The Reconstruction of Culture, Citizenship, and Military Service

Morgan, Matthew J.

doi:10.1177/0095327x0302900304

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The struggles veterans experience with a lack of structure and purpose upon return to civilian life are key emerging issues in research in Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. Differences between military and civilian culture have increased over the past century, and issues of structure and purpose are exacerbated in an environment in which it is difficult to find employment [ 25 ]. Problems faced with lack of structure are similar to discussions of lack of control and discipline in civilian life as a challenge for returning World War II soldiers [ 3 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans’ Transition from Military to Civilian Life and Approaches to Reconnection

et al. 2015

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Afghanistan and Iraq veterans experienced traumas during deployment, and disrupted connections with friends and family. In this context, it is critical to understand the nature of veterans’ transition to civilian life, the challenges navigated, and approaches to reconnection. We investigated these issues in a qualitative study, framed by homecoming theory, that comprised in-depth interviews with 24 veterans. Using an inductive thematic analysis approach, we developed three overarching themes. Military as family explored how many veterans experienced the military environment as a “family” that took care of them and provided structure. Normal is alien encompassed many veterans experiences of disconnection from people at home, lack of support from institutions, lack of structure, and loss of purpose upon return to civilian life. Searching for a new normal included strategies and supports veterans found to reconnect in the face of these challenges. A veteran who had successfully transitioned and provided support and advice as a peer navigator was frequently discussed as a key resource. A minority of respondents—those who were mistreated by the military system, women veterans, and veterans recovering from substance abuse problems—were less able to access peer support. Other reconnection strategies included becoming an ambassador to the military experience, and knowing transition challenges would ease with time. Results were consistent with and are discussed in the context of homecoming theory and social climate theory. Social support is known to be protective for veterans, but our findings add the nuance of substantial obstacles veterans face in locating and accessing support, due to disconnection and unsupportive institutions. Larger scale work is needed to better understand how to foster peer connection, build reconnection with family, and engage the broader community to understand and support veterans; interventions to support reconnection for veterans should be developed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans’ Transition from Military to Civilian Life and Approaches to Reconnection

et al. 2015

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“…Farris (1995), Griffith (2008) and Woodruff et al (2006), to mention a few, demonstrate that patriotic commitment does remain a significant source of motivation even as military service in many countries has become voluntary. Battistelli (1997), on the other hand, claims postmodern values have largely influenced soldiers' orientation, and that self-fulfilment and prospects of acquiring a unique life experience are integral to how postmodern soldiers approach service (see also Hedlund, 2011;Morgan, 2003). Segal (1986) proposes the notion of 'pragmatic professional' as a concept that acknowledges how motives of both a patriotic and occupational character may concurrently prompt people to enlist.…”

Section: Meaning Making In a Military Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

The construction of meaning among Norwegian Afghanistan veterans

Gustavsen

2015

International Sociology

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This article examines the construction of meaning among a group of Norwegian Afghanistan veterans. On the basis of interview data, three frameworks of interpretation are identified that were consistently used by the participating veterans to communicate the meaning of their deployment: (1) a military framework, which generated meaning from the military-and jobrelated aspects of their service; (2) a societal framework, which allowed them to emphasize the societal value of the endeavour; and (3) a personal framework, for conveying the personal impact of their experience. These meaning making strategies are analysed from a cultural perspective, in particular the lack of a shared war experience that characterizes Norwegian society. The collective arena does not provide a settled manner for how to interpret such an experience, so the construction of meaning has to take place outside the societal realm.

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“…Additionally, service members draw on peacekeeper-diplomat tools (culture-specific competence in picking suitable linguists), cultural self-awareness, agency and the creation of new tools on the job (such as devising a linguist candidate “test”), skills to cross the civilian–military spheres (working with civilian contractor linguists), teaching tools (teaching civilian linguists about the military), and other cultural tools from their Swiss Army knives to help them to select appropriate linguists. 6 Finally, the finding that advisors subjectively and creatively decide to accept risks to test and select their own linguists supports the assertion that postmodern fragmentation emanates at the individual soldier or microlevel in the military (Morgan, 2003; Sookermany, 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Effectively Working With Military Linguists

Hajjar¹

2016

Armed Forces & Society

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This article examines the relationship between advisors and linguists in the contemporary military advising mission and applies an emergent postmodern military culture theoretical framework. This project’s multimethod collected data from Iraq, documents, and interviews. The study reveals an intriguing and nuanced story about the deployment of advisors and linguists in the advising mission. This article defines the military advising mission including the major actors. The article then introduces the postmodern military culture theoretical framework and method. The findings report many themes including linguist selection and hiring processes, the importance of advisor–linguist relationships, the relevance of linguists’ backgrounds, linguists as full advisory team members, and the building blocks of successful advising sessions. Effective advisors work with linguists to deploy a Swiss Army knife of cultural tools including peacekeeper diplomat, warrior, subject matter expert, innovator, and others to accomplish the mission, which divulge broader changes indicative of an emergent postmodern military and culture.

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The Reconstruction of Culture, Citizenship, and Military Service

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

The Challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans’ Transition from Military to Civilian Life and Approaches to Reconnection

The Challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans’ Transition from Military to Civilian Life and Approaches to Reconnection

The construction of meaning among Norwegian Afghanistan veterans

Effectively Working With Military Linguists

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