Understanding Military Culture

Joshua Bode, LCSWVeterans Justice Outreach Coordinator,

Boise VA Medical Center

Knowledge and understanding of military culture can lead to:

• Increased ability to relate to and support your Veteran client resulting in a stronger therapeutic alliance - the strongest determinant of treatment outcome.

• Deeper understanding of the context for mental health symptoms and conditions.

• Improved treatment planning that is informed by increased military cultural knowledge.

• Increased appreciation for military service.

Learning about military culture includes a deeper understanding of both the:

• Structure of the military such as branches and ranks.

• Missions, ideals and core values of military culture.

Learning Objectives

• Become familiar with military terms and demographics

• Describe stressors in the military• Implications for Treatment Court Teams

Service Branch Sizes

Assigned Strength of Active Duty ForceService Enlisted Officers Total PercentageArmy 452,064 87,610 539,675 37.8%Navy 275,296 51,388 326,684 22.9%Marine Corps 178,213 20,202 198,415 13.9%Air Force 258,095 64,805 322,900 22.6%Coast Guard 33,228 8,134 41,362 2.9%Total 1,196,897 232,139 1,429,036 100%

Female Service Members

Active Duty Gender DistributionService Enlisted Percent Female Officer Percent FemaleArmy 13.2 % 15.5 %Navy 15 % 15.1 %Marine Corps 6.2 % 5.8 %Air Force 19.9 % 18.3Coast Guard 11.6 % 14.9 %Total 14 % 15.3 %

Race Profile of Military

Active Duty Gender DistributionService Enlisted Percent Female Officer Percent FemaleArmy 13.2 % 15.5 %Navy 15 % 15.1 %Marine Corps 6.2 % 5.8 %Air Force 19.9 % 18.3Coast Guard 11.6 % 14.9 %Total 14 % 15.3 %

Race Profile of Active Duty ForceService % White % Minorities % Black % OtherArmy 73.9 % 26.1 % 21.5 % 4.6 %Navy 66.2 % 33.8 % 19.3 % 14.4 %Marine Corps 83.7 % 16.3 % 11.1 % 5.2 %Air Force 78.1 % 21.9 % 15.6 % 6.3 %Coast Guard 82 % 18 % 6.1 % 11.9 %Total 74.6 % 25.4 % 17.8 % 7.6 %

Diversity

• 33% of Active and 25% of Reserve Guard are racial/ethnic minorities.

• Representation of most of these groups are parallel or higher than general population.

• Asian and Hispanic representation is lower than general population

Military Branches

• Army = Soldier• Air Force= Airman• Navy= Sailor• Marine Corps= Marine• Coast Guard= Guardian

Military Core Values

• Army- Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage

• Air Force- Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All We do

• Coast Guard- Honor and Integrity, Greater Good of the Coast Guard, Innovation, Personal Initiative, Drive for Success, and Teamwork

• Marines- Honor, Courage, Commitment• Navy- Honor, Courage, Commitment

Army Mission

Fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the

full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders.

Air Force Mission

To fly, fight, and win…in air, space and cyberspace. Distinctive Capabilities

1. Air and Space Superiority2. Global Attack

3. Rapid Global Mobility4. Precision Engagement

5. Information Superiority6. Agile Combat Support

Coast Guard Mission

• The United States Coast Guard is a multi-mission, maritime military service within the Department of Homeland Security and one of the nation’s five armed services. Its core roles are to protect the public, the environment, and U.S. economic and security interests in any maritime region in which those interests may be at risk, including international waters and America’s coasts, ports and inland waterways.

Navy Mission

• The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.

Marine Corp Mission

• The Marine Corps has been America's expeditionary force in readiness since 1775. We are forward deployed to respond swiftly and aggressively in times of crisis. We are soldiers of the sea, providing forces and detachments to naval ships and shore operations. We are global leaders, developing expeditionary doctrine and innovations that set the example, and leading other countries' forces and agencies in multinational military operations. These unique capabilities make us "First to Fight," and our nation's first line of defense

Military Rank

• Enlisted Personnel (E-1 through E-9) • Warrant Officers (W-1 through W-5)- highly

specialized experts (2% of military)• Commissioned Officers (O-1 through O-10)

MOS/NEC/AFSC

• Marines, Army, and Coast Guard use MOS or Military Occupational Specialty

• Navy uses Navy Enlisted Classification• Air Force uses Air Force Specialty Code

Military Status

• Active Duty– Full Time

• Reserve/Guard– Federal/State – 39 days/year– Typically monthly drills two-week annual training– May be called to Active Duty for deployments– Lack the support system Active Duty has returning

from deployment.

Military Acronyms and Terms• FRG = Family Readiness Group• ARNG = Army National Guard• FAC = Family Assistance Center• TAG = The Adjutant General• MOBEX = Mobilization Exercise• ANG = Air National Guard• TDY = Temporary Duty• FOB= Forward Operations Base• OIC = Officer In Charge• NCO = Noncommissioned Officer• NCOIC= Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge• JAG = Judge Advocate General• KIA = Killed In Action• MRE = Meals Ready to Eat• AIT= Advanced Individual Training• UCMJ= Uniformed Code Military Justice• SARC= Sexual Assault Response Coordinator• NBC= Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Weaponry

Military Stressors

• Life Threat (combat/deployment)• Loss• Inner Conflict• Wear and tear/lack of control

Military Sexual Trauma

• Active Duty personnel (with reference to the past year) have experienced:– Offensive sexual behavior: 52% of women and 29% of men– Unwanted sexual attention: 31% of women and 7% of men– Sexual Coercion: 9% of women and 3% of men– Unwanted sexual contact: 6.8% of women and 1.8% of men

• VA population (with reference to their entire military service) experienced:– MST: 21.4% of women (48,106) and 1.1% of men (43,693)

MST Consequences

• Distress and Mental Illness• Lower physical health and self esteem• More severe PTSD symptoms.• More severe consequences because:– Interpersonal Trauma– Perpetrated by someone who is presumably supposed

to be protecting your life– It may not be possible to report the crime, for a variety

of reasons– It may be coupled with combat exposure as well

Impact of Combat

• The level of combat is the main determinant of mental health status

• Deployment Length, family seperation, and number of deployments also a major factor

• Soldiers/Marines with mental health problems were more likely to mistreat non-combatants.

What’s Soldiers and Marines Experienced

Saw dead bodiesHad been shot atKnow someone who was

wounded or killedSaw injured or killed

AmericansWas responsible for

enemy deaths

Army Marines 93% 94% 93 97

86 87

65 75 48 65

Rates of Mental Health Issues

• Self-reported PTSD: 14.1%• PTSD, Depression, or anxiety: 16.7%• More than half of members positive for

mental health problems would not seek care.• 60-90 days post deployment, mental health

issues reported at following rates:– Army 38%– Marines 31%

Family Strain

• Examples are Divorce and Family Violence• High marital satisfaction typically but

problems have increased over years due to deployments.

• Families are crucial for recovery and are often the first to recognize stress problems in service members.

Substance Use

• No tolerance in Military for drug use• Alcohol use is very acceptable and often times

encouraged in some military units • Prescription Drugs (narcotics particularly) have

been used to keep people fighting• Veterans tend to be more likely to abuse

alcohol or prescription drugs due them being legal and accepted during military service

Battlemind

• Buddies (cohesion) vs. Withdrawal• Accountability vs. Controlling• Targeted Aggression vs. Inappropriate Aggression• Tactical Awareness vs. Hypervigilance• Lethally Armed vs. “Locked and Loaded” at Home• Emotional Control vs. Anger/Detachment• Mission Operational Security (OPSEC) vs. Secretiveness• Individual Responsibility vs. Guilt• Non-Defensive (combat) Driving vs. Aggressive Driving• Discipline and Ordering vs. Conflict

Military Acronyms and Terms• FRG = Family Readiness Group• ARNG = Army National Guard• FAC = Family Assistance Center• TAG = The Adjutant General• MOBEX = Mobilization Exercise• ANG = Air National Guard• TDY = Temporary Duty• FOB= Forward Operations Base• OIC = Officer In Charge• NCO = Noncommissioned Officer• NCOIC= Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge• JAG = Judge Advocate General• KIA = Killed In Action• MRE = Meals Ready to Eat• AIT= Advanced Individual Training• UCMJ= Uniformed Code Military Justice• SARC= Sexual Assault Response Coordinator• NBC= Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Weaponry

What do we learn from this?

• Veterans have a history of pro-social behavior in most cases

• They bring along a set of values instilled in them through military training

• They are trained to a point in which their reaction is at times without thought. This is crucial in a combat situation

• Often times, the mental health issues we are dealing with are the result of trauma

How do we apply this?

• Veterans have not lost those core values they have been taught

• Understanding and emphatically addressing trauma history will reduce substance use and symptoms of PTSD

• Retraining is needed to allow veterans to step away from training that kept them safe in combat

How do we apply this? (cont.)

• Sense of purpose is a major key in recovery for these veterans

• Family is extremely important• Listening is often times more important than

understanding• Veterans will strive in a situation where there

are clear policies and structure