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ID: 117619

Ambivalence on the front lines: perceptions of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan / Kelty, Ryan; Bierman, Alex

Kelty, Ryan	Journal Article
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2013.

Summary/Abstract

In the past several decades, the US military has increasingly relied on civilian contractors to provide a variety of core functions. Lagging behind this increased reliance on contractors is an understanding of how the presence of contractors influences civilian and military personnel. This research addresses this question using a unique study of US Department of Army civilians and military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We find a substantial degree of ambivalence among both groups regarding the impact of contractors on the military and comparisons with contractors, but we also find a noticeable trend of comparative discontent beneath this apparent ambivalence. Results are discussed in the context of using ambivalence as a starting point for building a theoretical approach to more systematically understanding the role and effects of contractor integration in the military.

Key Words

Military ; Iraq ; Afghanistan ; Outsourcing ; Ambivalence ; Civilian Contractors

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ID: 160975

Subjective Cohesion as Stress Buffer Among Civilians Working With the Military in Iraq and Afghanistan / Bierman, Alex

Bierman, Alex	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

Recent research shows that civilians who work with the military in war zones are often exposed to life-threatening situations that can create psychological distress. In this study, we examine whether cohesion buffers the relationship between threat and psychological distress. Using a probability sample of civilians working with the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, we find that cohesion buffers the relationship between threat and both internalizing and externalizing forms of emotional distress, but does so nonlinearly, with buffering observed at moderate but not high levels of cohesion. This research shows that cohesion may be an important resource for the mental health of civilians working in war zones but also supports sociological theory positing that the utility of social resources for individual well-being may be obviated in tightly integrative social contexts.

Key Words

War ; Military ; Civilians ; Stress ; Mental Health ; Cohesion ;
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