Kevin M Wilson-Smith - Military Identity and the Transition into Civilian Life: “Lifers, Medically Discharged and Reservist Soldiers

Kevin M Wilson-Smith and Philip J Corr

Military Identity and the Transition into Civilian Life

Lifers, Medically Discharged and Reservist Soldiers

Kevin M Wilson-Smith

School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

Philip J Corr

Department of Psychology, City, University of London, London, UK

ISBN 978-3-030-12337-6 e-ISBN 978-3-030-12338-3

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12338-3

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019930714

Corrected publication 2019

The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2019

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Preface

The aim of this book is to share three short narratives of military exit and role transition, each outlining their own unique and individual experience. But first, in Chapter Reservists), with a short reference to the psychological literature at the end of each narrative to allow the reader to make sense of each experience as it is read. It is worth noting that this text is not making claims that each individual will experience transition in the same way, rather the opposite in fact, as the book intends to highlight the point that each persons military identity is so multifaceted and socially complex that transition support models that imply a one size fits all strategy are unfit for purpose. The literature cited offers only a snapshot of the potential breadth and depth of research that has been undertaken in the field and is, therefore, far from exhaustive and on occasion relies on theoretical perspectives and research that is not specifically conducted in military contexts.

The showcasing of the accounts in this book attempts to give voice, ideographically, to the three individuals who have kindly shared their unique stories and to recognise that the key to successful transition is accounting for individuality and nuanced self-identities within the overarching idea of a singular archetypal public image of a military selfwe hope to encourage reflection on the possibility of the problems that this might cause. The book then (Chapter provides a final reflective summary. All names throughout the text are pseudonyms.

Kevin M Wilson-Smith

Philip J Corr

Glasgow, UK London, UK

The original version of the book was revised: The corrections provided by the co-author have been incorporated. The correction to the book is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12338-3_9

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to John, Ollie and Jack for whom, without the gracious contribution of their personal stories, this text would not have been possible.

Preamble

Old soldiers never die, they just fade away

General D. MacArthur, Farewell Address, 1951

Contents

C1

In this introductory chapter, we explore some of the classic theoretical perspectives that help us understand identity. Specifically, the chapter explores two key theories: Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory. Identity Theory sees the self as a multifaceted social construct that develops from an individuals various roles in society and stipulates that variations in self-concept are due to the individual occupying these different roles. We also explore Strykers concept of identity salience and identity commitment. In the second half of the chapter, we outline the role of self-enhancement strategies and self-categorisation, as described in Social Identity Theory.

The literature that is used to consider critically the formation of a military self is more often than not deliberated in relation to classic theoretical perspectives on identity formation (both individual and social). Therefore, this introductory chapter provides a brief overview of the classic perspectives. The chapter is not a catch-all, but rather an attempt to introduce some foundational literature and classic models of thought that influence the critical interpretation of military identity and transition.

Howard () suggests the term identity became a central focus of psychological research and theory development in the modern world due to the shift over time from a stable society in which identity was assigned rather than selected or adopted (p. 367). Howard argues that modern times had developed within us a greater sense of a need to know who we are due to the overwhelming pace of change in surrounding social contexts and changes in the groups and networks in which people and their identities are embedded and in the societal structures and practices in which those networks are themselves embedded (p. 368).

However, the term identity is not easy to define (Beart, Hardy, & Buchan, ).

Influenced by a symbolic interactionist view (e.g. Mead, ) does, as a reflection of society, the self should be regarded as a multifaceted and organized construct