Ryan Kelty

Propensity to Serve and Motivation to Enlist among American Combat Soldiers

Propensity to serve in the military expressed by high school seniors has been shown to be a strong predictor of actual service. Among male high school seniors, 70 percent of those who express high desire or likelihood of service actually enter the military within six years of high school graduation. Propensity to serve has been declining among American youth, and there are not sufficient high-propensity youth to meet manpower needs, so low-propensity youth must be recruited as well. In this article, we explore the relationship between propensity and motivation to enlist in a sample of enlisted combat soldiers in the U.S. Army. We provide an analysis of motivational data that tests Moskos’s institutional and occupational models of service and find the organization of motivations to be more complex than Moskos’s dichotomous conceptualization. We find that those soldiers who reported high enlistment propensity before beginning service reported significant institutional motivations to join and plans for a military career. Enlistment propensity was not significantly related to occupational or pecuniary motivations.

Ambivalence on the front lines perceptions of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan

In the past several decades, the US military has increasingly relied on civilian contractors to provide a variety of core functions. Lagging behind this increased reliance on contractors is an understanding of how the presence of contractors influences civilian and military personnel. This research addresses this question using a unique study of US Department of Army civilians and military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We find a substantial degree of ambivalence among both groups regarding the impact of contractors on the military and comparisons with contractors, but we also find a noticeable trend of comparative discontent beneath this apparent ambivalence. Results are discussed in the context of using ambivalence as a starting point for building a theoretical approach to more systematically understanding the role and effects of contractor integration in the military.

The Threat of War and Psychological Distress Among Civilians Working in Iraq and Afghanistan

Research documents the mental health toll of combat operations on military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, but little research examines civilians who work alongside members of the military. In this research, we argue that a sense of threat is an “ambient stressor” that permeates daily life among civilians who work in these war zones, with mastery likely to both mediate and moderate the mental health effects of this stressor. Using a unique probability sample of Department of Army civilians, we find that threat is positively related to distress, but mastery mediates this relationship nonlinearly, with the indirect relationship between threat and distress strengthening as threat increases. The moderating function of mastery is also nonlinear, with moderate levels of mastery providing maximum stress buffering. This research suggests that contextual conditions of constraint can create nonlinearities in the way that mastery mediates and moderates the effects of ambient stressors.

Human Dimensions of a Fishery at a Crossroads: Resource Valuation, Identity, and Way of Life in a Seasonal Fishing Community

Bristol Bay, Alaska, is the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world and one of the last sustainable salmon fisheries in the United States. Proposed development of Pebble Mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bays salmon-producing rivers introduces the potential for major changes in the natural and social environments. A study of one seasonal fishing community indicates that community members value natural resources, their identity as fishers, their community, and their way of life. They think Pebble Mine poses unacceptable risk to these things they value, and are therefore generally against the mine and associated development. The perception of risk contributes to cultural stress and adversely affects community members’ well-being and quality of life. This study establishes a baseline on fishers’ attitudes toward and experiences with the natural and social worlds in this seasonal community, and applies identity theory to examine and explain the relationship between people and the environment.

The U.S. Navy’s Maiden Voyage: Effects of Integrating Sailors and Civilian Mariners on Deployment

The U.S. federal government is increasingly civilianizing the military as a manpower-management strategy. Effects of this policy are not well understood. Data from a case study of civilian mariners integrated with sailors on a U.S. Navy ship were analyzed to determine the effects of social comparisons on each groups job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intentions to remain with their current employer. Results indicate both sailors and civilian mariners view sailors as less advantaged compared to their civilian peers. The effect of these social comparisons on each groups satisfaction, commitment, and retention attitudes was mixed, having a significant negative impact for sailors but not for civilian mariners. These results identify an unintended negative consequence of the decision to integrate civilian and military personnel in an operational unit. The way civilian mariners were integrated is discussed as a possible reason for the differential effect of social comparisons between the two groups.

CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN AN ERA OF BIOTERRORISM: CRIME AND WAR IN THE MAKING OF MODERN CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS

The United States of America is on the verge of a possible revolution in civil-military relations in an era marked by increased defensive alertness stemming from the attacks of 11 September 2001. As we anticipate the normalization of terror as a way of life, we are witnessing a paradigmatic shift from the use of violence towards some political end to the use of violence as an end in itself (Jenkins, 2001). 1 It is tempting to frame our analysis in terms of the broader notion of asymmetric warfare, since the arguments we make in this paper may be applied to a wide range of settings, including those in which vastly unequal forces are pitted against one another and one side may make use of irregular fighters employing unconventional tactics. However, this would serve only to shift the emphasis away from our central argument. Terrorism may be a form of asymmetric warfare, but what distinguishes it is the fact that it intentionally targets civilians, and that among civilians, it is indiscriminate in the devastation it wreaks. Terrorism is important because of the way in which it socializes danger, breaking down the barriers between combatant and noncombatant and subjecting all to the worst of harrowing and potentially lethal attacks. It is this socialization of danger produced by terrorism, in turn, that is critical in assessing whether and how civilian and military authorities elect to treat its use against their own societies not as a crime, but as an act of war. Bioterrorism in turn, as we argue below, has unique attributes that distinguish it from other forms of terrorism.1 And where, for most nations, homeland defense is the primary mission of the armed forces, the United States had to establish a new cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security due to the primarily expeditionary nature of American armed forces for the past half-century. The military has been a unique institution in modern societies. It has acted as the agent for the state’s possession of a monopoly on the means of large-scale organized violence and war-making. The establishment of a second executive agency responsible for homeland security makes the equation more complex. As a result, ever greater attention must be given to the balance of civil-military relations in American society.

The Civilianization of the US Military: Army and Navy Case Studies of the Effects of Civilian Integration on Military Personnel

Since the late 1980s the United States federal government has been pushing for dramatic increases in the civilianization of jobs formerly performed by military personnel. This trend is particularly evident in the increased pace and scope of military outsourcing. Yet the impact of integrating military personnel and civilians at the unit level is not well understood. The future appears to hold more of the same, judging by the rhetoric of the current administration. This relatively new but dramatic shift in military organizational policy merits close examination. This chapter examines effects of civilianization of the military on service members assigned to units that incorporate civilians. This study differs from most examinations of civilianization because its focus is on social-psychological outcomes rather than macro-level effects of using civilians to support the military effort (e.g., fiscal outcomes that are expected from this management decision). We examine the impact that structural change brought on by civilianizing the military has on the attitudes and behavioral intentions of military personnel. Two military units, one Navy and one Army, are used as case studies to examine this question. This study uses level of contact and social comparisons between civilian and military personnel as two civilianization-related variables predicted to impact retention intentions directly, and indirectly through job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This work demonstrates that organizational structure matters with respect to perceptions of relative advantage or deprivation on numerous highly salient job characteristics.

Gender and Deployment Effects on Pro-Organizational Behaviors of U.S. Soldiers:

This study examines whether gender moderates the relationships between deployment and both organizational identification and pro-organizational behaviors. The broader context motivating this study is the U.S. military’s 2016 rescission of the ground combat exclusion, accomplishing full gender integration in the armed forces. Structural equation modeling is used to test for gender moderation effects. Results reveal deployment frequency, but not current deployment, has small effects on several pro-organizational behaviors. Results also show that gender does not moderate the effects of deployment frequency on soldiers’ perceptions of the organization or economic or social satisfaction. Gender does moderate the effects of deployment frequency on soldiers’ identification with the army. Additionally, while gender was not found to moderate the relationship between combat deployments and overall pro-organizational behaviors among soldiers, it does moderate the effect of deployments on one pro-organizational item: sacrificing behavior. Implications are discussed with an eye toward full gender inclusion in the U.S. military.

Book Review: Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck:

These suggestions represent exciting opportunities for enriching what is already a wonderful resource for discovering social and behavioral science concepts as powerful tools for person-centered clinical practice. With this first edition of Social and Behavioral Science for Health Professionals, Hinote and Wasserman have created an impressively broad and detailed introduction to disciplinary competencies that prove increasingly essential for student success in health professions programs and beyond. Their ambitious and creative approach to bringing human sciences to life for clinical professions students and faculty sets a high benchmark for other interdisciplinary health sciences textbooks to meet in the future and supports the development of a care workforce whose members already know the answer to that age-old question of relevance.

Big River: A King Corn Companion

growing up in the integrated and political environment of the Coops. There is a moving description of an interracial relationship, which includes a first date’s ending with the couple being harassed and arrested. Another scene describes a harrowing encounter with authorities that ensued during a concert by singer Paul Robeson, an avowed black communist. In 1943, the Coops was sold to a private owner; this came about after a contentious decision to not raise the rents needed to save the cooperative. Under private ownership, the members were still able to function independently on a political level, but clearly a source of strength derived from collective ownership of the Coops was lost. This last section of the film ties up loose ends, including what happened to the other co-ops and the overall influence on the cooperative housing movement. Social changes brought on by the creation of the suburbs and proliferation of automobile culture resulted in younger members of the Coops moving away. Others left to do political work elsewhere. A sense of continuation is portrayed in the film as the former residents interact with current residents. This DVD includes five bonus segments that provide additional information for use in classes. Of particular interest is a description of the Amalgamated Houses, which still operate as a cooperative today (http://www.amalgamated-bronx.coop); a fascinating look at the role of patriotism in the Coops; a section dealing with the differences between communists and socialists; and updates and other clips from the interviews with the former residents of the Coops. This film is appropriate for undergraduate or graduate classes in community, race relations, organizations, social change, and social movements. Although the issue of gender is interwoven throughout the film, it is not enough of a focus to recommend it specifically for classes on gender. Any class exploring housing issues should be able to use the first section of this film to illustrate an alternative housing solution. The film can be used in its entirety or according to the themes in the three sections and bonus material. Overall, this is a complex story, and the filmmakers tell it in a way that brings forth the deep emotion and commitment the Coops members had for cooperative values and social justice. REFERENcES Kaplan, Judy and Linn Shapiro, eds. 1998. Red Diapers: Growing Up in the Communist Left. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Mishler, Paul. 1999. Raising Reds: The Young Pioneers, Radical Summer Camps, and Communist Political Culture in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press. Rothschild-Whitt, Joyce. 1979. “The Collectivist Organization: An Alternative to Rational-bureaucratic Models.” American Sociological Review 44(4):509-27.