Book Description

The moral domain of war concerns the human dimension of conflict. People compose military forces so all military operations include human considerations. Leaders must use and protect their soldiers who are their most precious resource. Leaders must understand how military operations stress soldiers to ensure this stress does not prevent success. Psychological studies have identified many characteristics of military operations that affect soldiers. This monograph uses the following list of factors to describe the impact of military operations on soldiers: fear of death and injury; fatigue; physical discomfort; isolation; uncertainty; value conflicts; boredom; separation from family; climate; terrain, and culture; training and tactics; and lack of privacy. The spectrum of conflict may be divided many ways. Army doctrine generally discusses three types of conflict; low, mid, and high-intensity. This monograph divides conflict into low and mid/high-intensity categories for discussion of the differences in stress soldiers experience. The missions and threats in low-intensity conflict result in soldiers experiencing different kinds of stress in low-intensity conflict than in mid/high-intensity conflict. This monograph discusses these differences and the implications for doctrine, training, and organization.