian and Russian sambo representatives. Results: In the course of writing this thesis, we have learned more about the situation of sambo in our country and in the world of literature, sambo organizations and the differences between different types of sambo and judo. We have explained the main rules, so that everyone reading this thesis can understand the sport and gain basic knowledge of it. Key words: sambo, sports sambo, combat sambo, judo

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Sarah Jane Fishback / This study describes how combat experiences affected female Army officers who attended the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The female Army officers’ combat experiences were found to affect their academic learning, classroom experience, and coping mechanisms in a graduate-level professional military education. The themes identified included combat-related gender specific experiences and additional gender themes related to learning in a male-dominated military education environment. Nine female active duty Army officers who were attending CGSC participated in this research with each having a minimum of two combat tours. In addition, two active duty Army CGSC military instructors with multiple combat tours and two behavioral counselors specializing in military patients were also interviewed. The findings of this case study indicated that combat experiences affect t a degree the female students who served in the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. The level of perceived academic stress was contingent upon the impact of the CGSC classroom environment, personal combat experiences, prior education, gender related combat stress, and other factors. Also, the learning experience of female students at CGSC was influenced due to marginalization in the classroom, instructor biases, and two-female limitations. This study contributes the continued research on effects of combat on adult learning, specifically adding to the limited works on being a female serving in the Army.

Thesis advisor: James E. Lubben / This study examined the roles cohesion, coping, and perceived threat have in buffering the effect of war-zone stress on mental health symptoms. Specifically, six factors were tested as potential moderators of the relationship between combat-related stressors and posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS), including horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and perceived threat. In addition, direct effects and curvilinear interaction effects were examined. This study was a secondary analysis of Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT) VI data collected by military researchers as part of an ongoing effort to assess soldiers' behavioral health. This study analyzed data from a total of 1,824 male and female U.S. Army soldiers from 15 active-duty brigades who anonymously completed the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Deployment Well-Being Survey during their deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). PTSS, combat-related stressors, horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and perceived threat were measured. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to identify both risk factors and protective factors for PTSS. The analysis revealed three risk factors and four protective factors. During a war-zone deployment, higher levels of combat-related stressors, problem-focused coping, and perceived threat (i.e., risk factors) were independently associated with greater report of PTSS. Higher levels of horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping (i.e., protective factors) were independently associated with decreased levels of PTSS. Hierarchical moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping buffered the effect of combat-related stressors on PTSS; soldiers higher in vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping showed weaker relationships between combat-related stressors and PTSS. No support for curvilinear interaction effects were found, suggesting that for this population of soldiers deployed to Iraq, the moderating effect of vertical cohesion and emotion-focused coping on the relationship between combat-related stressors and PTSS is linear in nature. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.