Military Life The Psychology of Serving in Peace and Combat
[Four Volumes]

Subjects:

• Military Studies » Military Psychology
• Psychology » Psychology (General)
• Military Studies » Military Studies (General)
• Military Studies » U.S. Armed Forces

Reviews:

• This four-volume anthology incorporates psychological variables that have been empirically demonstrated to influence military performance. Discussions are "organized around the four defining fields of applied military psychology." The timing of publication is fortuitous, given US military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The significance of these works is enhanced further in light of the country's 30-plus years of experience with its All-Volunteer Force (AVF) and the diversity of missions the AVF has been asked to address. Each volume offers interesting perspectives for military scholars; each is introduced with a personal essay and concludes with a chapter on future directions....Recommended. Graduate students/faculty/specialists.
  —Choice April 2007
• Although we have been trying for centuries to understand human relationship with war, enhance human performance in various settings, develop psychological means to influence our enemies, and optimize emotional functioning in our warriors, there is relatively little published on the topic. Military Life: The Psychology of Serving in Peace and Combat, attempts to fill this void. This four volume set provides a framework for the psychological aspects of serving in the military and serves to enhance our understanding of our fighting forces, to optimize their functioning both personally and occupationally, and to put forth needed future research directions to advance the effectiveness of our service personnel.
  —PsycCRITIQUES 2006
• This four-volume set, edited by Britt, Castro, and Adler, is organized around four defining fields of applied military psychology: military performance, operational stress, the military family, and military culture. Each volume on begins with a first person account relevant to the volume's theme, concludes with a discussion of "future directions," and contains nine other contributions.
  —Reference & Research Book News May 2006
• The four volumes of Military Life: The Psychology of Serving in Peace and Conflict are a powerful addition to any military collection, with each volume providing in-depth details on military performance, stress, family relationships and internal culture....Each volume provides a scholarly analysis backed by research and reference notes, includes extensive quotes from journalist and research source materials, and analyze rationales, assumptions, and changing experience. An essential set for any serious military collection.
  —Midwest Book Review's California BookWatch March 2006

• Endorsement From Charles Moskos
  Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University
  U.S. Army Distinguished Service Award Winner
  author of The Post-Modern Military: Armed Forces after the Cold War, and The Military--More Than Just a Job?: This extraordinary compilation could not be more timely. Military Life: The Psychology of Serving in Peace and Combat offers a path-breaking analysis of military performance coupled with much new data. We are indebted to the editors and contributors for insightful and original perspectives on military behavior in various contexts including combat, peacekeeping and fighting insurgents. These volumes are an invaluable resource of military leaders, social scientists and, most importantly, the concerned citizenry.
• Endorsement From Matthew J. Friedman MD, Ph.D.
  Executive Director, National Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology and Toxicology, Dartmouth Medical School: This four volume set is a milestone. It addresses a wide spectrum of psychological issues affecting military personnel with authenticity, depth, scholarship and sophistication. First person narratives keep everything appropriately grounded within the context of a deployed service member, a military psychiatrist, or a family member. As a result, readers can easily relate these personal experiences to the rich array of descriptive, scientific and policy-related chapters. It should be mandatory reading for anyone who wishes to understand this important area.
• Endorsement From Walter F. Ulmer Jr.
  Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (Ret.)
  Former President and CEO, Center for Creative Leadership: This extraordinary effort provides convenient insight into basic challenges of military life. These volumes provide a comprehensive review of key issues in contemporary military psychology. They give to scholar and citizen alike an authentic picture of the enormous task of maintaining a competent, robust volunteer armed force within an increasingly complex domestic and international environment.
• Endorsement From Walter C. Borman
  University of South Florida and CEO of Personnel Decisions Research Institutes Inc.: This four-volume series is a well-conceived, nicely executed, and at times moving examination of the psychological issues confronting military personnel and their families. The editors and chapter contributors have done an excellent job of providing a comprehensive evaluation of the factors that influence the performance, health, and morale of service members and their families. These volumes are a must-read for those interested in psychological issues related to military performance, operational and family-related stress, military culture, and the role of the military family in our services' and indeed society's collective mental health.
• Endorsement From Marty Wiskoff
  founding editor, Military Psychology: This monumental four-volume series on military life is an information treasure and a must-read for a broad audience, from military psychology practitioners and researchers to Pentagon policy makers. The rich mix of first-person operational experiences and empirical findings brings combat and its concomitant issues to life from a behavioral science perspective. Issues affecting the performance and health of military personnel and their families are addressed comprehensively in a readable and informative way--a splendid contribution to the military psychology literature.
• Endorsement From Colonel Anthony J. Cotton
  Former Director of Mental Health
  Australian Defence Force: This set should be required reading for both military commanders and military psychologists alike. It is comprehensive in its coverage of military psychology yet is highly readable and easily digestible; it provides sensible, practical lessons as well as providing provocative discussions of some of the most important aspects of serving in any military force today. Perhaps most importantly, the first person accounts in each of the volumes provides a focus for the reader and an important reminder of the purpose of the book; that is, to do our best to protect the psychological health and wellbeing of those who serve. These books are to be highly recommended to all who wish to contribute to the effectiveness of modern military operations. As a military psychologist and former commanding officer of an operational unit, I wish that I had read them ten years ago.

Table of Contents:

• Sample Chapters from the Four Volumes
• Volume 1: Military Performance
• Section I: First Person
  What Has Befallen Me? The Psychological Aftermath of Combat
  Spencer J. Campbell
• Section II: Human Dimensions of Military Operations
  Psychological Aspects of Combat
  Robert K. Gifford
  
  Psychological Operations in Combat, Peacekeeping, and Fighting Terrorism
  Steven Collins
• Section III: Physiological and Cognitive Dimensions of Military Operation
  Sleep Loss: Implications for Operational Effectiveness and Current Solutions
  Nancy J. Wesensten, Gregory Belenky, and Thomas J. Balkin
  
  Decision-Making and Performance under Stress
  James E. Driskel, Eduardo Salas, and Joan Johnston
• Section IV: Social and Personality Dimensions of Military Operations
  Morale during Military Operations: A Positive Psychology Approach
  Thomas W. Britt and James M. Dickinson
• Volume 2: Operational Stress
• Section I: First Person
  Kilroy Was Here: Reflections of a Psychiatrist in Combat
  Robert L. Koffman
• Section II: Psychological Preparation for Warfare
  Joining the Ranks: The Role of Indoctrination in Transforming Civilians to Service Members
  Dennis McGurk, Dave I. Cotting, Thomas W. Britt and Amy B. Adler
  
  Enhancing Mental Readiness in Military Personnel
  Megan M. Thompson and Donald R. McCreary
• Section III: Psychological Demans During and After Deployment
  Combat Stress Control: Putting Principle into Practice
  Steve J. Lewis
  
  Predictors and Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Military Veterans
  Shira Maguen, Michael Suvak, and Brett T. Litz
• Section IV: Organizational Responses to Psychological Challenges
  Human Spirituality, Resilience, and the Role of Military Chaplains
  Thomas C. Waynick, Peter J. Frederich, David M. Scheider, Ronald H. Thomas, and Glen L. Bloomstrom
  
  Social Climates: Drivers of Soldier Well-being and Resilience
  Paul D. Bliese
• Volume 3: Military Family
• Section I: First Person
  Army Wife, Army Mother
  Doris Durand
• Section II: Challenges Facing the Military Spouse
  Maintaining Family Resiliency Before, During, and After Military Separation
  Tina Watson Wiens and Pauline Boss
• Section III: Family Diversity
  Single Military Parents in the New Millennium
  Michelle L. Kelley
  
  The Challenges and Benefits of Dual-Military Marriages
  Ann H. Huffman and Stephanie C. Payne
  
  Voices from the Backseat: Demands of Growing Up in Military Families
  Morten G. Ender
• Section IV: Work-Family Conflict among Military Personnel
  Work-Family Conflict among Military Personnel
  Gary A. Adams, Steve M. Jex, and Christopher J. L. Cunningham
  
• Volume 4: Military Culture
• Section I: First Person
  Military Culture and Values: A Personal View
  Guy L. Siebold
• Section II: Military Values
  Culture's Consequences in the Military
  Joseph L. Soeters, Christina-Rodica Poponete, and Joseph T. Page Jr.
  
  Military Courage
  Carl Andrew Castro
• Section III: Diverse Groups
  The U.S. Reserve Component: Training Strategies for Adapting to Deployment
  Robert A. Wisher and Michael W. Freeman
  
  The Role of Women in the Military
  Penny F. Pierce
  
  Sexual Orientation and Military Service: Prospects for Organizational and Individual Change in the United States
  Gregory M. Herek and Aaron Belkin
• Section IV: Perspectives on the Military
  Life in Wartime: Realtime News, Realtime Critique, Fighting in the New Media Environment
  Cori E. Dauber
  
  Poultry and PatriotismL Attitudes towards the U.S. Military
  Janice H. Laurence