Military sociology

A military is defined as 'the people of an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including the use of weapons, in defending its independence by repulsing actual or perceived threats'. Sociology is defined as 'the scientific or systematic study of a society'. Military sociology, then, can be defined as the intersection of these overlapping concepts: 'the scientific or systematic study of military society'. Since almost every country in the world (including Switzerland, which has been neutral since 1815) has some form of military or other, and since "militaries often function as societies within societies, by having their own military communities, military economies, military education, military medicine and other aspects of a functioning civilian society", it only makes sense that there should be a specialized sub-discipline within sociology devoted specifically to the study of military-related issues.

Contemporary military sociology is primarily a result of the World War II and Cold War eras. These events initiated the systematic study of military sociology, though it stands to reason that the relationship between the military and society would predate these events. There are numerous topics within military sociology, and it is important to note that its scope is not exclusively limited to the military institution itself or to its members. Rather, military sociology encompasses areas such as civilian-military relations and the relationship between the military and other military groups or governmental agencies. Other topics within military sociology include: 1) the dominant assumptions held by those in the military, 2) changes in military members' willingness to fight, 3) military unionization, 4) military professionalism, 5) the increased utilization of women, 6) the military industrial-academic complex, 7) the military's dependence on research, and 8) the institutional and organizational structure of military.

Military as Occupation

There has been discussion about whether the military should be seen as more of an occupation rather than an institution. Although the military still retains institutional principles (patriotic values, historic traditions, etc.) the military is becoming more oriented to the principles of business and economics and can be fairly categorized as a profession. This can be explored in relating to other professions in the grouping of power and compensation. There are different ranks within the military, granting some people more power. Many young men look to the military for compensation benefits and the opportunity to attend college without enormous loans like many other students.

Recruitment Practices and the transition from Civilian life to military life

Perhaps no one places as much emphasis on procedures for assimilating new members as does the armed forces. Assimilation involves the continuous process of recruitment, selection, training, and career deveolment. Not only must the new recruit, officer, or enlisted man learn a new and difficult skills. He is also expected to master an elaborate code of professional behavior and etiquette, since membership in the military means participation in a organizational community which regulates behavior both on and off the "job". The American Military ultilizes the citizen-soldier concept to gather military personnal from across the country. This term means the ability to quickly round up or call up troops for war or military tour at a virtual moments notice. But once the assignment or tour is over, the military personnel are returned to civilian life. But what true effects does the quick jump from civilian to military soldier to civilian again have on the mental as well as the physical state of the individual? What scarifices do military families have to make in order for their loved one to meet their obligitions to their service for their country and their family duties. According to Norman A. Hilman 2.5 million men were enlisted into military during the peacetime draft. During that rapid transitional period, many soldiers might have felt lost or confused by the difference in their previous life |civilian| and their new military life, which will call for a demain to conform to new orders that were coldly administerd and were expected to be followed without question. Although, there were many men and now women who have volunteerly enlisted in the armed forces, there are still those who view joining the military and working for the government as selling-out. The negative persona of military life can be a real turn off for most people looking on the outside. There are those who value individualism and the persuit of personal gain, the thought of selling out to the military for economic security would be unheard of by civilian standards. Despite the negative thoughts about military life and the incentives of economic securities, military recruitment practices turned from a means to help and do for your country into a way to attain an education back to a need to serve your country, in recent years. Thoughout its changes the enlisting numbers have not declined, they have stayed steady, if not increased over the years.

=Hardships of Military Life on the family

Military Family by definition is a unit that may consist of Husband and wife and children; with either the husband or wife as the primary military enlisted. The one who stays home to guard the family and look after the home, may have the roughest job. The emotional stress that a partner can experience, before, during and after a soldiers deployment is perhaps just as bad mentally, then the one who is going off to fight the war. Those who's husbands or wives were deployed for the first time, rated their feelings about the whole experience as being very sad, and difficult to cope with the sudden absence of their loved one. However, wommen or men who's spouses where deployed prior, were coping with the present deployment with much more positive reactions. They felt that they had a job to do away from home that was important and they and the rest of their family (children) had to be supportive and take care of things while the family member was away. Children begin taking om more adult responiblities like: cooking,cleaning,getting groceries,etc. Despite the positive coping skills of some military families, others are not doing so well on their own to accept the long time of seperation from their family and family members. Stressors and stress reactions of spouses vary in time. What is perceived stressful before the deployment differs much from what is percieved stressful during and after the deployment. There can be at least 7 stages spoused can experience stress over time. They are: shock/protest, disengagement and alienation, emotiional diorganiztion, recovery and stabilization, anticipation of homecoming, reunion, and reintegration/stabilization. Coping Strategies would fit very well between these stages, and are encouraged to begin as soon as possible to minimize the elavation of stress levels.

7 stages of experience stress for military families before, during and after deployment

Initial Shock/Protest: the period that usually is about 2 weeks where family members are upset and anger at the deployment news. This is usually a time of heighten emotions. In the past many family was only given a month notice to get ready for deployment, but recently many families were given a year or a little more of notice that their loved one was due to deploy, which made the stressful time of anticipation even worse. Many recent reports suggest the idea preparation time for deployment would be 3-5 months.

Disengagement and Alienation: During the last days prior to departure the couples enter this stage. They experience points of distancing because of feelings of uncertainities of how a mission will turn out; but also during that stage, a lot of latent problems or concern may surface that could pose a potentially issue of additional stress, like arguments and confessions that can't be address fully in those last moments before a person's deployment. These are moments that create a lot of emotions and tears.

Emotional Disorganization: Shortly after the family member has been deployed, there are feelings of sadness and symptoms of depression may begin, along with issues with sleeping and problems with the rhytm of life (eating disorders). These issues can last for about 6 weeks, perhaps longer, especially, if the deployment doesn't go well or there is a report of bad news to the family. The best way to get family and wifes over this period or stage, is for deployed personnal to contact their family as soon as they arrive at their destinations and as soon as military authority permits. This can really help the family feel less stressed over the deployment duration. Their ability to be in constant contact is a key part to decreasing a stress family life.

Recovery and Stabilization: Usually after 6 weeks the family will fall back in to a more destressed family pattern, and recover by getting use to the situation of a missing family member who has been deployed. Routine at the stage is the best way to keep the mind off of what or where the deployed may be at this point. The involvement of "homefront groups" are essential to military families who need to share and enjoy time with others who have military spouses and partners deployed for long periods of time. Seeking social support groups are one of many ways people cope with stressful issues.

Women in the Military

Women have served in the military throughout US history. During WWII women served in the Women's Army Auxilary Corp which was later renamed WAC Women's Army Corps. In addition, there was WAVES, or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services. There has also historically been a role for women as military nurses. The major issue though in contemporary society has to do with women involved in combat units, especially those engaged in ground combat.

Homosexuality and the Military

Homosexuals were not recruited into the military from WWII to the Clinton presidency. In 1993, the Clinton administration began the policy of "Don't ask, Don't tell, Don't pursue", which basically means that military personnel will be neither compelled ("Don't ask") nor allowed ("Don't tell") nor harassed (Don't pursue) to disclose or discuss their sexual identity while serving in the military.

Political Control of the Military

In the modern relationship between the military and the state, the state relies on the military to protect it from external threats as well as violence between various internal groups. Concurrently, the military draws so-called 'violent resources' from the state and from society. Such resources can include money, technology, raw materials, and manpower. The relationship has changed somewhat from the 16th and 17th centuries, however, where internal centers of power and specific sectors of society (e.g. skilled builders or guilds) were somewhat more autonomous than the rest. These sectors were not under the direct control of the sovereign power and could avoid feeding resources to the state. This meant that pre-modern militaries were 1) somewhat weaker than the modern version due to a lack of state-funded resources but also 2) powerful sectors of society that controlled certain privately-funded resources and which could raise their own mercenary forces if needed. The weaker, pre-modern versions of the military were less of a tool for states to control society as compared to modern times.

As this system began to evolve, states started to exert more control over society by exploiting 'existential fears' which led to the creation of various bureaucratic methods including mass conscription, tax systems, and territorial centralization. The result is that various civil sectors began to work exclusively for the state, which in turn desired a stronger military, and which used these sectors to extract more resources and more manpower for exclusive military use. This 'modern' military now was reliant on the state for its very existence, whereas, in pre-modern times, the military could be the tool of various autonomous sectors of society.

Military's Use of Research and Industry

The use of research and industry to develop new and more deadly chemical and biological weapons is an important facet of the modern military. Perhaps more alarming, is the allowance of human research subjects by the government for military goals. The greatest perpetrator, or at least those that spend the most money in this research, is the United States Department of Defense. The DoD was responsible for much research into chemical and biological weapons done in the private sector, at Universities and in prisons. Much of this research was believed to be related to various disease research.

The amount of research that is done relates to the U.S. economy. The U.S. is thought to be in a permanent war economy, boasting the largest military budget in the world. This has created a strong link between military, the state, and corporate America. This has been coined the military industrial complex, but the military has also dominated large university science departments. This concept in the military industrial academic complex, or MIA.

This is not just an American phenomenon. The American model is based on the German standard, which the Americans emulated starting from the founding of the American Chemical Society in 1876. German universities were involved in early chemical gas development for use in World War I. German universities "carefully cultivated the ideal of sceince as an emphatically value-free activity; they bestowed upon their wards the right and the duty to serve the interests of knowledge and to brush aside other interests with which the welfare of scientific pursuits might clash." American universities also had chemical labs, Harvard University began work on poison gas in 1917. By World War I, the chemical industry began to influence politics because of the great interdependece between industry, military and politics.

References

• Sam C. Sarkesian, John Allen Williams, and Fred B.Bryant. Soldiers, Society, and National Security. Lynne Rienner Publishers; Boulder, 1995.
• Giuseppe Caforio edited by Handbook of the Sociology of the Military Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. References for section on Hardships on Military life on families and 7 stages of stress and coping skills,. Rene' Moelker and Irene Can Der Kloet