| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the extent to which the professional orientation of Australian military personnel has shifted since September 2001. Four dimensions of professional orientation are identified, through analysis of ratings of reasons for serving in surveys conducted across the period 1996 through 2006. Duty/Professionalism represented Moskos's institutional orientation and Pay/Conditions, Development/Enhancement, and Adventure/Variety represented occupational orientation. The professional orientation of Other Ranks is now more pragmatic and more professional, in the sense that Pay/ Conditions and Duty/Professionalism motives are now more important as reasons for serving. Officers, on the other hand, have become less pragmatic and more professional, with Duty/Professionalism motives now dominant in professional orientation and Pay/ Conditions motives now much less important. Development/Enhancement and Adventure/ Variety are now less important for all categories. The article argues that these shifts are due to recent changes to Australia's strategic, social, and economic circumstances and notes the practical and scholarly implications of the results.
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