Suchergebnisse

Survey data from near 500 civilian wives of soldiers from who deployed to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope were analyzed to determine how the mechanics of soldier-family communications affected spouse adaptation to the stresses of the deployment. Difficulty communicating with the soldier (particularly "connecting for the first time") was one of the most frequent problems that spouses experienced. This difficulty was more strongly related to the characteristics of the soldiers' units (i.e., type and location within Somalia) than to the characteristics of the soldiers themselves. Problems communicating during the deployment not only predicted the level of spouse stress during the deployment, but also affected either directly or through "spouse stress" several outcomes that are important to Army planners. Those outcomes included: (1) spouse support for the soldier remaining in the Army, (2) the soldiers reenlistment intention, (3) spouse support for peacekeeping missions, and (4) family adaptation to Army life.

As part of an experimental unit, over five hundred active- and reserve-component (AC, RC) soldiers deployed to the Sinai Desert in 1995 on a peacekeeping mission. While most junior enlisted personnel were reservists, leadership positions were shared between components. Before their departure, most soldiers had high expectations regarding their ability to use a variety of communication media to reach their families. While their reported use of communication media was less than what they had expected, almost all soldiers did use the telephone or other means to communicate with home during their deployment. Contrary to our hypotheses, communication media use was not strongly related to rank or component (AC, RC), though junior enlisted personnel were somewhat less likely than other ranks to use some communication media. As expected, married soldiers were somewhat more likely to use telecommunications than unmarried soldiers. While all forms of communication media were deemed useful for conveying information, more interactive forms of communication (e.g., telephone) were preferred for communicating with family and friends, especially with respect to time-sensitive or other more difficult issues.

As part of an experimental unit, over five hundred active- & reserve-component (AC, RC) soldiers deployed to the Sinai Desert in 1995 on a peacekeeping mission. While most junior enlisted personnel were reservists, leadership positions were shared between components. Before their departure, most soldiers had high expectations regarding their ability to use a variety of communication media to reach their families. While their reported use of communication media was less than what they had expected, almost all soldiers did use the telephone or other means to communicate with home during their deployment. Contrary to our hypotheses, communication media use was not strongly related to rank or component (AC, RC), though junior enlisted personnel were somewhat less likely than other ranks to use some communication media. As expected, married soldiers were somewhat more likely to use telecommunications than unmarried soldiers. While all forms of communication media were deemed useful for conveying information, more interactive forms of communication (eg, telephone) were preferred for communicating with family & friends, especially with respect to time-sensitive or other more difficult issues. 7 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

The authors investigate a gap in attitudes toward homosexuals in the U.S. military among a select group of people-American civilian undergraduates, Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) cadets, and cadets at military academies. Using a subsample (N = 3057) of data from the Biannual Attitude Survey of Students (BASS), being a military academy cadet is associated with the strongest agreement for barring homosexuals from serving in the military, followed by ROTC cadets and civilians. These trends continue when controlling for respondents' sex and political affiliation-the two most significant predictors of agreeing to bar homosexuals from military service. A small reduction in agreement for barring was found among academy cadets over time. [Reprinted by permission; copyright Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society/Sage Publications Inc.]

Prior to the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' (DADT) on September 20, 2011, many observers predicted that allowing lesbian, gay and bisexual troops to serve openly would harm the military, and a group of more than 1,000 retired general and flag officers predicted that repeal could 'break the All-Volunteer Force.' This study is the first scholarly effort to assess the accuracy of such predictions about the impact of DADT repeal on military readiness. We conducted our research during the half-year period starting six months after repeal and concluding at the one year mark, and we pursued ten separate research strategies including in-depth interviews, survey analysis, on-site field observations, pretest/posttest quasi experimentation, secondary source analysis, and a comprehensive review of media articles. Our goal was to maximize the likelihood of identifying evidence of damage caused by repeal, and we made vigorous efforts to collect data from repeal opponents including anti-repeal generals and admirals, activists, academic experts, service members and watchdog organizations. Our conclusion, based on all of the evidence available to us, is that DADT repeal has had no overall negative impact on military readiness or its component dimensions, including cohesion, recruitment, retention, assaults, harassment, or morale. If anything, DADT repeal appears to have enhanced the military's ability to pursue its mission. [Reprinted by permission; copyright Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society/Sage Publications Inc.]

Prior to the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) on September 20, 2011, many observers predicted that allowing lesbian, gay and bisexual troops to serve openly would harm the military, and a group of more than 1,000 retired general and flag officers predicted that repeal could "break the All-Volunteer Force." This study is the first scholarly effort to assess the accuracy of such predictions about the impact of DADT repeal on military readiness. We conducted our research during the half-year period starting six months after repeal and concluding at the one year mark, and we pursued ten separate research strategies including in-depth interviews, survey analysis, on-site field observations, pretest/posttest quasi experimentation, secondary source analysis, and a comprehensive review of media articles. Our goal was to maximize the likelihood of identifying evidence of damage caused by repeal, and we made vigorous efforts to collect data from repeal opponents including anti-repeal generals and admirals, activists, academic experts, service members and watchdog organizations. Our conclusion, based on all of the evidence available to us, is that DADT repeal has had no overall negative impact on military readiness or its component dimensions, including cohesion, recruitment, retention, assaults, harassment, or morale. If anything, DADT repeal appears to have enhanced the military's ability to pursue its mission.