Soldiers' Status within Society
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Reading
Department Name: Politics and International Relations
Abstract
The recently published United Kingdom Armed Forces Covenant - Government Response states that a 'robust, well planned and high quality Service personnel research programme is fundamental to developing evidence-based policies that deliver the human component of military capability and meet the aspirations of Service personnel' (Ministry of Defence UK, 2011). Personnel constitute of a third of the UK Defence budget and half of the Canadian Defence budget. While governments have established cooperation programmes such as The Technical Cooperation Program between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, they lack similar cooperation programmes relating to personnel issues - the human dimension of national defence. The governments have a vested interest in the wellbeing of their soldiers and this project is designed to begin understanding how soldiers perceive their place within society, as a result of their military career. This project will provide not only a forum for academics studying military sociology, politics, international relations and psychology, but will also provide a voice for soldiers that may help the militaries, the governments and academics understand how soldiers perceive they are supported by society and potentially have an effect on how soldiers are treated in the future. These issues potentially have an impact on morale and retention, in that if a soldier does not feel valued they may feel an increased desire to leave the military.
The Project Coordinator received an ESRC PhD studentship to investigate how soldiers perceive their place within society in the United Kingdom, Canada and France, and whether military training or combat experience has an effect on these perceptions. There has been a recent rise in research projects investigating the welfare, morale, and status of soldiers within society, both in the academic sphere as well as the practitioner sphere; however a formal network has not yet been established to facilitate knowledge exchange on these issues. The current situation provides a timely opportunity to engage in exchanging the research findings of the Project Coordinator's PhD research as well as the work of other academics and practitioners in this field.
The project will provide a bridge between soldiers, the policy initiatives of the government, the initiatives of the Armed Forces Community Covenant Teams, the assistance provided by Service charities and research being conducted regarding civil-military relations. The project will also provide a forum for leading and upcoming researchers as well as the non-academic user communities to discuss recent issues in the field. Current events have generated an increased interest in the welfare of soldiers with numerous groups conducting research or engaging in initiatives to assist soldiers. This project will enable these different groups to come together and discuss their current research and initiatives.
The proposed activities would build a multidisciplinary and international network between academics, practitioners and officials regarding the issues surrounding the status of soldiers in Europe and North America. Understanding any disparities that may exist between nations with regards to a soldier's perceived status within society is valuable for morale issues, especially when soldiers must work in multinational coalitions and exercises or on peacekeeping missions with other nation's soldiers who may possess different feelings of societal value. Therefore, although the project will emphasis British soldiers, the project will be international in nature, including participants from Canada, France and the United States. The results of the project could have direct impact on issues relating to personnel retention, the ability of soldiers to work well with coalition soldiers, and the integration of Territorial Army or Reserve Force personnel with Regular Force personnel.
The Project Coordinator received an ESRC PhD studentship to investigate how soldiers perceive their place within society in the United Kingdom, Canada and France, and whether military training or combat experience has an effect on these perceptions. There has been a recent rise in research projects investigating the welfare, morale, and status of soldiers within society, both in the academic sphere as well as the practitioner sphere; however a formal network has not yet been established to facilitate knowledge exchange on these issues. The current situation provides a timely opportunity to engage in exchanging the research findings of the Project Coordinator's PhD research as well as the work of other academics and practitioners in this field.
The project will provide a bridge between soldiers, the policy initiatives of the government, the initiatives of the Armed Forces Community Covenant Teams, the assistance provided by Service charities and research being conducted regarding civil-military relations. The project will also provide a forum for leading and upcoming researchers as well as the non-academic user communities to discuss recent issues in the field. Current events have generated an increased interest in the welfare of soldiers with numerous groups conducting research or engaging in initiatives to assist soldiers. This project will enable these different groups to come together and discuss their current research and initiatives.
The proposed activities would build a multidisciplinary and international network between academics, practitioners and officials regarding the issues surrounding the status of soldiers in Europe and North America. Understanding any disparities that may exist between nations with regards to a soldier's perceived status within society is valuable for morale issues, especially when soldiers must work in multinational coalitions and exercises or on peacekeeping missions with other nation's soldiers who may possess different feelings of societal value. Therefore, although the project will emphasis British soldiers, the project will be international in nature, including participants from Canada, France and the United States. The results of the project could have direct impact on issues relating to personnel retention, the ability of soldiers to work well with coalition soldiers, and the integration of Territorial Army or Reserve Force personnel with Regular Force personnel.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit:
- Military personnel from the United Kingdom, Canada, France and the USA
- Military Charities and User Communities such as the Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes, Army Benevolent Fund and the Imperial War Museum
- Military spouses and families
- Policy makers working on the Armed Forces Covenant
- Academics from Political Studies, Sociology, Psychology, Human Geography, International Security Studies, Philosophy
- The public in general
How they will benefit:
The project conference and workshops will bring academics, military personnel, practitioners and policy makers together to discuss current research and trends, as well as identify gaps in the research being conducted and possible issues to address in the future. The conference and workshops will emphasise user community engagement and participant numbers will aim for an academic and user community ratio of 1:1.
The conference will provide a means to present current research from not only academia but also from service charities and policy groups to a broader audience and will also provide the opportunity for a number of graduate students to present their research on the area of soldiers within society. The papers presented at the conference will potentially form part of a special edition of the Armed Forces and Society Journal.
The workshop held in the UK will facilitate a discussion amongst policy makers, military personnel, Service charities and academics in order to share research findings, understand where support and research are lacking, and discuss possible future research and project collaboration across disciplines, user communities and nations.
The outreach activities are designed to engage communities who do not normally participate in typcial academic resources such as journal articles and conferences. The outreach programme will entail the Project Coordinator meeting with military personnel and their spouses during their coffee morning meetings to discuss what they feel is missing in the current civil-military initiatives being undertaken by the government. In addition, Mrs Travis will share with the user communities the recent findings of her research, as it has been found that these communities are not effectively accessing the available information regarding the government's policy changes to the civil-military relationship.
Mrs Travis will also visit the Royal Military College, Canada, to engage in knowledge exchange with military and academic personnel at the College through seminars and discussions regarding her findings as well as the findings from Canadian researchers in academia and the Canadian Forces, in order to strengthen the international network and discuss any disparities between the nations.
Other outreach activities will be to engage with the Community Covenant teams in the UK to help bridge the gap between the military and society. It has been shown that amongst civilians there is a lack of understanding of who soldiers are and what they do - the outreach activities in this section of the project will aim to help civilians better understand soldiers, making the research findings from Mrs Travis' PhD available to the general public in a format that is easy to understand. This component will work closely with the Royal British Legion, the Imperial War Museum and Help for Heroes to generate knowledge exchange to the general public. The Imperial War Museum has invited Mrs Travis to participate in a meeting with the Heads of Department at the museum to discuss how they may showcase contemporary conflict at the museum. Mrs Travis will also engage in a similar collaboration with the Canada War Museum. This will enable Mrs Travis to carry-on this collaboration further, which will extend the impact of her research findings to the general public and allow Mrs Travis access to both museums' research as well as research from the Royal British Legion.
- Military personnel from the United Kingdom, Canada, France and the USA
- Military Charities and User Communities such as the Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes, Army Benevolent Fund and the Imperial War Museum
- Military spouses and families
- Policy makers working on the Armed Forces Covenant
- Academics from Political Studies, Sociology, Psychology, Human Geography, International Security Studies, Philosophy
- The public in general
How they will benefit:
The project conference and workshops will bring academics, military personnel, practitioners and policy makers together to discuss current research and trends, as well as identify gaps in the research being conducted and possible issues to address in the future. The conference and workshops will emphasise user community engagement and participant numbers will aim for an academic and user community ratio of 1:1.
The conference will provide a means to present current research from not only academia but also from service charities and policy groups to a broader audience and will also provide the opportunity for a number of graduate students to present their research on the area of soldiers within society. The papers presented at the conference will potentially form part of a special edition of the Armed Forces and Society Journal.
The workshop held in the UK will facilitate a discussion amongst policy makers, military personnel, Service charities and academics in order to share research findings, understand where support and research are lacking, and discuss possible future research and project collaboration across disciplines, user communities and nations.
The outreach activities are designed to engage communities who do not normally participate in typcial academic resources such as journal articles and conferences. The outreach programme will entail the Project Coordinator meeting with military personnel and their spouses during their coffee morning meetings to discuss what they feel is missing in the current civil-military initiatives being undertaken by the government. In addition, Mrs Travis will share with the user communities the recent findings of her research, as it has been found that these communities are not effectively accessing the available information regarding the government's policy changes to the civil-military relationship.
Mrs Travis will also visit the Royal Military College, Canada, to engage in knowledge exchange with military and academic personnel at the College through seminars and discussions regarding her findings as well as the findings from Canadian researchers in academia and the Canadian Forces, in order to strengthen the international network and discuss any disparities between the nations.
Other outreach activities will be to engage with the Community Covenant teams in the UK to help bridge the gap between the military and society. It has been shown that amongst civilians there is a lack of understanding of who soldiers are and what they do - the outreach activities in this section of the project will aim to help civilians better understand soldiers, making the research findings from Mrs Travis' PhD available to the general public in a format that is easy to understand. This component will work closely with the Royal British Legion, the Imperial War Museum and Help for Heroes to generate knowledge exchange to the general public. The Imperial War Museum has invited Mrs Travis to participate in a meeting with the Heads of Department at the museum to discuss how they may showcase contemporary conflict at the museum. Mrs Travis will also engage in a similar collaboration with the Canada War Museum. This will enable Mrs Travis to carry-on this collaboration further, which will extend the impact of her research findings to the general public and allow Mrs Travis access to both museums' research as well as research from the Royal British Legion.
People |
ORCID iD |
D. Heuser (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Dentry-Travis, S.J.
(2013)
Canadian Soldiers' Constructions of their Role-sets
in Personal Construct Theory and Practice
Dentry-Travis, S.J.
Valued or Forgotten? How French, British and Canadian soldiers' perceive their place within society.
in Paris Paper, Institute for Strategic Research, L'Ecole Militaire
Dentry-Travis, S.J.
Soldiers' Perceptions of Being Valued by Society and the Government: A comparison of France, Canada and the United Kingdom
in Revue Defense Nationale
Description | Conference - The provided academics from diverse fields, military personnel and practitioners in military welfare an opportunity to discuss their research, work and experiences. By being interdisciplinary the conference allowed participants who may not have encountered each other in the past to come together to discuss how they approach issues related to military social issues. In addition, by being multinational the conference provided the opportunity to understand how other nations approach potential social issues. The presenters from the conference have created journal articles and are currently in the process of publishing them individually. A book project is underway that will be titled 'Soldiers within Society'. The editors of the book include the project's lead researcher, Sarah Dentry-Travis, as well as Malte Reimann, a presenter at the conference and Lecturer at Sandhurst Military Academy. The book will include chapters from a selection of conference presenters as well as Sandhurst researchers. Workshops - Two workshops were held at the Imperial War Museum London, United Kingdom, and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Canada. These workshops brought together academics, military social workers, military health practitioners, military personnel and members of the media, including a BBC Defence Correspondent. Similar to the conference, the aim of the workshops was to bring people together who were working on military social issues but who may not have the opportunity to meet due to different occupations, nationality and departments. The workshops provided networking opportunities that continue to be used amongst military health practitioners, academics and military personnel. A number of journal articles are currently being written by Sarah Dentry-Travis, specifically focusing on theories of the 'soldier as victim'. An article written by Sarah Dentry-Travis that has resulted from the workshops and is currently being translated into French by the publisher is Soldiers' Perceptions of Being Valued by Society and the Government: A comparison of France, Canada and the United Kingdom, which will be published by Revue Defense Nationale. From contacts made at the workshop Sarah Dentry-Travis is also acting as a consultant for a Canadian project aimed at providing recreational therapy for military families suffering from experiences in Afghanistan and other military related events. In addition, a website is nearing completion that will provide networking opportunities for all academics, military personnel, military health practitioners, media and other parties interested in military social issues. |
First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
Sector | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | Consultant for third sector veteran health initiative |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
Description | Veteran Identity Panel |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research |
Organisation | Canadian Institute for Knowledge Mobilization (CIMVHR) |
Department | Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The Soldiers' Health and Social Issues Workshop, held at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa included members from the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR). The PI, Dentry-Travis, created a working collaboration with the members from CIMVHR and is currently (2016) in a position at CIMVHR as a post-doctoral fellow. The main participants in this workshop were frontline health service providers for the Canadian Forces, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and defence researchers, as well as Canadian museum personnel. CIMVHR was a research participant for the workshop. |
Collaborator Contribution | Stemming from networks created at the workshop, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR) has provided the PI, Dr Dentry-Travis, with office space at Queen's University, and other amenities suitable for a post-doctoral position, such as a computer and library access. The connection with CIMVHR Directors has also provided new networks to be created, such as with Veteran Affairs Canada. |
Impact | Research collection for this collaboration is scheduled to begin in March 2016. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Soldiers' Health and Social Issues - DRDC |
Organisation | National Research Council of Canada |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Members of DRDC attended the Canadian workshop on Soldiers' Health and Social Issues, held at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The main participants in this workshop were frontline health service providers for the Canadian Forces, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and defence researchers, as well as Canadian museum personnel. As the PI on this project, Dentry-Travis led the workshop discussions, which provided participants with knowledge of the services each other provide to the military community. The workshop discussions highlighted where services were not adequate and also cases where services exists but user communities were not aware of the opportunity. Frontline service providers discussed where research was needed. The main aim of the workshop was to bring many user community personnel together for knowledge exchange, specifically to discuss their arcs of fire to ensure that services are being provided to and used by those who need it the most. |
Collaborator Contribution | After the many discussions from the workshop, networks were established between not only the PI and the other participants, but also between the participants. The workshop enabled the PI to establish collaborative relationships with many of the participants that has continued to be helpful years after the project has ended. For instance, DRDC attended the workshop and also recently helped the PI with a new project, providing data analysis and survey administration. |
Impact | Conferences: Dentry-Travis, S.J., The Big Chill: Cortisol responses during a North Pole Expedition, Presented at Brain and Behaviour Conference, February 2015, Fernie, B.C., Canada. Dentry-Travis, S.J., Cortisol Levels and Subjective Stress during an Expedition to the North Pole, Presented at Canadian Institute of Military and Veteran Health Research Forum, November 2014, Toronto, Canada. The above conference presentations were multidisciplinary. The fields included biology and psychology, although the conference presentations focused on the biological component of the study. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Society's Perceptions of Soldiers - Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The workshop, held at the Imperial War Museum, included participants from the museum, the military, media (BBC), and academia. The aim of the workshop was to discuss how society perceives soldiers and the impact this may have on soldier well-being. The workshop engaged the participants such that they continued their discussions into the evening, even after the workshop had formally finished, and highlighted alternative ways to engage the rest of society with research on society's impact on soldier wellbeing. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Soldiers within Society - conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | The Soldiers within Society conference, held at the University of Reading hosted over 100 delegates over two days. The presenters came from five different countries and included multi-disciplinary research on issues pertaining to military personnel in their society. The emphasis on multi-disciplinary work and the international nature of the event provided participants with a new perspective on military social issues, highlighting instances of positive policy decisions as well as instances of where policy did not work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Soldiers' Health and Social Issues - Workshop, Canadian War Museum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The workshop held at the Canadian War Museum brought together Canadian military health practitioners, researchers, museum personnel, and third sector organisations interested in military personnel wellbeing. The discussions touched upon how the museum can use its role in the community to help educate society about the current situation of military personnel and their families. The discussions also focused on what services are currently being provided, what is needed, and ways in which frontline healthcare workers can access the services from the third sector to help their patients and their families. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |