The Iraq War was an era of crisis and change within the U.S. Army. The failure of the army to adapt to the war revealed the obsolescence of post Vietnam army culture. Innovation experiences in the war were directionless and a new intellectual framework was required to deal with warfare that the army had long disliked: counterinsurgency. Major organizational change was accomplished by a coalition of generals led by Generals David Petraeus, Jack Keane, and Ray Odierno. These officers established a new intellectual framework with FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency. They challenged institutional military orthodoxy in Washington by proposing a renewed commitment to victory. Finally, they demonstrated the efficacy of counterinsurgency theory through a military campaign that “proved” FM 3-24. This major, yet limited, change in service culture fractured the consensus of the post Vietnam narrative and initiated an ongoing reinterpretation of the army’s philosophy of war.

Background: Recent Canadian Armed Forces operations involved multiple deployments and exposure to traumatic events that are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and substance abuse. Despite efforts to facilitate mental health care, some soldiers do not get the help they need. Objective: To understand soldiers’ experiences and explore barriers and facilitators they encountered accessing mental health care. Results: Qualitative descriptive interviews with 11 Canadian Armed Forces members revealed six major categories that provide insights into their experiences accessing mental health care. Participants’ revealed significant barriers to care including fear of damaging their career or being released, stigma beliefs and actions from peers and leaders, and physical and organizational barriers to care. Social support from family, military co-workers, and unit leaders facilitated care. Conclusions: Notwithstanding efforts to facilitate access to mental health care, some soldiers still perceive significant barriers to care.

No description available.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION DEBORAH A. DIFFENAUER, for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Education, presented at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. TITLE: Job Satisfaction and the Perceived Organizational Culture of U. S. Military and Military Affiliated Personnel at a Midwestern University MAJOR PROFESSOR: C. Keith Waugh, Ph.D. This study examined the relationship between demographic characteristics, level of job satisfaction, and current/preferred organizational culture in a sample of 139 off-campus military degree program participants. Responses were received from undergraduate students in the fields of engineering, applied sciences and arts, and education. The Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985) was used to assess the participant's level of satisfaction in current occupations. The second instrument used to assess the participant's current and preferred organizational culture was a combined version of Harrison & Stokes (1992) Diagnosing Organizational Culture Instrument DOCI and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument OCAI developed by Cameron & Quinn (1999b). Descriptive characteristics, eta cross tabulations and Spearman's Rho bivariate correlations were executed on the data and statistically significant differences were found. The study provided evidence to validate the existence of correlations between levels job satisfaction and perceptions of organizational culture. Specifically, there exists a relationship between some of the participant's demographic characteristics (gender, status, and current occupation), with job satisfaction, and organizational culture within the military environment given the various subcultures and defined roles.

No description available.

Os resultados insatisfatórios que as escolas públicas brasileiras têm apresentado nas avaliações nacionais evocam notícias, manchetes, e causam grande preocupação em pais, professores e autoridades - mas tal fato não significa que não existam boas escolas. Apesar da reconhecida crise educacional, alguns sistemas funcionam bem, como os colégios militares, as escolas do sistema S (SESI, Senai etc.) e os Institutos Federais (IFs), assim como algumas escolas estaduais, municipais e do setor privado (religiosas ou não). O presente trabalho visa identificar as possíveis razões do sucesso alcançado por essas escolas e, para viabilizar a análise, elegeu as escolas do Sistema Colégio Militar do Brasil. O estudo propõe que o bom desempenho dos alunos egressos dessas escolas se deva, primordialmente, à existência de projetos alicerçados em uma arquitetura de valores éticos. Tais valores não são exclusividade da formação militar, estando certamente inseridos também nas escolas civis. O que ocorre nos ambientes educacionais militares é que tais valores são explicitados e vivenciados diária e intensamente, por meio de projetos específicos, dentre os quais destaca-se o Projeto Valores, que sistematiza as atividades desenvolvidas junto aos alunos, na conscientização de valores éticos, como: disciplina, hierarquia, responsabilidade, camaradagem, dedicação, espírito de corpo, patriotismo, civismo, respeito, honestidade, solidariedade, tolerância, lealdade, coragem, integridade, cooperação, justiça e culto às tradições. Outra característica dos colégios militares é a crença na meritocracia são valorizados o esforço individual, as atitudes, as ações na sala de aula e nas atividades extraclasses, e todas as conquistas obtidas pelos discentes. Cria-se, com isso, a ética do mérito, importante no desenvolvimento do caráter, visto que reforça e dá suporte ao crescimento pessoal. Todas as atividades desenvolvidas buscam incentivar relações de afeto e de orgulho dos alunos com seus colégios. É importante destacar, porém, que os colégios militares apresentarem estruturas pedagógica, institucional e física excelentes, dentro do universo das escolas da Educação Básica. Para a realização do trabalho foi adotada, como orientação metodológica, a pesquisa bibliográfica para analisar as múltiplas acepções dos valores éticos cultivados no Sistema Colégio Militar do Brasil e na Educação Básica. Foram coletados, também, depoimentos de ex-alunos do Sistema, que corroboraram com a hipótese do trabalho. A partir das informações, foi realizada uma análise dos valores éticos cultivados nos colégios do Sistema, e a explicitação de algumas convergências possíveis. Este trabalho não tem a intenção de esgotar o estudo sobre os colégios militares, nem pretende sugerir que toda escola seja um colégio militar, mas sim, visa identificar o que esses colégios bem-sucedidos apresentam, que poderia ser expandido para outras escolas, particularmente no que diz respeito à existência de um projeto orientado por um conjunto de valores éticos. / The unsatisfactory results that Brazilian public schools have presented in the national evaluations evoke news, headlines, and cause great concern among parents, teachers and authorities - but this does not mean that there are no good schools. Despite the acknowledged educational crisis, some systems work well, such as military schools, S-system schools (SESI, Senai, etc.) and the Federal Institutes (IFs), as well as some state, municipal, and private sector schools. The present work aims to identify the possible reasons for the success achieved by these schools and, to make feasible the analysis, elected the schools of the Military School System of Brazil. The study proposes that the good performance of students graduating from these schools is primarily due to the existence of projects based on ethical values, pillars of military culture. These values are not exclusive to military training, and are certainly also inserted in civilian schools. What happens in military educational environments is that these values are explicitly and experienced daily and intensely, through specific projects, among which the Values Project stands out, which systematizes the activities developed with students, in the awareness of ethical values, such as discipline, hierarchy, responsibility, camaraderie, dedication, body spirit, patriotism, civility, respect, honesty, solidarity, tolerance, loyalty, courage, unity, truth, cooperation, justice and praise of traditions. Another characteristic of military schools is the belief in meritocracy in which individual effort, attitudes, classroom actions and extraclassic activities are valued, and all achievements achieved by students. This creates an ethic of merit, which is important in the development of character, since it reinforces and supports personal growth. All activities developed seek to promote relations of affection and pride in the students about their colleges. It is important to emphasize, however, that military schools present excellent institutional and physical pedagogical structures, within the universe of Basic Education schools. In order to carry out the work, a bibliographical research was used as a methodological orientation to analyze the multiple meanings of the ethical values cultivated in the Military School System of Brazil and Basic Education (SCMB), and also the testimonies of former students of the System, which corroborated the work hypothesis. From the information obtained, an analysis of the ethical values cultivated in the schools of the SCMB was carried out, and the explanation of some possible convergences with other schools. This work is not intended to exhaust the study of military schools, nor is it intended to suggest that every school is turned into a military school, but rather seeks to identify what these successful schools present, which can be expanded to other schools, particularly in relation to the existence of a project guided by a set of ethical values.

The purpose of this study was to examine how the single-parent home environment, together with other demographic attributes like socioeconomic status, influenced young adults' decisions to enlist in the military. Adolescents transitioning into adulthood are often faced with the choices of what to do after high school, such as whether or not to join the military. Previous studies on youth enlistment in the military do not address in-depth the question of why they enlist or their motivating factors. Interviews via face-to-face, over the phone or via Skype, were conducted with 9 participants between the ages of 25-35 years who were high school graduates or GED holders who enlisted within 2 years from graduation, from single-parent homes, and separated from the military on their own accord prior to starting the study. Participants were voluntarily recruited through social media using purposeful sampling. Guided by Carl Rogers' theory of self-concept, data were analyzed via coding techniques to draw out common themes, and 4 composite themes emerged: (a) those individuals raised by absentee mothers were more likely to enlist in the military service, (b) troubled homes predicted the desire of the young adults to leave their homes, (c) evasion from the family conflict and financial stability were motivations for enlistment in the military, and (d) deprivation from human basic needs influenced the decision to enlist in the military. The findings can help with determining factors that cause disconnect in the family structure along with gaining a greater understanding a child's sense of belonging such as what is found in the military culture. Results can also be used to influence military professionals/recruiters about the specific types of individuals who are likely to be recruited into the military and how to develop and/or use tools to further assess the ability to sustain the military culture.

This work examines what constituted 19th century American military science, why it was framed within government policy and taught within the United States Military Academy, and how it became the early American way of war. The work uses as evidence a wide array of documents including biographical records of 2046 West Point graduates. It tracks the evolution of military science from Enlightenment Europe to the United States during the American Revolution and its relative obscurity until after the War of 1812. It then explains why a deliberate decision was made to transplant a French Napoleonic version of military science to serve as the curriculum of the military academy and to support the formulation of a national defense policy that called for militarized coastal frontiers and an “expansible army.” The work then follows how and why military science was modified during the period 1820-1860 in response to changes to the threats to the United States, changes related to state and federal plans for “internal improvements,” Indian wars, westward expansion, war with Mexico, and advances in military technology. Specifically it tracks how the doctrine of military science evolved from the teaching of specific Napoleonic applications to embrace subjects needed for war in North America. Inculcation in this American military science eventually came to provide the army with an officer corps that shared a common all-arms doctrine and common skill in using mathematics for military problem-solving. The majority of long-service graduates went on to spend years of their career fulfilling general staff, engineering, or academy instructor functions. The proliferation of military science through their work, and through published texts available to state volunteers, ensured that on the eve of the Civil War there existed a distinctly American, and scientific, way of war. This work challenges two late 20th century liberal arts revisionist schools, championed by Samuel Huntington and Russell Weigley, that have unfairly reduced military science to near oblivion. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2012-05-28 10:47:55.375

Despite the picture portraying the U.S as a western, democratic and equal country, the U.S military has faced several downfalls when it comes to its female force, especially in relation to sexual assault. This study poses the question of how can western ‘model countries’ such as the U.S, promote democracy when its military institution seem to miss one of the central pillars to a democratic society that is equality. Furthermore, the study seeks to dive further into the military culture of the U.S military in order to understand if women adjust to the military culture or if the military culture adjusts to the influx of women. By examining narratives of male and female soldiers and veterans, who tell their stories online, this research is conducted as a case study, using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital and Judith Butler’s theory of performative gender as an analytical tool in order to recontextualize the findings and gain a further understanding of the military culture from an inside perspective. In conclusion, the study essentially confirms the notion of the military constituting a male centered culture, as well as a crowd oriented culture, which contributes to females adjusting to the culture rather than it adjusting to the influx of women. In addition to this, gender equality is perceived as something applied by actors from the outside when it is convenient or solely talked about with respect to physical capabilities. Ultimately, research in relation to the U.S military needs to include a focus on culture in order for it to change and become gender equal.

Background The International Council of Nurses (ICN) states in it’s ethical code that the nurse practitioner is responsible for giving each patient correct and culturally adapted care. Military culture is unique and comes with its own challenges and needs of nursing care. Aim The aim is to find the prominent nursing diagnoses in military personnel in relation to the military ethos. Method A literature review of twenty articles found through searches in PubMed, Cinhal and Summon. Results The prominent nursing diagnoses were risk-prone health behavior together with pain issues and sleep disturbances. Two thirds of military personnel consumed high amounts of alcohol, pain issues was the most prevalent, up to half of all personnel experienced sleep disturbances and willingness to seek care was low. Stress, depression, consequences of pain and effects on the family process was also found. Result of military duty could also be infections, wounds, dermatological problems, hearing impairment and diarrhea. Conclusion Military culture is unique and reports health differently than the civilian population. Because of this it is important to know the prominent diagnoses to be able to give this patient group appropriate nursing interventions and competent care. / Bakgrund I enlighet med International Council of Nurses (ICN) etiska kod har sjuksköterskan ett ansvar för att varje person ska få en korrekt, tillfredsställande och kulturellt anpassad information som grund till sin vård och behandling. Militärkulturen ger upphov till en patientgrupp med unika behov och detta skall styra vården. Syfte Syftet är att genom en litteraturstudie förstå vilka omvårdnadsdiagnoser som är framträdande hos militärpersonal med relation till militärt etos. Metod En litteraturstudie av artiklar (n=20) genom sökningar i PubMed, Cinhal och Summon. Resultat Riskfyllt hälsobeteende var största temat följt av smärta och sömnproblematik. Hos militärpersonal var alkoholkonsumtion hög hos två tredjedelar, smärta hade högst prevalens, påverkan på sömnen återfanns i upp till hälften av personalen och viljan att söka vård var nedsatt. Stress, depression, smärtkonsekvenser samt påverkade familjerelationer och processer återfanns. Följder av tjänstgöringen var infektioner, hudskada, hudåkommor, hörselnedsättning och diarré. Slutsats Militärkulturen är unik och underrapporterar ohälsa, därför behövs det en förståelse för de framträdande omvårdnadsdiagnoserna för att kunna ge denna patientgrupp god vård.