The main focus of this study was to investigate how Swedish military veterans experience that events during an international service affect them after completed mission. This also includes the contact with their relatives. Secondly, this study deals with the course of the crisis, personal defense mechanisms, cumulative stress and post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). The study was performed using a qualitative method and comprises individual interviews with six Swedish veterans. The responders were all men of different military positions, who participated in one or more international missions during 1993 to 2011. The results of this study show that, according to the veterans, the return back home is the most strenuous part of an international mission. With all the new experiences that an international service brings fresh in their memories, it is hard to re-adjust to the life of a civilian. In connection with the return back home, different degrees of stress reactions were also commonly seen, for example sleep disturbance, restlessness and exhaustion. One of the veterans being interviewed was also affected by post-traumatic stress syndrome, although healthy again at the time of the study.

<p>Kumulativ stress kan påverka soldater vid en utlandsmission. Denna stress orsakas av små vardagliga händelser och tjänstgöringsrelaterade händelser under en mission. Syftet med denna uppsats är att fåen fördjupad förståelse av hur en stressad gruppchef påverkar sin grupp i en komplex miljö som i den typ av missioner som för närvarande genomförs i Afghanistan. Uppsatsen undersöker hur kumulativ stress har påverkat gruppchefer och deras förmåga att leda gruppen samt hur stressen som gruppchefen utsatts för har påverkat gruppen. Undersökningen baseras på intervjuer av informanter som varit på utlandsmission i Afghanistan och de beskriver sin gruppchef och händelser som skedde under deras tid på mission. Alla informanter var män mellan 20-25 år när de genomförde sin utlandsmission. Informanterna hade olika befattningar för att ge undersökningen en bredare bild. För att kunna koppla till teorier om ledarskap och kumulativ stress har även dessa beskrivits i en teoretisk genomgång. Resultatet visar att gruppcheferna har på något sett påverkats av stress och att detta har påverkat deras handlande och påverkat gruppen. Hur de har agerat i de stressade situationerna tycks vara relaterat till hur de har fördelat ansvar och byggt upp gemenskapen i sin grupp. De grupper som hade en stark sammanhållning och öppet förhållande till varandra både i arbetet och privat påverkades mindre av att gruppchefen var stressad.</p> / <p>Cumulative stress may affect the troops on a foreign mission. This kind of stress is caused by small daily events and service-related events during a mission. The purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how stress affects group team leaders in a complex environment in the type of missions that are currently implemented in Afghanistan. The essay examines how group leaders have reacted to cumulative stress during their time in the mission and their ability to lead the group. The study is based on interviews with informants who had been on foreign missions in Afghanistan. All respondents were male between 20-25 years when they carried out their mission abroad. The informants had different positions in order to obtain a broader picture. The informants were interviewed about their squad leader and events that occurred during the mission. To be able to connect to theories of leadership and cumulative stress summaries of these have also been described in the theoretical analysis. The result shows that group leaders are affected by stress and that has affected their behaviour and impact on the group. How they have behaved in the stressful situations appears to be related to how they have allocated responsibilities and contributed to the cohesion in their group. The groups that had a strong cohesion and open relationship with each other, both at work and in private, appeared to be less affected by the commander when he/she was under stress.</p>

Kumulativ stress kan påverka soldater vid en utlandsmission. Denna stress orsakas av små vardagliga händelser och tjänstgöringsrelaterade händelser under en mission. Syftet med denna uppsats är att fåen fördjupad förståelse av hur en stressad gruppchef påverkar sin grupp i en komplex miljö som i den typ av missioner som för närvarande genomförs i Afghanistan. Uppsatsen undersöker hur kumulativ stress har påverkat gruppchefer och deras förmåga att leda gruppen samt hur stressen som gruppchefen utsatts för har påverkat gruppen. Undersökningen baseras på intervjuer av informanter som varit på utlandsmission i Afghanistan och de beskriver sin gruppchef och händelser som skedde under deras tid på mission. Alla informanter var män mellan 20-25 år när de genomförde sin utlandsmission. Informanterna hade olika befattningar för att ge undersökningen en bredare bild. För att kunna koppla till teorier om ledarskap och kumulativ stress har även dessa beskrivits i en teoretisk genomgång. Resultatet visar att gruppcheferna har på något sett påverkats av stress och att detta har påverkat deras handlande och påverkat gruppen. Hur de har agerat i de stressade situationerna tycks vara relaterat till hur de har fördelat ansvar och byggt upp gemenskapen i sin grupp. De grupper som hade en stark sammanhållning och öppet förhållande till varandra både i arbetet och privat påverkades mindre av att gruppchefen var stressad. / Cumulative stress may affect the troops on a foreign mission. This kind of stress is caused by small daily events and service-related events during a mission. The purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how stress affects group team leaders in a complex environment in the type of missions that are currently implemented in Afghanistan. The essay examines how group leaders have reacted to cumulative stress during their time in the mission and their ability to lead the group. The study is based on interviews with informants who had been on foreign missions in Afghanistan. All respondents were male between 20-25 years when they carried out their mission abroad. The informants had different positions in order to obtain a broader picture. The informants were interviewed about their squad leader and events that occurred during the mission. To be able to connect to theories of leadership and cumulative stress summaries of these have also been described in the theoretical analysis. The result shows that group leaders are affected by stress and that has affected their behaviour and impact on the group. How they have behaved in the stressful situations appears to be related to how they have allocated responsibilities and contributed to the cohesion in their group. The groups that had a strong cohesion and open relationship with each other, both at work and in private, appeared to be less affected by the commander when he/she was under stress.