Military Culture and Post-Military Transitioning Among Veterans: A Qualitative Analysis

While a considerable amount of theoretical literature has explored core values and characteristics of the U.S. Armed Forces, limited empirical research has examined veterans’ accounts of military culture. To elucidate military culture and help inform ongoing efforts to incorporate military culture into the provision of healthcare services for veterans, seven focus groups (n = 44) were conducted with diverse groups of veterans to provide their first-hand accounts on these topics. Content analysis of their responses yielded four broad clusters: (1) descriptions of military culture and values (e.g., patriotism, camaraderie, discipline), (2) conflict with values during military service (e.g., betrayed by politicians/bureaucracy, internal conflict of killing), (3) cultural changes post-military service (e.g., continuity of military values/culture, disparate from civilian culture, interpersonal difficulties), and (4) communication with non-military connected persons (e.g., I do not talk about military experiences, I only talk with other veterans). The results expand upon prior conceptualizations of military culture and provide preliminary implications for integrating military culture into healthcare service provisions for veterans. Furthermore, this study highlights the need for further empirical research on the internalization and longer-term impact of military culture to better address the needs of those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces.