University of Victoria

Sociology of the Military

This session will explore the distinct empirical and conceptual contributions of sociology to the study of the military and may draw from multiple traditions in the field including analyses of the military as a formal institution (e.g., looking at military policy or governance); a social institution (for instance, examining civil-military relations or the role of the military in Canadian society); or a culture, as well as approaches that focus on military service as a profession (with emphasis on the unique demands of military service on the individual, and families of serving members). Papers relating to the military in the Canadian context are encouraged; however, recognizing that the ‘Canadian context’ is increasingly globalized, papers with an international focus are also welcome.

Chair: Kristin Atwood, University of Calgary

Session Organizer: Kristin Atwood, University of Calgary, kmatwood@ucalgary.ca ; Kyle Fraser, Military Personnel Research & Analysis (DGMPRA), Department of National Defence, kyle.fraser@forces.gc.ca

Social (In)Cohesion and the Canadian Military: Revisiting Integration Policy in the Canadian Forces

Vanessa Brown, Carleton University, vabrown@connect.carleton.ca

The policy and practice of social cohesion within the Canadian Forces is primarily “concerned with social order and ensuring that” differently racialized, sexualized, and abled service persons integrate into the dominant ‘receiving culture’ of the military (Vasta, 2010). The problem, however, with the Canadian Forces’ social cohesion policy is that it assumes a standard, or a specific model of the soldier, to which all members of the military are measured against, and to which all members must strive to become. In this paper I discuss the ways in which the policy and practice of social cohesion within the Canadian military privileges hegemonic groups by allowing them to determine the characteristics that are used to define what it is to be a soldier. As a result, dominant groups have greater access to institutional power because they are able to determine the qualities and characteristics which are ‘essential’ to the practice of soldiering, and, these traits usually resemble attributes in which they alone embody. I conclude that social cohesion becomes a tool with which hegemonic groups may mark particular individuals as different, and these differences are used to justify the ‘inability’ of certain people to perform soldierly tasks.

Thursday June 6, 2013 08:45 AM - 10:15 AM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-161

Preliminary Results of the 2013 Canadian Forces "Your-Say" Survey: Reserve Force Edition

Kyle Fraser, Military Personnel Research and Analysis (DGMPRA), Department of National Defence, kyle.fraser@forces.gc.ca

The “Your-Say” survey is a continuous attitude survey administered to Canadian Forces (CF) personnel in regular time intervals since 2005. The survey is designed to measure the attitudes, circumstances, and experiences of military personnel on a periodic basis and the results enable organizational leadership to evaluate existing and proposed policies and their impact. In 2013, a version of the “Your-Say” was developed and administered to a large sample of Reserve Force personnel – those military members that typically balance part-time military service with civilian employment or studies and also represent a unique link between the CF and the Canadian public. This paper will present a summary of preliminary findings from the survey related to such topics as work climate, attitudes toward leadership, work-life balance, well-being, and support services. It will then discuss the potential impact of survey results on the development of a Reserve Force Research Framework, to incorporate and address the unique dimensions of Reserve military service in Canada.

Thursday June 6, 2013 08:45 AM - 10:15 AM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-161

The Impact of Perceived Community Social Support and Community Belonging on the Well-Being of Canadian Forces Members

Stefan Wolejszo, DGMPRA, Department of National Defence, Government of Canada, s.wolejszo@gmail.com

The military lifestyle poses unique challenges for Canadian Forces (CF) members. The lives of regular CF members and their families are also unique in that the communities they live in are typically organized around CF bases or garrisons. Research suggests a relationship between the well-being of military personnel and the social support from and sense of belonging to the communities in which they live. This paper presents results from the Military Community Wellness Survey, which examined the hypothesis that both perceived community social support and community belonging play important roles in the well-being of CF members. The survey was administered electronically in 2011 to a sample of 4,700 Regular Force CF members at three military bases. A total of 935 responses were received, indicating an overall adjusted response rate of 21.3%. Results showed that community social support and community belonging were significantly and inversely correlated with psychological distress and depression. Furthermore, linear regression analyses showed that social support and community belonging significantly and uniquely predicted both psychological distress and depression. This finding illustrates the importance of taking into account both perceived community social support and community belonging when explaining the variance in the well-being of military personnel.

Thursday June 6, 2013 08:45 AM - 10:15 AM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-161

Military Socialization and Consideration of Civilian Training Alternatives

Justin Wright, Defence Research and Development Canada, justin.wright@forces.gc.ca

Military ethos and professionalism are at the heart of Canadian Forces’ (CF) espoused organizational culture and the socialization of new CF personnel. The vehicle through which this process of socialization and inculcation of military ethos/identity is traditionally thought to occur is the CF training system. It is through the formative experiences of initial military training that the new recruit begins to develop into someone distinct/more than/other than their civilian self. The organization’s ideal version of the socialization of its new recruits has been juxtaposed with a persistent, underlying perspective concerning the slow erosion of CF culture and identity, more commonly referred to as the “civilianization” of the CF. Evidence can be marshalled to demonstrate a longstanding, cultural perspective that views new personnel as especially vulnerable to the influences of civilianization. Yet, in a time of a complex security environment, coupled with significant resource constraints, the CF has begun to consider alternative approaches to initial military occupational training. Drawing on both theory and qualitative data, this paper examines outsourced military occupational training to civilian institutions, and in particular discusses the perceived impact of civilian training experience on the early socialization, identity development and meaning-making of new CF personnel.

Thursday June 6, 2013 08:45 AM - 10:15 AM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-161