Military Culture Research Articles

Heroes Helping Heroes.

Veterans come from a unique culture that teaches soldiers to be tough, and being a member of the military can result in hidden barriers when veterans seek health care (Redmond et al.). This column describes how professional development specialists can teach nurses about veteran health care needs using lessons learned from civilian nurses' knowledge of the military culture (Mushale & Bakerjian). [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2023;54(8):347-349.].

Servicewomen’s Experiences of the Aftermath of Sexual Assault in the British Military

Harriet Gray, Nicola Lester and Emma Norton present the first peer-reviewed, empirical academic study that explores servicewomen’s lived experiences of sexual assault, and its aftermath, in the British military. They argue that responses to sexual violence within the military space are often shaped by gendered military culture and by the prioritisation of institutional needs over individual wellbeing and, moreover, that this can be experienced as a form of institutional betrayal. In response to these findings, the authors call for a much broader reckoning with the British military’s problem with sexual violence that goes far beyond present reforms to its criminal justice system.

"We're tough, but so is quitting." Barriers to Smoking Cessation: The Royal Malaysian Navy Perspective.

Tobacco kills half of its users. Despite this, there are over 1.1 billion smokers worldwide. Its harmful effects impair performance and readiness. Unfortunately, smoking has deeply ingrained in the military culture, as evidenced by the high prevalence. Hence, this study aims to identify the barriers to smoking cessation among this population. A study involving two groups of current smokers (commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers) was conducted using the modified nominal group technique (mNGT), a qualitative research method of judgmental decision-making involving four phases: Generating ideas, recording, evaluation, and prioritization. The mNGT was used to solicit respondents' barriers to smoking cessation. The mNGT yielded seven main barriers to smoking cessation: (1) Addiction, (2) difficulty in staying focused without the usage of cigarettes, (3) smoking has been incorporated into an individual's lifestyle, (4) environmental influence, (5) coping mechanism, (6) the long-interval period between orders and duties exacerbates the desire to smoke, and (7) smoking has evolved into a permanent habit. Although nicotine addiction and habit were ranked as the most important barriers, the military working environment and nature of the job exposed them physically and mentally to unfavorable situations, complicating the quitting attempt. Furthermore, the acceptance of smoking in military culture leads to a positive smoker identity, further hindering cessation. The findings indicate that in addition to barriers affecting the general population, military-specific barriers related to the nature of the job exist, complicating cessation. Hence, any intervention program should address these barriers to achieve positive outcomes.

Identifying factors related to stigma toward psychiatric illness and mental health services and attitudes of help-seeking among Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members

The stigma that military personnel feel toward mental illness and mental healthcare hinders their access to mental health services. Stigma is influenced by culture—specifically, that held by military personnel is closely related to military culture. To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale investigation aimed at identifying the factors, including demographic factors and elements of military culture, related to stigma among members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to 4754 members. The questionnaire included items regarding demographic factors, history of psychiatric visits, military rank, overseas deployment experience, disaster relief experience, supervisor leadership, unit cohesion, general psychological distress, stigma toward perceived mental illness, and attitudes toward help-seeking. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the various factors related to stigma. Responses were obtained from 4305 (90.5%) participants, among which 3723 (78.3%) were valid. Multiple regression analyses revealed that a variety of factors including age, psychiatric consultation, leadership, and cohesiveness were markedly associated with stigma and attitudes toward help-seeking. This study revealed that various factors including demographic factors and military culture factors such as supervisor leadership and unit cohesion are related to stigma and attitudes toward mental health services among Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel. Further studies are needed to examine the results in depth.

Exploring the Lived Experiences of Pain in Military Families: A Qualitative Examination

Chronic pain in Canadian Veterans is twice that of the general population and the prevalence of their related mental health concerns is alarmingly high. This likely puts their children at an increased risk of developing pain and mental health problems that can pervasively impact daily life and persist into adulthood. Pain care and military culture of (acute and chronic) pain have been identified as a top priority of Canadian Veterans. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the pain experiences of Canadian Armed Forces families. Thirty-five semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted. Demographic information was collected; age, gender, and ethnicity were reported. Twelve Canadian Armed Forces members/Veterans, 17 youth, and 6 spouses were interviewed. Ninety-two percent of Veteran participants reported chronic pain. Reflexive thematic analyses generated four themes: 1) Military mindset: herd culture and solider identity, 2) The culture of pain within military families, 3) Inseparability of mental health and pain, and 4) Breaking the cycle and shifting the military mindset. Military culture and identity create a unique context within which pain expression and experience is integrally shaped within these families. This study sheds light on how pain is experienced and perceived within military families and can inform research on and efforts to foster resilience in these families. PerspectiveThis is the first qualitative study to explore the lived experiences of pain in Canadian military families. Findings underscore the key role that military culture and identity plays in how pain is experienced and perceived in all family members.

Evaluation of the NHS England ‘Op COURAGE’ High Intensity Service for military veterans with significant mental health problems

IntroductionIn November 2020, The NHS for England launched a pilot High Intensity Service (HIS) programme for treating military veterans complex mental health problems. Seven regional grants were awarded to manage...

Infusing Military Culture in Multicultural Counseling Frameworks: A Phenomenological Study

This descriptive phenomenological study focused on counselor educators’ (CESs) experiences infusing military culture into counseling curriculum. Specifically, this study sought to learn what counseling programs can do to best prepare counselors-in-training to work with military families. The researchers used the McCracken (1988) method to interview ten participants who had terminal degrees in counselor education or a highly related field, experience providing services to military-connected clients, and were aware of military cultural facets (e.g., implicit and explicit expectations, rules, and ways of being). The findings support the need to redefine multiculturalism and intentional infusion of military culture in counseling curriculum to increase counselors’ awareness of military culture to provide more effective services.

Research on the Cultivation Mode of Quality Culture for Military Enterprises

This paper aims to develop a method to cultivate quality culture for military enterprises. Firstly, the meanings of quality culture and military quality culture are summarized through literature review. Secondly, the present practices and problems of cultivating quality culture in military enterprises are analyzed. Thirdly, by studying the transformation mechanism of quality culture at four levels: spiritual level, institutional level, behavioral level and material level, the view that the cultivation of quality culture needs to pay attention to spiritual concept and adaptive system and practical activities is put forward. Finally, the process method of total quality management is applied to design the cultivation mode of quality culture for military enterprises from the aspects of goal setting, leadership promotion, resource allocation, process activities, monitoring and evaluation.

Korea Army’s Value as a Way to Character Education for Military Personnel

Purpose: This paper intends to identify the core values of the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) and the foundation for character education. The ROKA aims to win the ground war as the central force of national defense.
 Method: In order to accomplish the research purpose, the researcher critically reviewed the literature related to the Korea Army value and character education including policy reports, army papers, and academic articles.
 Results: The ROKA is trying to establish a new military culture and value system to responds to changes from the internal and external environment and to educate the so-called MZ generation soldiers who are majority of the military personnel. Value refers to a resource that satisfies an individual's needs in a subjective sense, and a hierarchy occurs according to an individual's tendency or desire. If these values persist for a long time, they will also have a hierarchy at the social level, too. In addition, an organizational culture is formed in the direction of pursuing the values even in the military organizations.
 Conclusion: In this respect, this paper presents the values that the ROKA pursues, the organizational culture formed around these values, and the directions of character education system to imbue the core values.

Is the problem with military culture one of bad apples or bad orchards?: war crimes, scandals, and persistent dysfunction

ABSTRACT This article examines the historic and current role of ‘culture’ in Australian Defence Forces’ responses to scandals, war crimes, and illicit behaviours. It makes the case that the ADF has moved from arguing that illicit activities are the product of isolated soldiers, to arguing that illicit activities are the result of ‘rogue’ groups of soldiers. We call this a shift from the ‘bad apples’’ to the ‘bad orchard’ thesis. Drawing on the concepts of camouflage and building a theoretical understanding of military exceptionalism, we argue we argue ‘military culture’ provides covering fire and camouflage for the institution to protect it from public scrutiny and to hide systemic dysfunction. We also engage with our understanding of institutional gaslighting, to argue that strategies to dismiss and legitimize dysfunction serve to gaslight civilians raising concerns about military conduct by rendering their concerns inexpert, illegitimate, unfounded, or hostile.

Revisiting British–India’s Military Historiography

The British-officered Indian Army (colonial Indian Army/Sepoy Army) was the principal pillar of the British Empire in India. This force constituted the main item of expenditure in the state budget. Modern historical writing on the Indian colonial armed forces started in the 1970s. This survey is organised along four interrelated themes of war and the British–Indian state, British–Indian armed forces and Indian society, warfare and British-India’s military culture, and finally the British–Indian military as a combat organisation. It charts the trends and shifts in historical writings in the field of British-era Indian militaries.

Examining the Perception of Military Culture in the Undergraduate University Classroom

The purpose of this study was to examine how college students perceive and experience learning with military student peers in traditional undergraduate college classrooms. A mixed method approach was selected, using an online survey that included the nine-item questionnaire Military Culture Certificate Program (MCCP) assessment scale survey. Data were collected from 255 students who took part in the survey, which assessed nonmilitary students’ knowledge of the unique military culture and environment, deployment dynamics, family dynamics, military ethics, behavioral and physical health issues, and combat experiences. A follow-up focus group solicited qualitative data from six nonmilitary affiliated students pertaining to their individual lived experiences and classroom interactions with their military student peers. Qualitative data from the focus group suggested that almost half of the students respected the experience of being deployed, based on the self-observations of family members. They also reported an understanding of the impact military life has on family members. Several qualitative themes emerged in the focus group responses, all of which have implications for improving cultural competence in the classroom.

Perspectives on a good death: A comparative study of veterans and civilians

This study aimed to identify any differences between veterans and non-veterans in the importance of domains of the Good Death Inventory. Participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete a Qualtrics survey on the importance of the 18 domains of the Good Death Inventory scale. Logistic regression models were then used to analyze any differences between veterans (n = 241) and nonveterans (n = 1151). Results showed that veterans (mostly aged 31–50, men, and White) were more likely to indicate that pursuing all treatment possible and maintaining their pride were important aspects of a good death. The results support other studies that have found military culture to be a significant factor in the way veterans view preferences at the end of life. Interventions may include increasing access to palliative care and hospice services for military members and veterans and providing education/training on end-of-life care for healthcare providers who work with this population.

The myth that military culture could not drive environmental sustainability? Cross-level influence of military culture on pro-environmental behavior

The promotion of sustainable development goals (SDGs) is a crucial government policy, and military units are government departments responsible for constructive affairs. However, few studies have explored the effects of perceived military social responsibility on environmental attitude and green organizational citizenship behavior. The present study addresses this research gap by developing a research framework regarding sustainability by applying organizational identity theory to the military. The results indicate that perceived military social responsibility is crucial in improving environmental attitude and green organizational citizenship behavior and promoting sustainable development. These results can be used as a reference by military units to achieve sustainable development goals and provide practical implications for sustainable management.

Concept Analysis of Profesional Socialization in the Military Organizations Concept Analysis of Profesional Socialization in the Military Organizations

Abstract Socialization is an ongoing and ever-changing process. Whenever someone assumes or departs from a position, socialization processes come into play. This holds true when individuals take on organizational roles, and socialization persists through changes in personnel, products, services, norms, and values. By perceiving organizational socialization as a continuous process, we gain an analytical tool that allows us to examine organizational issues and challenges based on the extent of socialization that has occurred. This article thoroughly explores the intricate facets of professional socialization, analyzing its importance, essential elements, and its influence on both military personnel and organizational culture. With the goal of enhancing the understanding of this concept, it seeks to contribute to the existing knowledge on military professionalism and the dynamics within organizations.

Strategic Partnership between Russia and India from the Perspective of National Elites

The focus of the article is the analysis of the prospects of the relationship between Russia and India. The author examines the attitudes of the elites in both countries towards each other, using historical sociology, the theory of cultural hegemony, and post-colonialism to explain the formation and perspectives of these elites. The objective and subjective economic and political conditions have, until recently, hindered any genuine efforts towards bringing the two countries closer, as both sides perceived the West as a more promising partner. This attitude has been shaped by historical factors, such as the formation of the Indian elites under the influence of British political, economic, and military culture, and the reckless admiration of the victors of the Cold War by the Russian elites, which attempted to abandon the Soviet legacy after the collapse of the USSR. Despite declarations of strategic interest in forming a polycentric world and developing bilateral Russian-Indian relations, economic ties have not supported these intentions. However, the conflict in Ukraine and the imposition of Western sanctions have compelled the Russian elites to re-evaluate their priorities. They have been faced with a choice: either to return to a Western orientation, which could lead to internal discontent, or to build stronger ties with China or India. The path chosen will depend on the position of the Indian elites, who have the freedom to take a neutral stance in a conflict far from their borders, and on the outcomes of the Ukrainian crisis.

Управление развитием организационной культуры современного воинского коллектива

The article presents the analysis of theoretical approaches to the essence of managing the development of organizational culture of a modern military team. Military organizational culture is revealed as a complex of cultural values, norms, beliefs of military personnel, a managerial factor of transformation of professional changes in the modern military team. The specifics of the subject (military administration) and the object (members of the military collective) of management are substantiated, the integrated approach of the essential characteristics of the process of managing the development of the organizational culture of the military collective is revealed. As a result of the analysis of the sociological survey data, the characteristics of this phenomenon are clarified as a purposeful organizational, project, controlling activity of the military administration to ensure the reproduction of military organizational culture, the achievement of its stabilization, as well as progressive development. It is proved that the management of the development of the organizational culture of the military collective presupposes the achievement of a targeted qualitative renewal of the external symbols of the military collective, as well as the prevailing values, needs, ideals, traditions, norms of behavior of military actors. Management design of innovative norms, values, principles of interaction of military personnel is designed to allow not only to form an initiative military actor of a leadership type, but also to provide prerequisites for the transition to an innovative organizational culture of military teams. It is proved that the management of the development of the organizational culture of the military collective has several forms of manifestation: 1) as a dual complex within the framework of the general management system of a military organization; 2) as a mechanism aimed at, on the one hand, at ensuring the stabilization of organizational culture and, on the other hand, at its expanded reproduction; 3) as a subsystem of social management (federal, regional, internal-military-organizational; 4) as a management process itself. In a generalized context, the management of the development of organizational culture is a component of the overall system of integrated targeted management of a military unit as a whole, which determines, among other things, the optimization of its organizational culture. Within the framework of this management, management subsystems can be distinguished in the form of separate socio-cultural projects. Educational activity with this approach should be considered as a means to ensure the achievement of the development of the organizational culture of the military unit.

A Comparison of HPSP and USU Graduates’ Preparation for Residency

ABSTRACT Introduction Military medical students enter residency through two main pathways: (1) The Uniformed Services University (USU) and (2) the Armed Services Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). The purpose of this study was to compare how these two pathways prepare military medical students for residency. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 experienced military residency program directors (PDs) in order to explore their perceptions of the preparedness of USU and HPSP graduates. We used a transcendental phenomenological qualitative research design to bracket our biases and guide our data analysis. Our research team coded each of the interview transcripts. We then organized these codes into themes, which served as the results of our study. Results Five themes emerged from our data regarding the residents’ preparedness: (1) Ability to navigate the military culture, (2) understanding of the military’s medical mission, (3) clinical preparation, (4) ability to navigate the Military Health System (MHS), and (5) teamwork. The PDs described how USU graduates better understand the military’s medical mission and are more easily able to navigate the military culture and the MHS because of their lived experiences during military medical school. They also discussed the various levels of clinical preparation of HPSP graduates, in contrast to the USU graduates’ more consistent skills and abilities. Finally, the PDs believed both groups to be strong team players. Conclusions USU students were consistently prepared for a strong start to residency because of their military medical school training. HPSP students often experienced a steep learning curve because of the newness of the military culture and MHS.

New Wild Fields: How the Russian War Leads to the Demodernization of Ukraine’s Occupied Territories

AbstractThis article explores Russian occupation policy in Ukraine as an adaptive tactic of Russia’s grand strategy and a manifestation of its military culture. Based on a comparative analysis of the Russian occupation policy during the hybrid and conventional stages of the Russian-Ukrainian war, including the employment of a de facto state playbook, we find both continuity and shifts in Russia’s approach. Although the main shift lies in the change of Russia’s conflict management in neighboring countries from reactive to proactive, the main continuities are the subordination of occupation policy to Russia’s geostrategic interests and path dependence in its military culture, which together lead to the employment of brutal violence against civilians and the demodernization of occupied territories.

The Construction of Critical Factors for Successfully Introducing Chatbots into Mental Health Services in the Army: Using a Hybrid MCDM Approach

Previous research has shown that although military personnel are at high risk of developing mental disorders because of the excessive stress caused by their work, they also display low levels of intention to seek assistance because of the military culture. This, in turn, creates exorbitant costs for their respective countries. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI)-related digital technologies, chatbots have been successfully applied to mental health services. Although the introduction of chatbots into the military to assist with mental health services is not common, it may become a future trend. This study aims to construct the critical factors for introducing chatbots into mental health services in the military, the relationships between the effects, and a weighting system, to ensure that the introduction of chatbots complies with sustainable practices. This includes four stages. In the initial stage, in accordance with the AI-readiness framework, in combination with the findings of previous research and specialist recommendations, preliminary indicators and items were developed. In the second stage, Fuzzy Delphi was used to confirm each dimension and indicator. In the third stage, using DEMATEL, an influential-network-relation map (INRM) of dimensions and indicators was created. In the fourth stage, using DANP, the relationships between the effects of the indicators and the weighting system were established. The findings of this study indicated that: (1) the key to success includes four dimensions and twenty-one indicators; (2) there is an interdependent relationship between the four dimensions and twenty-one indicators, and they influence each other; and (3) the four dimensions are technologies, goals, boundaries, and activities, in order of importance. Finally, specific suggestions are put forward to provide references for future practical applications and research, drawing on the results of this research.