pre and A discussion on pre and post war social systems and the impact on military troops returning from war

1. The After Affects of War
Social Systems Affecting Military Members Returning From
Combat
Rogers William Gardner II
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2. Sun Tzu on the Art of War
It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted
with the evils of war that can thoroughly
understand the profitable way of carrying
it on.
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3. Agenda
 Expectations of the Military Human
Service Worker
 Training, Education and Background of
the Military the Human Service workers
 Pre-War Social Systems
 Peace Time Services offered by the
Military
 Social Systems During War
 War Time Services Offered by the Military
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4. Agenda Continued
 Post-War Social Systems
 Post-War Services offered by the Military
 Summary/Conclusion.
 Recommendations
 Resources
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5. Social Systems Affecting Military
Members Returning From Combat
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6. Social Systems Affecting Military
Members Returning From Combat
The United States is at War and military members are being
asked to put their life on the line on a daily basis. War and
the way of life it brings (Socials Systems) has a huge impact
on our troops.
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7. Social Systems Affecting Military
Members Returning From Combat
Understanding the impact different pre and
post war social systems have on military troops returning
from war is an important element in providing human
services to the United States military population.
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8. Social Systems Affecting Military
Members Returning From Combat
This Project will discuss various Social
Systems and the impact the social systems
play in providing human services to the military.
Research presented will discuss pre and post war
social systems and illustrate how they and the
perceptions of human service worker and the client
impact the services available to each and ultimately
the client recovery process.
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9. Expectations of the Military Human
Service Worker
According to Air Force Pamphlet 36-
2241V1, The United States Air Force
provides service programs that promote a
sense of community among patrons and
provide support services commonly
furnished by other employers or other state
and local governments to their employees
and citizens.
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10. Expectations of the Military Human
Service Worker
The Family Support Center (FSC) serves as
the primary prevention agency and functions
to ensure necessary resources to support
families are available and accessible.
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11. Expectations of the Military Human
Service Worker
This agency contains a large percentage of
the programs that are critical to the physical,
cultural/social needs and the general well
being of the military members. (Air Force
Pamphlet 36-2241, 2003)
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12. Training, Education and Background of
the Military the Human Service
Workers
According to the Airman Magazine(2004)
The highest level of education attained by
the enlisted force is 15 percent Associates
Degree of higher, and 5 percent B.A./B.S. or
higher. The Highest level of education
attained by the officer force is 49 percent
B.A. /B.S. or higher and 51 percent
advanced
or professional degree or higher. 12
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13. Training, Education and Background of the
Military the Human Service Workers
The Highest level of education attained by the
officer force is 49 percent B.A. /B.S. or higher
and 51 percent advanced or professional
degree or higher.
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14. Military Equal Opportunity
For entry into the MEO specialty, members
need to have completed high school with
courses in social science, psychology,
sociology, human resources and behavior,
organizational development.(Department of the Air Force, 2004)
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15. Mental Health
For entry into the Mental Health Education
specialty members need to have completed
high school. Completion of college courses
in psychology, social or behavioral science
such as psychology, counseling, substance
abuse treatment, sociology, and marriage and
family is also desirable.
(Department of the Air Force, 2004)
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16. Chaplains
For entry into the Chaplain Education specialty
members need to have knowledge of Air Force war
plans, objectives, principles, and methods; Chaplain
Service organizational management principles and
practices; policies; procedures; programs; activities;
and readiness requirements. Advancement in the
Chaplain Career field requires the completion of
the
Air Force Chaplain Orientation Course.
(Department of the Air Force, 2004)
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17. Pre-War Social Systems
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18. Family
Pre-War Social Systems
Quality of life issues affecting Guard and Reserve
families during deployments and separations can
impact military morale, mission accomplishment,
and retention. Research has shown that
there is a strong correlation between family
satisfaction with military service and the
reenlistment and retention of service members.
(GUARD & RESERVE FAMILY READINESS PROGRAMS TOOLKIT,
http://www.classbrain.com/artfree/uploads/c.pdf)
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19. Family
Pre-War Social Systems
Your happiness and support of your spouse’s
military career significantly affects his or her
military duty.
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20. Deployments
Pre-War Social Systems
More recently, the 9/11 terrorist attacks
created a host of new demands on the Air
Force, many of which now appear
permanent.
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21. The most glaring example is the
requirement for heightened force
protection in the US and overseas. The
global war on terror also highlighted
shortages in the AEF (Air
Expeditionary Forces) system.
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22. Money
Pre-War Social Systems
Another change is the makeup of the people who
are in the military today. The armed services are no
longer mostly made up of single men and women
who can easily pick up and move from one duty
station to another.
(Money and Mobility, http://www.nmfa.org/nefe/intro/intro2.html#2)
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23. Money
Pre-War Social Systems
Instead, service members are just as likely to
be family people. Some service members are
single parents. Others may be married, and
many have children. Now, that constant of
military life—the permanent change of
station—is likely to be a family affair.
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24. Money
Pre-War Social Systems
Of course, a life of moves also can be
stressful. “Pulling up roots” isn’t easy and it
can be expensive. Often, the difference
between the painful move and the
adventuresome move depends on your
family’s level of preparedness—especially
financial preparedness.
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25. Peace Time Services Offered by the
Military Human Services Workers
Just like civilians, some
military personnel need
assistance with various
problems or concerns,
including career
decisions, family issues,
substance abuse, or
emotional problems.
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26. Peace Time Services Offered by the
Military Human Services Workers
Caseworkers and
counselors work with
military personnel and
their families to help
them with their
particular concerns.
(http://www.iseek.org/sv/12120.jsp?id=1)
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27. Peace Time Services Offered by the
Military Human Services Workers
They may specialize by the type of
counseling that they do, such as career
guidance or alcohol and drug abuse
prevention. (http://www.iseek.org/sv/12120.jsp?id=1)
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28. Peace Time Services Offered by the
Military Human Services Workers
They normally work as part of a
team that may include social workers,
psychologists, medical officers, chaplains,
personnel specialists, and commanders.
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29. Peace Time Services Offered by the
Military Human Services Workers
The services have about 1,000 caseworkers
and counselors. Each year, they need new
caseworkers and counselors due to changes
in personnel and the demands of the field.
After job training, they work under close
supervision. With experience, they work
more independently and may supervise
other caseworkers.(http://www.iseek.org/sv/12120.jsp?id=1)
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30. Peace Time Services Offered by the
Military Human Services Workers
Caseworkers and counselors in the military
perform some or all of the following duties:
 Interview personnel who request help or
are referred by their commanders
 Identify problems and determine the need
for professional help
(http://www.iseek.org/sv/12120.jsp?id=1)
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31. Peace Time Services Offered by the
Military Human Services Workers
 Counsel personnel and their families
 Administer and score psychological tests
 Help personnel evaluate and explore career
opportunities
 Teach classes on human relations
 Keep records of counseling sessions
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32. The Air Force has several career fields
charged with providing human services to
the military population. Chaplains, Military
Equal Opportunity, and Mental Health
Officers are just a few of the agencies who
provide commanders with recommendations
concerning the cultural climate of the unit.
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33. Peace Time Services Offered by the
Military Human Services Workers
Chaplains: Conducts worship
services, liturgies, and rites. Provides
counseling, pastoral care, visitation,
religious education, morale programs,
spiritual renewal, lay leadership
programs, and humanitarian outreach
opportunities.
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34. Air Force Chaplains
Chaplains also represents the faith and military
communities in religious, patriotic, and civic
events. Maintain liaison with civilian clergy and
organizations to keep current in areas of interest to
Chaplain Service programs. For entry into this
specialty, ecclesiastical endorsement from a faith
group recognized by the DoD Armed Forces
Chaplains Board is mandatory.
(www.dcandr.ang.af.mil/recruiting/afsc/5xx.htm)
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35. Social Systems During War
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36. Death
For young soldiers seeking a better life, the
onset of war changes all of that. Suddenly,
it’s no longer about the college fund. It’s
about facing the very real possibility of death
and the death of your friends fighting beside
you in Iraq.(Soldiers with second thoughts, www.affbrainwash.com/archives/013673.php)
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37. Death
It means facing political uncertainty back
home, where your friends and relatives likely
remain divided and angered over why you’re
over there in the first place.
(Soldiers with second thoughts, www.affbrainwash.com/archives/013673.php)
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38. War Time Services offered by the
Military
The Air Force has several career fields
charged with providing human services to
the military population. Chaplains,
Military Equal Opportunity, and Mental
Health Officers are just a few of the
agencies who provide commanders with
recommendations concerning the cultural
climate of the unit.
Veteran and Military Chaplain and Family Services ,
www.members.aol.com/veterans/warlib
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39. Post War Social Systems
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40. Social Systems Affecting Military Members Returning From Combat
“Ghosts of War”
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/gulfwar2 /
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41. “Ghosts of War”
“Social Systems Affecting Military Members Returning From Combat
What does the term “Ghost of War” mean?
Combat-related psychological problems
sometimes called the "ghosts of war“, can
haunt survivors, affecting everything they do.
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42. “Ghosts of War”
“Social Systems Affecting Military Members Returning From Combat
In anticipation, Veterans Administration hospitals and
clinics are preparing to treat returning troops, while
families and co-workers wonder what changes they
might
find in soldiers when they come home. This is a story
that continues to unfold, especially since Army policy is
preventing many military members from leaving the
service at their scheduled times.
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43. “Ghosts of War”
“Social Systems Affecting Military Members Returning From Combat
Why it Matters
The ability of a soldier - and society - to adjust to loss
and trauma can involve the search for meaning in the
sacrifice. That philosophical, theological and ethical
search for meaning is the terrain of religion.
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44. Trauma
Post War Social Systems
A catastrophic event may so shatter a person's
psychic equilibrium that he cannot represent
the event to himself—cannot assimilate the
event into any stories of the world or self he
knows. Instead, the event actually
disintegrates the stories that connect the self
to the world. Without such stories, a person
truly is bereft and broken.
( War of Ghost: Trauma Theories, Traumatic Histories, and the Middle East http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/index.cfm/
action/tikkun/issue/tik0301/article/030154.html)
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45. Trauma
Post War Social Systems
No science fiction or dystopic scenarios, for
example, could prepare us for the realities of
Hiroshima or the Nazi concentration camps;
not even pictures of the Twin Towers in flames
could prepare us for their fall. The events of
atomic war, modern genocide and mass-scale
terrorism shattered our previous narratives of
political stability and technological progress.
( War of Ghost: Trauma Theories, Traumatic Histories, and the Middle East
http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/index.cfm/action/tikkun/issue/tik0301/article/030154.html)
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46. They rendered negligible what we had
thought were our most terrible fantasies.
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47. Post Traumatic Stress
Most members of the military services returning from combat
duty in Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced traumatic events
such as being shot at, killing someone, and knowing someone
who was injured or killed.
Psychiatric Cost of War for US Military: Depression symptoms, causes, and treatments including clinical and manic 47
www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=33765 07/07/09

48. Post Traumatic Stress
Almost 20% of respondents to a
survey of soldiers and Marines
returning from Iraq or Afghanistan
suffered from posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), but most
had not sought or received
treatment. The perceived barriers
to treatment included concern
about the stigma associated with
mental illness and about
possible harm to a career.
Psychiatric Cost of War for US Military,
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=33765 48
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49. Post War Services offered by the
Military
The Air Force has several career fields
charged with providing human services to
the military population. Chaplains,
Military Equal Opportunity, and Mental
Health Officers are just a few of the
agencies who provide commanders with
recommendations concerning the cultural
climate of the unit.
Veteran and Military Chaplain and Family Services ,
www.members.aol.com/veterans/warlib
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50. Summary
An understanding of Social Systems
affecting military members is the key to
providing a foundation for programs that
will
provide leaders and human service workers a
way to identify sensitivity situations and
force the Air Force to be more responsive to
the needs of its members.
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51. Recommendations
With that said, this learner would
recommend a new train of thought on
military human service workers and their
ability to assess external factors affecting
members returning from war.
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52. There are many different world events
affecting todays’ military. Identifying socials
systems negatively affecting members will
play a more significant role in helping
military members re-adjust to his/her home
life when returning from war.
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53. Home Sweet Home!
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54. Where to Get More Information
Air Force Officer Job Descriptions & Qualifications, (2004)
retrieved 12 June 2004 at
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/afoffjobs
Air Force Pamphlet 36-2241, Promotion and Fitness
Examination (2003) Department of The Air Force, pg 205
Air Force Manual 36-2105, Officer Classification, (2004)
Department of the Air Force
Air Force Manual 36-2108, Enlisted Classification, (2004)
Department of the Air Force
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55. Where to Get More Information
Airman Magazine (2004), Air Force News Agency, Secretary
of the Air Force, Office of public Affairs, pg 36
A War of Ghosts: Trauma Theories, Traumatic Histories, and
the Middle East
www.tikkun.org/magazine/index.cfm/action/tikkun/issue/tik0301/article/03015
Psychiatric Cost of War for US Military: Depression
symptoms, causes, and treatments including clinical and manic
www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=33765
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