Running Head: MILITARY CULTURE 1 MILITARY CULTURE 7 Military Culture Students Name Institutional Affiliation Military Culture Ideas and customs lead to a particular behavior of an individual or a society at large. Every workplace has a unique environment that differs from other surroundings mainly because of the services or products that they offer, for example, a hospital environment is very different from a banking environment because of the difference in culture and practices. The US military place has a different environment that leads to army personnel and their families to live a different life and have encounters that differ from other civilians (Redmond et al., 2015). Army personnel and their families are affected with challenges created by a military culture that calls for an intense working environment, and they are not to show any resilience. (Did you mean to write the word weakness?) Natasha Jones, a female African American military personnel who joined the army after making a tough decision, since the military requires self-sacrifice, and there are personal risks involved. The allegiance rate of black women sprung in the 1980s; by 1988, it had tripled that of the Hispanic and white women, and in early 2000 it had outpaced even those of black men (Melin, 2016). Many African Americans come from families with a long tradition of service, thus choose to join the military, but African Americans women tend to be more patriotic and courageous than men and women of other races. Natasha Jones, like all the other minority races in the military, she suffers health issues due to a variety of stressors leading to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Within military populations, PTSD is one of the significant mental issues that has been labeled to be caused by stress and injuries while serving in the army. Natasha strictly follows the military culture, and she is not to demonstrate when something terrible happens to her to protect the military image. She suffers from military sexual trauma (MST) that is related to posttraumatic stress disorder. Military sexual assault is a significant concern throughout the military service despite a fight to end it. Sexual abuse has been defined by the Department of Defense as; Intentional sexual contact characterized by the use of force, threats, intimidations, or abuse of authority when the victim cannot consent (Castro, Kintzle, Schuyler, Lucas, & Warner, 2015). Natasha’s first military sexual assault was while she was in the military academy, and she blames the experience of alcohol abuse. The consumption of alcohol is common in the military culture, which leads to a high risk of sexual violence. Natasha, like any other sexual assault victim, faces blame, dismissa.

1. Running Head: MILITARY CULTURE
1
MILITARY CULTURE
7
Military Culture
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation
Military Culture
Ideas and customs lead to a particular behavior of an individual
or a society at large. Every workplace has a unique environment
that differs from other surroundings mainly because of the
services or products that they offer, for example, a hospital
environment is very different from a banking environment

2. because of the difference in culture and practices. The US
military place has a different environment that leads to army
personnel and their families to live a different life and have
encounters that differ from other civilians (Redmond et al.,
2015). Army personnel and their families are affected with
challenges created by a military culture that calls for an intense
working environment, and they are not to show any resilience.
(Did you mean to write the word weakness?)
Natasha Jones, a female African American military personnel
who joined the army after making a tough decision, since the
military requires self-sacrifice, and there are personal risks
involved. The allegiance rate of black women sprung in the
1980s; by 1988, it had tripled that of the Hispanic and white
women, and in early 2000 it had outpaced even those of black
men (Melin, 2016). Many African Americans come from
families with a long tradition of service, thus choose to join the
military, but African Americans women tend to be more
patriotic and courageous than men and women of other races.
Natasha Jones, like all the other minority races in the military,
she suffers health issues due to a variety of stressors leading to
the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Within military populations, PTSD is one of the significant
mental issues that has been labeled to be caused by stress and
injuries while serving in the army. Natasha strictly follows the
military culture, and she is not to demonstrate when something
terrible happens to her to protect the military image. She suffers
from military sexual trauma (MST) that is related to
posttraumatic stress disorder.
Military sexual assault is a significant concern throughout the
military service despite a fight to end it. Sexual abuse has been
defined by the Department of Defense as; Intentional sexual
contact characterized by the use of force, threats, intimidations,
or abuse of authority when the victim cannot consent (Castro,
Kintzle, Schuyler, Lucas, & Warner, 2015). Natasha’s first
military sexual assault was while she was in the military
academy, and she blames the experience of alcohol abuse. The

3. consumption of alcohol is common in the military culture,
which leads to a high risk of sexual violence. Natasha, like any
other sexual assault victim, faces blame, dismissal, and random
questioning, whether even it is clear that the assault occurred
since she was under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol leads to
an increase in sexual desire, aggression, and as well as a
misinterpretation of victim responses as an invitation to sex.
Natasha describes the impact of the sexual incident as more
painful than the crime itself since she has to live with all her
life with no justice served. There are reports of military
utilizing personality disorders as a way of discharging victims
of sexual assaults, which leads to an increase of PTSD
symptomology among victims. These lead to victims to
perpetuate the culture of alcohol and substance abuse as the
military norm (Please include citation).
The culture of substance abuse and alcohol consumption
influences military personnel and their working environment.
No gender difference was found in the prevalence of heavy
episodic drinking or substance abuse while on duty in any
military environment (Dennhardt, Murphy, McDevitt-Murphy &
Williams, 2016). Natasha admits of first consuming alcohol
while she was in the military academy as a way of coping up
with anxiety problems, depression, and racial abuses. Over the
years, her consumption rate of alcohol increased as she suffered
from military sexual traumas and how her fellow servicemen
viewed her in general. Alcohol makes Natasha endure all the
criticism and negative energy she receives at her workplace,
thus a continuous drinking behavior that led to her alcohol
addictions. The military has specific treatment strategies that
apply to a serviceman culture and habits.
Alcohol and substance use is a significant problem among
military personnel in our nation. There are interventions, and
evidence-based treatments that focus on thoughts and behaviors
associated with craving and consumption of alcohol and
substance use, which are mainly caused by posttraumatic stress
disorder (Teeters, Lancaster, Brown & Back, 2017). There are

4. several services and interventions available to reduce
posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol, and substance use abuse,
including both behavioral and pharmacological treatments.
Clinical help from the military aims to review addictions, and
PTSD provides information and options for screening and
treatment of military personnel. Integration has been kept in
place for easy access to mental health care and treatment of
addictions by military personnel. Over recent years, the
government and the army agencies have tried using evidence-
based therapies to reduce problematic substance abuse and
stress disorders among military personnel, and it has proved a
bit helpful. The best treatment strategy that would be sensitive
to Natasha includes both behavioral and pharmacological
treatments that range on a spectrum from preventive screening
and residential treatment programs.
The treatment is available across the country to all military
personnel, with help to reduce stress and deaths. Behavioral and
pharmacological treatment interventions are prescribed. Each
military personnel with PTSD and substance addiction are
encouraged to try self-help groups, such as Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), which are
free of charge and available in most cities (Teeters, Lancaster,
Brown & Back, 2017). Natasha's participation in AA or NA can
be of great help as a part of ongoing and aftercare healthcare,
that has numerous services that help in the management of
substance abuse and stress. Providers of the self-help groups are
encouraged to consult and check up with the Department of
Defense for updated clinical practice guidelines for PTSD and
substance abuse for more detailed treatment recommendations.
For Natasha, in response to alcohol addiction, the military has
implemented a system for comprehensive alcohol screening. The
goal of screening is to intervene upon risky and unhealthy
drinking habits before progression to an alcohol use disorder, or
to provide immediate treatment to those with alcohol use
disorder. The military guidelines state that if there is any
indication of PTSD and substance abuse among its personnel, an

5. assessment should be conducted, followed by the development
and implementation of a comprehensive treatment plan.
Following the collaborative treatment plan, Natasha, with
alcohol use disorder, will be offered substance focused
psychosocial interventions. These interventions focus on the
identification and modification of maladaptive thoughts and
behaviors connected to increase craving, use, and relapse to
alcohol. Also, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), help reduce
substance and alcohol use by helping individuals to achieve and
maintain abstinence, or by increasing their ability to skilfully
manage stress without being under the influence of alcohol or
other drugs.
The use of alcohol and substance abuse among active-duty
personnel has significantly increased. Natasha's heavy use of
alcohol can be attributed to multiple factors such as
psychosocial and environmental stressors of military life that is
frequently linked to mental health issues such as military rape
and the transient nature of the military people (Castro et al.,
2015). Natasha, who has suffered rape while in camp, lengthy
deployments abroad, and exposure to life-threatening situations
in the combat environment sees alcohol and substance abuse as
the only remedy that can help her live life without any regrets
and stress that she goes through while in the military camp. The
military personnel, mainly the active-duty ones, mostly rely on
alcohol and substance abuse to perform their duties correctly.
The military is a subpopulation of American society with a
history of heavy drinking and substance use(Please include
citation). The culture of drinking alcohol is well established in
the military, for example, the ritual of Navy sailors where they
rush to bars on ports or when in liberty. Military personnel
often use alcohol to cope up with boredom, stress, for fun, or to
be part of the brotherhood, which has led to excessive alcohol
consumption among the military personnel.
Alcohol and substance abuse is well documented in the US
military camps. Problems associated with excessive alcohol
consumption are more common among the younger ranks of

6. army personnel and recruits. Not only do young adults in the
military drink than their seniors, but drink more alcohol than
civilians of the same age(Please include citation). Heavy
alcohol consumption can affect the physical and mental health
of the military personnel and increases the risk for on and off
duty injuries; this leads to consequences that are associated
with increased medical care costs for those on active duty or the
veterans. Military personnel and veterans underutilize treatment
services offered by the government, mainly because of public
stigma and underutilization of mental health services(Please
include citation). Public disgrace has led to military personnel
to avoid treatment services since most people view individuals
with psychological problems as dangerous, unpredictable, and
responsible for their conditio. Hence, based on the public
stigma, mental health issues such as addiction and PTSD are
frowned upon, leading to a barrier in seeking health
treatments(Please include citation). Similarly to civilians,
military personnel and veterans shun away from seeking
medical help for their mental and addiction problems to avoid
anticipated discrimination from other military personnel. The
belief that soldiers are supposed to be tough leads to most
affected soldiers to shut down their feelings and do their best to
deal with their conditions privately. The stigma of seeking
health treatment is undesirable and socially unacceptable in
society(Please include citation).
Culture plays a significant role in how an individual will relate
to each other in their surroundings. Customs lead the way an
individual behaves in society and the way he interacts with
other people. A military environment is a unique place that
leads to military personnel, and their families live a different
life compared to other civilians. Due to the kind of situation
that our servicemen live, they are exposed to substance abuse
and posttraumatic stress disorders, thus the need for a specific
treatment to help our military personnel.
Please finish this page….Guidelines said need to have full body

7. 6 pages
References
Castro, C. A., Kintzle, S., Schuyler, A. C., Lucas, C. L., &
Warner, C. H. (2015). Sexual assault in the military. Current
Psychiatry Reports, 17(7), 54.
Dennhardt, A. A., Murphy, J. G., McDevitt-Murphy, M. E., &
Williams, J. L. (2016).Drinking motives mediate the
relationship between alcohol reward value and alcohol problems
in military veterans. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(8),
819.
Melin, J. (2016). Desperate choices: why black women join the
US military at higher rates than men and all other racial and
ethnic groups. New England Journal of Public Policy, 28(2), 8.
Redmond, S. A., Wilcox, S. L., Campbell, S., Kim, A., Finney,
K., Barr, K., & Hassan, A. M. (2015).A brief introduction to the
military workplace culture. Work, 50(1), 9-20.
Teeters, J. B., Lancaster, C. L., Brown, D. G., & Back, S. E.
(2017). Substance use disorders in military veterans: prevalence
and treatment challenges. Substance abuse and rehabilitation, 8,
69.