Article Review

Military Culture
To
Dr Fauziah Hanim Bte Abd Jalal
By
Nageswary Shanmugham
M20122001768
Sanjay Vengatravana
M20122001723
This article focuses on some of the
specific challenges and nuances
found within the military society in
hopes that it will assist Marriage and
Family Therapists (MFTs) in providing
exceptional care to the members of
the culture.

DEMOGRAPHICS
The present military society is
comprised:
I. more dual-military couples,
II. more married service members,
III. more dependents of service members,
and
IV. a greater number of military spouses
working outside the home.

V. number of women serving in the
military. Currently, over 14% of military
personnel are women (Rotter & Boveja,
1999)
MARITAL STATUS
approximately 55% of all service
members are married (Dept. of Defense,
1999)
Some personnel enter the military as
single parents.
single parents must give up legal
custody of their children for their first
term of obligation
The purpose of this regulation is to keep
the service member from being
unavailable for a deployment because no
one was available to take care of the
children.

SPECIAL POPULATIONS
the changing demographics of military
members, greater the diversity of family
structures, each with unique stresses
and needs
junior enlisted members - the youngest
and lowest-ranking members of the
military society
Women - undergone significant
transformation since the days of the
gender-segregated services like the
Women's Army Corps

Cont....
have risen to fulfill the highest-ranking
positions within the military
dual-military marriages - both spouses
are members of the military.
Greatest challenges is childcare
STRESS FACTORS IN THE
MILITARY SETTING
1. RELOCATIONS
2. DEPLOYMENTS
3. STRUCTURAL AUTHORITY
4. THREAT OF LOSS OF LIFE
5. ACCELERATED CAREER
PATTERN
6. INADEQUATE HOUSING
7. INADEQUATE PAY

Stress Factors in the Military
Setting

Relocations - normal tour lengths to
four years
families move on an average of almost
once a year
relocations cause stress on the soldier
and his or her family

Deployments
represent stressful situations of
prolonged separation from families
and loved ones for soldiers.
cause stress because the soldier is
leaving a fairly stabilized network of
family, friends, and support
Spouses of deployed soldiers
experience loneliness, depression,
anxiety, anger, and physical illnesses.

Soldiers deployed experience guilt for
leaving their families, and also
experience depression, loneliness,
and anxiety that their spouses are
experiencing. (Rohall, 1999)
spouse who is not deployed must take
full responsibility for the daily
operation of the family. One spouse
plays the role of mother and father.
Structural Authority
The military contains a fairly rigid
structure of authority
service member can only leave the
service at the end of service contracts.
affects the life of the soldier every day-
he or she is always held accountable
to someone.
Threat of Loss of Life
potential violence and loss of life
involved in "Peacekeeping
Operations." Peacekeeping operations
are situations like the ones seen in
Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Cuba.
contain the potential for violence as
evidenced by the loss of American
lives in Somalia
Accelerated Career Pattern
Soldiers serving in the military often
reach positions of significant
responsibilities and prestige ahead of
their peers in the civilian sector.
The career pattern in the military is
based on a twenty-year retirement
versus a forty-year retirement in the
civilian sector.
Inadequate Housing
relocations means they are changing
housing at the same frequency
causes problem for the service
member and his or her family
government does not fully reimburse a
family who resides off-post in non-
government housing or quarters
many high cost of living areas cannot
afford to live off-post
they apply to live on-post in
government housing
The housing varies greatly from
location to location
units are being labeled "substandard"
by the Department of Defense (Twiss
and Martin, 1999).
Inadequate pay
military pay increases have not even
kept pace with the cost of inflation.
inadequate pay scale for many
members
Left military families in difficult
situations
REFRENCES











































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Castro, C.A. & Adler, A.B. (1999). OPTEMPO: Effects on soldier and family readiness, Parameters 29, 86-95.

Department of Defense, Office of Personnel Support, Families and Education, Profile of the military
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Figley, C.R. (1993). Coping with stressors on the home front. Journal of Social Issues, 49, 51-71.

Gimbel, C. & Booth, A. (1994). Why does military combat experience adversely affect marital relations?
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Knox, J. & Price, D. (1999). Total force and the new American military family: Implications for social work.
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Lehman, D.R. (1999). Continuing the Tradition of Research on War, 2.

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