How Deployments Affect Service Members

Abstract

The military operations under way in Iraq and Afghanistan require more-intensive and more-prolonged use of U.S. military power than at any time since the Vietnam War. Although greater in scale at its peak, the Gulf War was brief and did not extend into a long period of peacekeeping, reconstruction, and insurgency, and it did not involve urban conflict, suicide bombers, or roadside bombs. The one-third cut in active-duty manpower at the end of the Cold War, from 2.1 million to 1.4 million in uniform, has today resulted in the need for longer and repeated deployments, especially for the Army and the Marine Corps, and these deployments have posed challenges for active-duty service members and for their families. We undertook preparation of this monograph with the objective of offering insights into the challenges faced by active-duty service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, the resiliency they and their families have shown in coping with these challenges, and the adequacy of defense manpower policy in assisting members and families. The monograph draws on the perspectives of economics, sociology, and psychology; provides a formal model of deployment and retention; reviews published work; reports on the results of focus groups conducted in each of the services; and presents findings from an analysis of survey data. The focus groups and survey data relate to the period from 2003 to early 2004. And, although the circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan have changed markedly from that time, we believe that many of the monograph's findings and implications remain relevant. The monograph may be of interest to the military services, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, individual service members and their families, members of Congress and their staff, and the media. It may also interest foreign militaries that have converted to a volunteer system and that want to be informed about the personnel strains caused by a high operating tempo.

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