Social and Cultural Dynamics of American Military Organization

摘要

This report reviews a program on military organization conducted during the last five years of the twentieth century. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Treaty alliance and the involvement of the American Military in operations other than war in coalition with other nations, defined the international context of this period. A full-employment economy and increasing levels of college attendance among American Youth characterized the domestic environment. The research program focuses on six areas. (1) Attitudes and behavior of youth, including patterns, trends, and correlates of enlistment propensity and the relationship between propensity and enlistment. (2) Adaptation of soldiers to the military and to participation in peacekeeping operations. (3) Military families, including family adaptation to separation during deployment, communication between forward deployed soldiers and the home front, and family adaptation to disaster. (4) Gender diversity, including gender integration, sexual harassment, and the effect of gender on enlistment propensity. (5) Comparative research, including national differences in organizational adaptation to the end of the Cold War in Europe. (6) The intersection of the military and American society, including the impact of service on the civilian adaptation of veterans and the economic impact of military bases on their host civilian communities.