groups. Because half the leadership of the battalion was from
the AC, this finding does not surprise us. We would expect the
RC volunteers, who constituted the bulk of junior enlisted
personnel, to have the most positive expectations.

Although there were some group differences in anticipated
effects, all soldiers--regardless of rank or component--had
highly positive feelings about going to the Sinai.

Organizational commitment. Affective organizational
commitment (emotional attachment to the organization) was strong
for both components, and officers were higher on this type of
commitment than were NCOs and enlisted personnel. This result is
often found in Army organizational research--officers are
consistently more positive, more favorable, and/or optimistic
about the Army and their future than are other soldiers. There
were no differences in continuance commitment between components
or across ranks. Most soldiers seemed to feel that the costs of
leaving the organization would not be excessively high. As the
factor analysis demonstrated, continuance commitment accounted
for more variance than did affective commitment.

Career intentions. In spite of the fact that the
respondents seemed to believe that leaving the military would not
entail excessive costs, sizable proportions of all groups
expressed interest in continuing with the Army for a 20-year
career or longer. A larger percentage of RC soldiers were
undecided about their military career plans than were AC
soldiers, a result which may be due to the fact that RC jobs are
typically part-time and not full-time. Many of the RC have full-
time civilian jobs and thus may be more ambivalent about whether
or not they wish to seek a full career as a part-time military
member.

Educational aspirations. As a whole, this sample had high
educational goals for themselves, with many non-degreed soldiers
aspiring to college degrees and those already holding bachelor’s
degrees aspiring to advanced or professional degrees. Sizable
proportions of all soldier groups planned to take educational
courses for credit while in the Sinai, although the proportion
for the better-educated officers was somewhat less than for the
other rank groups. The availability of appropriate courses,
however, will be a factor to explore in subsequent research.
Very large proportions of all groups (100% of the officers, for
example) planned to travel to other countries during their
deployment. Again, we will need to examine whether or not
deployees carried out plans for such travel.

Marital/family status. Generally speaking, the marital and
family status of a soldier seemed more related to his or her age

than to factors such as component or rank. Higher rank (older)
soldiers tended more often to be married and to have children.

121



22. Enter and fill in how many years/months of service you have completed, «
including enlisted, warrant officer, and commissioned officer time. For this
question, count any time spent on Active Duty as a Reservist or member of the
National Guard attending a training course or school as Reserve/Guard Duty.
a. Years/months on ACTIVE Duty b. Years/months on RESERVE/GUARD Duty

ENTER 0000 if , ENTER 0000 if

you have not served : you have not served
any time on Active . ; any time on Reserve/
Duty * 7 Guard duty

23. Have you been to the Sinai before on a peacekeeping rotation?
Yes No

he Army defines direct combat as engaging an enemy on the ground with
individual or crew served weapons, while being exposed to hostile fire, and
to a high probability of direct physical contact with the hostile force's
personnel.

24a. Have you ever served in a direct combat zone?
No -- GO TO Question 25.
Yes -- Please use the scale below to indicate your direct combat experience
in each combat zone: (mark all that apply).

24b.
1 = Operation Desert Shield/Storm (ODS/S) 2= Somalia 3= Panama 4=Grenada 5 = Vietnam 6 = Other zone(s)

served in a combat zone in ...

was in direct combat in...

used a weapon against the enemy in...
took enemy prisoners in...

was under enemy fire in...

was wounded by enemy action in...
witnessed American casualties in...
witnessed allied casualties in...
witnessed enemy casualties in...
witnessed civilian casualties in...

32



1.

2.

D IRAP

Last name First Initial:

Enter and fill in your SSN: 3. What was your age on your last
birthday?

Are you male or female?
Male ~~ Female

What race do you consider yourself to be?

~ Aleut * Indian (Native American)
Asian or Pacific Islander ~~ White
Black > Other race
Eskimo

Are you of Hispanic/Spanish origin or ancestry (of any race)?
Yes -- Puerto Rican
Yes -- Cuban “ Yes -- other Hispanic, Spanish
Yes -- Mexican/Mexican American, Chicano

What is the highest grade or level in school that you have
completed? (mark only one)
- Some high schooL, but no diploma
GED or other high schoo! equivalency certificate
High school diploma
1 or 2 years of college, but no degree
Associate's degree -- Occupational program
Associate's degree -- Academic program
3 or 4 years of college, but no degree
Bachelor's degree
A year or more of graduate credit, but no graduate degree
Graduate or professional degree

28



ARMY ORGANIZATION .

Please use the scale below to indicate how much you agree or disagree with
the following statements. The term “military" in each question refers to your
own military component, whether Army National Guard, US Army Reserve, or

Regular Army.

1=strongly disagree 2=disagree 3=neither agree nor disagree 4=agree 5=strongly agree

Comments:

| really feel as if the problems of the military are my own.

One of the major reasons | may stay in the military is that another
organization may not match the overall benefits | have.

| feel like “part of the family" in the military.

| feel that | have too few options to consider leaving the military.
The military has a great deal of personal meaning for me.

It would be too costly for me to leave the military in the near future.

| am afraid of what might happen if | quit the military without having
another job lined up.

It would be very hard for me to leave the military now even if
| wanted to.

Too much of my life would be disrupted if | decided | wanted to leave
the military now.

| feel a strong sense of belonging to the military.

Right now, staying with the military is a matter of necessity as much
as desire.

| feel “emotionally attached" to the military.

One of the negative consequences of leaving the military would be the
scarcity of available alternatives.

| think | could easily become as attached to another organization as |
am to the military.

| enjoy discussing the military with people outside it.

10
37
e



relationship. The item read as follows: "On a scale from 1 to
7, where 1 means very unhappy and 7 means very happy, how would
you describe your marriage (or important relationship), at the

resent time?"
Procedure

Survey instruments which included the measures described
above were administered to the battalion before deployment. ARI
researchers administered the first survey in August 1994 at Fort
Bragg, North Carolina, shortly after the battalion leadership had
reported for their before-deployment training. Researchers
administered a second, almost identical survey, to the rest of
the battalion in October 1994.

Analyses

The analyses for the research reported here involved only
before-deployment data. We generally report results for the
entire sample. Where appropriate and of interest, results are
broken out by component (RC and AC) or by rank (junior enlisted,
NCOs, and officers). Rank is of course confounded with age as
NCOs and officers tend to be older than junior enlisted
personnel. And since a larger proportion of the AC was in
leadership positions, component (RC or AC) is also confounded
with age and rank.

We investigated component sub-group differences using the
analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure. For rank comparisons,
which involved three groups, we used Tukey’s Honestly Significant
Difference technique to test for significance. We present these

comparison data, however, with two cautions: (1) Substantive,
not necessarily statistically significant, differences are the
important ones (Cohen, 1994); (2) These comparisons involved a

considerable number of tests based on a limited number of people.

Results

Reasons for Volunteering

Overall results. Table 1 contains means and standard
deviations of importance ratings by the RC soldiers on their
reasons for volunteering. Because most of the AC soldiers did
not truly volunteer for the deployment, AC comparisons with the
RC do not seem meaningful for this variable.> As can be seen in

‘The AC respondents, however, were very positive about going
to the Sinai. Some 86% of them responded that they were very or
somewhat positive about deploying, compared to 96% of the RC
respondents. A larger proportion of the AC (10%) than the RC (3%)
were neutral about deploying.



10. .

11.

12.

13.

Attitudes toward Peacekeeping

CALE
1. Strongly disagree
2. Disagree

3. Neither agree nor
disagree

4. Agree

5. Strongly Agree

A soldier who is well-trained in basic military skills requires
additional training for peacekeeping.

Soldiers can be effective in a peacekeeping role even if they
cannot use force except in self defense.

Peacekeeping duty is boring.

A peacekeeping force should be impartial in a conflict situation.

Soldiers on peacekeeping duty should be unarmed.

The primary mission of peacekeepers is to contain or reduce
conflict without the use of force.

Peacekeeping operations are appropriate missions for my unit.

Peacekeeping assignments help a soldier's career.

Peacekeeping operations are hardest on soldiers with families.

A professional soldier is able to perform peacekeeping missions
and war-fighting missions equally effectively.

Peacekeeping missions should be performed by civilians
rather than by soldiers.

Peacekeeping missions should be performed by military police
rather than by infantry.

Reservists can perform peacekeeping missions as well as regular
military personnel.

43



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e

25. Enter and fill in your last Army Physical Fitness Test Score. (Scoring
range from 0-300).

Sento Don't know score

26. What additional education do you eventually expect to acquire? (mark
only one)
None
Just take courses - no degree
H.S. diploma
GED/Other H.S. equivalency certificate
Vocational/technical certificate or license
~ Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
-. Doctorate Degree
: Professional degree (M.D., J.D., etc.)
27. Do you plan to take courses for credit while you are deployed in the
Sinai?
Yes
No
Not sure

28. Do you plan to travel outside the Sinai for recreation (e.g., in Egypt
or Israel)?

Yes
No
Not sure

29. Have you had any previous overseas military assignment(s)?
Yes .. No

30. How do you feel about going on overseas deployments in general?
Very positive
Somewhat positive
Neutral
Somewhat negative
Very negative

33



FOREWORD

In compliance with the Camp David Accords of 1987 and the
Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty protocol of 1981, the U.S. Army has
participated in a Multinational Force and Observers (MFO)
peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Desert. Traditionally, this
participation has involved a 6-month rotational deployment of a
battalion-sized Active Component (AC) infantry unit. Recently,
however, a composite battalion of AC and Reserve Component (RC)
soldiers was deployed, with the latter coming primarily from the
Army National Guard’s 29th Infanty Division (Light). The purpose
of this rotation was to evaluate the ability of AC and RC
soldiers to blend into a military unit capable of effectively
performing a real-world mission and thereby determine if the
concept should be continued or not. This report documents
before-deployment research on respondents’ reasons for
volunteering; expectations for effects on various aspects of
their lives; and their career plans, organizational commitment,
educational aspirations, and marital/family status.

The research was conducted by the U.S. Army Research
Institute’s Organization Personnel Resources Research Unit
(OPRRU) under work package 6952, "Multinational Force and
Observers (MFO): Rotation #28," which is organized under the
"Manpower and Personnel" program area.

The Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel sponsored this
research. Results have been presented to Assistant Secretary of
the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Chief and Vice Chief
of Staff of the Army; Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel; Deputy
Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans; Chief, National Guard
Bureau; Director, Army National Guard; Deputy Chief of Staff for
Operations, Forces Command; and Deputy Chief, Army Reserve.

ZITA M. SIMUTIS EDGAR M. JOHNSON
Deputy Director Director
(Science and Technology)



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26



Those who were married reported high levels of spouse support for
the deployment and high levels of satisfaction with the marriage.

Summary and Conclusions

What we consider remarkable about these findings is that we
found so few differences among groups. On some variables, the
usual officer-enlisted divergence occurred, with officers
responding more positively. On other variables, RC soldiers
responded somewhat more positively than AC soldiers. But
considering the fact that the majority of the soldiers were not
only volunteers but also from the RC, we would have expected to
find more and larger differences. Future research will show
whether or not greater differences among groups will emerge over
time. For the present, we conclude that before-deployment status
on life-course variables is roughly equivalent for the entire
sample of deployees across both components and all three rank
levels.

12



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Table 1

Ri rv component (RC) Ri ons for Volun

ing for Deplo

Reason* N Mean (SD)?
Adventure/Travel 401 4.42 (.93)
Challenging work/Learn new skills 402 4.25 (.97)
Serve country/Serve Army 400 4.15 (1.01)
Military career advancement /promotion 401 4.07 (1.06)
Educational course credit 396 3.70 (1.18)
Needed more money 401 3.66 (1.24)
Earn points toward retirement 402 3.50 (1.27)
Dental benefits 401 3.39 (1.22)
Medical benefits 402 3.38 (1.20)
Montgomery G.I. Bill benefits 399 3.24 (1.33)
Take time out from school/job 402 3.02 (1.37)
Was unemployed 393 2.23 (1.40)
Family pressures/problems 399 2.17 (1.27)
Get away from bad neighborhood 396 1.87 (1.20)
*In descending order of importance

’Rated on five-point scale (1 = very unimportant to 5 = very

important)

14



APPENDIX A

MULTINATIONAL FORCE AND
OBSERVERS - SINAI

BACKGROUND AND TRAINING
QUESTIONNAIRE

FORT BRAGG
OCTOBER 1994

INSTRUCTIONS:

. Fill in the circle for your choice completely
. Make no stray marks
° Erase changes completely

Please wait for the instruction to begin.

Thank you for your participation and cooperation.

This notification is to inform you of who is conducting this test and what use will be made of the
information being collected, in accordance with Public Law 93-573, the Privacy Act of 1974. This test
was compiled and is being administered by personne! of the U. S. Army Research Institute for the
Behavioral and Social Sciences, headquartered at Alexandria, Virginia, as part of a research project on
peacekeeping. This research is authorized by Acts of Congress which authorize recruitment and
maintenance of military forces and authorize research to accomplish this goal. This authority is in 10
United States Code, Section 503 and 2358. The use of Social Security Numbers is authorized by
Executive Order 9397.

Infor mation on individuals is confidential and will not be used by nor released to anyone.
Infor mation on gr oups of soldiers will be used only for research and policy analysis.

27



of AC soldiers (20%) held a bachelor’s degree than did the RC
soldiers (7%), and a somewhat larger proportion of RC soldiers
planned to travel during deployment than did AC soldiers (97% vs.
86%) .

Larger differences are found in Table 10, which contains
data for the three rank groups. As the table shows, 93% of the
officers held a bachelor’s degree or higher, while fewer than 6%
of the junior enlisted and 11% of the NCOs were at this
educational level. With respect to future educational plans, 89%
of the officers anticipated eventually obtaining an advanced or
professional degree compared to the 24% of junior enlisted and
the 16% of NCOs who aspired to this educational level. Fewer
officers planned to take educational courses for credit (61%) in
the Sinai than did either junior enlisted soldiers (82%) or NCOs
(87%). Very large proportions of all groups planned to travel
while on the Sinai deployment (100% of officers, 90% of NCOs, and
96% of junior enlisted).

Marital and Family Status

Marital status. Table 11 shows that 36% of all deployed
soldiers were married at the time of the before-deployment data
collection. About twice as many AC were married as RC, with the
lowest proportion of marriages found among junior enlisted (22%)
and larger proportions found in the officer (44%) and NCO (62%)
groups. However, age is confounded with marital status since
junior enlisted were younger (mean = 24 years) than either
officers (mean = 30 years) or NCOs (mean = 32 years).

Dependent children. The same pattern found for marital
status was duplicated in the results for number of dependent
children. As can be seen in Table 11, AC soldiers reported more
dependent children than did RC soldiers, while junior enlisted
personnel had fewer dependent children than either officers or
NCOs. Again, this variable is confounded with age.

Spouse support. In general, the various subgroups reported
relatively high levels of spouse support for the soldier’s going
on the MFO deployment. Table 11 shows that 80% of the entire
married/committed sample reported positive ("supportive" or "very
supportive") support. Some 82% of RC soldiers and 75% of AC
soldiers reported positive support, while 83% of junior enlisted,
76% of NCOs, and 88% of officers reported this level of support.

Quality of relationship. All groups, especially officers,
reported relatively high levels of relationship happiness. Table

11 shows that the overall mean was 5.50 (on a 7-point scale).
Component means were 5.14 for the RC and 5.56 for the AC. Rank
means were 5.29 (junior enlisted), 5.20 (NCOs), and 5.75
(officers) .



Preliminary Report on Selected Life Course Variables
and Reasons for Volunteering for the 28th Sinai Deployment

Introduction

Background

The United States Army has provided troops for peacekeeping
operations in the Sinai since 1981. These troops, who serve a
six-month deployment, have heretofore been members of the Active
Component (AC). Due to Congressional cuts for the military and
the limitations imposed by reductions in military strength, the
Department of Defense (DoD) has considered ways in which the
reserve forces of the military might fill some of the gaps which
have resulted from downsizing. One of the ways in which reserve
forces might play a larger role in the future is by participation
in peacekeeping operations.

Thus for the 28th deployment to the Sinai, the American
troops were largely Reserve Component (RC) volunteers. Most of
them were from Army National Guard (ARNG) units,’ and some were
from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Active Component (AC)
soldiers also served in the battalion which was formed for the
28th deployment .*

Since the RC had never before participated in such a
deployment, it was not clear to the Army just how this innovative
operation would affect the peacekeeping operation. Nor was it
known how the deployment would affect the participating soldiers
and their families and how these effects would influence
commitment, retention, and other outcomes of interest to the
Army.

The Army Research Institute (ARI) conducted research on RC
participation in the Army’s 28th deployment to the Sinai.
However, the research described in this report is only part of
the research ARI researchers conducted.

‘The ARNG’s 29th Infantry Division (Light) was the division
holding administrative responsibility for the RC personnel of the
mission and from which most (294) of the ARNG volunteers came.

2The deploying battalion was the 4th Battalion, 505 Parachute
Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.



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21



support for the deployment and high levels of marital
satisfaction.

Utilization:

The data concerning reasons for volunteering provide input
for Army planners and policy makers regarding recruitment for
future deployments. The information relating to expected effects
and the present status of various aspects of soldiers’ lives will
provide baseline data for future research.

viii



PRELIMINARY REPORT ON SELECTED LIFE COURSE VARIABLES AND REASONS
FOR VOLUNTEERING FOR THE 28th SINAI DEPLOYMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Research Requirement:

The U.S. Army has provided troops for peacekeeping
operations in the Sinai since 1981. For the 28th deployment to
the Sinai (January-July 1995), these troops were drawn primarily
from the Reserve Component (RC) rather than the Active Component
(AC). The U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and
Social Sciences (ARI) is conducting research that is tracking the
traiing and deployment of the battalion serving in this
innovative peacekeeping operation. This report documents the
before-deployment status of the members of the battalion on
selected variables.

Procedure:

The sample for this research comprised the 407 RC soldiers
and the 96 AC soldiers who completed a before-deployment survey.
The findings reported here are based on responses dealing with
the reasons the RC soldiers gave for volunteering for the
deployment and the responses of all soldiers (both RC and AC) to
survey items dealing with expected effects of the deployment on
various aspects of their lives. In addition, the pre-deployment
status of all soldiers concerning their organizational
commitment, career intentions, educational aspirations, and
marriages/families was documented.

Findings:

The most frequently endorsed reasons for volunteering were
service to country/Army, work challenge, and career advancement.
In general, all soldiers expected the effects of the deployment
on various aspects of their lives to be neutral to highly
positive. RC soldiers (who were truly volunteers) typically
rated the effects somewhat higher than the AC soldiers. All
soldiers were relatively high in affective commitment (emotional
attachment to the military), and did not perceive the costs of
leaving the military (continuance commitment) as too high by the
respondents. As is usually the case in organizational research,
officers tended to expect somewhat more positive effects than did
soldiers in the lower ranks. Sizable proportions of soldiers in
both components and at all rank levels were interested in
continuing with the Army for a 20-year career or longer, and all
subgroups had high aspirations for additional education. The
older (higher rank) soldiers were more likely to be married and
to have children, with all groups reporting high levels of spouse

vii



Discussion
Reasons

The most popular reasons for volunteering by the RC soldiers
were service, adventure, and work/career challenge and
advancement. Various benefits (medical, dental, retirement) and
the need for more money received modest ratings of importance.
Respondents rated as lowest in importance reasons such as time
out from school/job, family problems, and unemployment.

Differences among the various RC groups seemed more related
to age or educational level than to component or rank. Junior
enlisted personnel, for example, rated the importance of "take
time out from school/job" higher than NCOs and officers. The
more highly educated officers, on the other hand, rated
educational course credit lower than the other two rank groups.

Employment status of the RC soldiers prior to volunteering
seemed related to some reasons. Soldiers who had been unemployed
before volunteering for the deployment rated "needed more money"
and "was unemployed" significantly higher than soldiers who had
been previously employed.

Effects on Various Aspects of Soldiers’ Lives

We have two means by which we can identify changes in
soldiers’ lives: first, we can ask them what has changed and how
it has changed; second, we can establish their before-deployment
status and then determine after the deployment whether or not
change has occurred. In our research, we expect eventually to
follow both approaches. For the present report, however, we can
only report what effects soldiers expected and what their before-
deployment status was with respect to organizational commitment,
career intentions, educational aspirations, marriage, and family.

Anticipated effects. In general, all soldiers expected the
effects of the deployment on various aspects of their lives to be
neutral (no change) to highly positive. Although the RC soldiers
tended to be more positive than AC soldiers about anticipated
effects, the pattern for both groups was similar. That is, the
most positive effects were expected for the same variables by
both components. Because the RC soldiers were volunteers, it
seems reasonable that they would anticipate positive effects--or
they would not have volunteered. And because most of the AC
soldiers were not truly volunteers, it is not surprising that
they rated the various outcomes somewhat less positively.

The significant rank differences on anticipated effects
consisted of more positive expectations by junior enlisted
personnel. The pattern of RC/AC differences holds for the
comparisons of junior enlisted personnel with the other rank

10



CONTENTS

(Continued)

Page

APPENDIX A. MULTINATIONAL FORCE AND OBSERVERS-SINAI BACKGROUND

Table

AND TRAINING QUESTIONNAIRE 2.1... eee ee cece cece cece ee 27

LIST OF TABLES

1. Reserve Component (RC) Reasons for Volunteering for

10.

11.

Deployment 2... cece ccc cee cece eee ence eee enee -. 14

Reserve Component Reasons for Volunteering Deployment
by Rank .......... eee eee were eee eee eee e cece eee 15

Reserve Component Reasons for Volunteering for
Deployment by Employment Status .................005 .17

- Anticipated Effects of Deployment on Life Aspects

by Component 2... . ee cece cc eee eee eee eee eee eee eee 19

Anticipated Effects of Deployment on Life Aspects
by Rank...

Pre-Deployment Organizational Commitment............ 21
Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix of Continuance and

Affective Commitment Items .............. see e cece ees 22
Pre-Deployment Career Intentions ..............00206- 23

Pre-Deployment Educational Status and Educational

Aspirations by Component ....... ee cece eee eee eee eee 24
Pre-Deployment Educational Status and Educational

Aspirations by Rank........ eee ee cee ee eee eee reece ee 25
Pre-Deployment Marital/Family Status ................ 26



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16



Technical Report 1046

Preliminary Report on Selected Life
Course Variables and Reasons for

| Volunteering for the 28th Sinai
Deployment

Laurel W. Oliver and Ronald B. Tiggle
U.S. Army Research Institute

Stephanie M. Hayes
Howard University

August 1996

19970123 079

United States Army Research Institute
for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

DTIC QUaLsPY L8UPECLED 2



° TRAINING & CIVILIAN LIFE °
IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE REGULAR ARMY, YOU MAY STOP HERE.

IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE ARMY RESERVE, THE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, OR
THE INDIVIDUAL READY RESERVE, PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

1. What component were you in during ANY previous service? (mark all that
apply)
Regular Army
Army Reserve
Army National Guard
Individual Ready Reserve
Other Armed Services, don't know, or can't answer

2. What component were you in JUST PRIOR to assignment to your current
unit?
Regular Army
Army Reserve
Army National Guard
Individual Ready Reserve
Other Armed Services, don't know, or can't answer

3. At which of the following Army Combat Training Centers did you
experience training? (mark all that apply)
National Training Center
Joint Readiness Training Center
Combat Maneuver Training Center
None of the above

4. Indicate your Army specialty and professional development training.
(mark all that apply)
1 = applies to you 2 = does not apply to you
Ranger
Airborne
Pathfinder
Air Assault
Sniper
Combat Life Saver
Bradley Fighting Vehicle Leader Course
Primary Leadership Development Course
Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course
Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course
Battle Staff Noncommissioned Officer Course
Battle Skills Course (RC)
Officer Basic Course
Officer Advanced Course
Combined Arms Services Staff School
Command and General Staff College 12

. 39 °
a HEE an HEE



the usual sense of the word. The RC soldiers were from ARNG
units and from the IRR.

Measures

In this section, we indicate how we have operationalized the
variables of interest. Two almost identical surveys contained
these measures. The first survey was administered in August 1994
to the leadership of the new battalion to be deployed to the
Sinai. The second survey was administered in October 1994 to the
remaining soldiers, primarily the junior enlisted personnel of
the battalion. Both surveys were administered at Fort Bragg at
an early point in the deployees’ training. Appendix A contains a
copy of the Background and Training questionnaire administered in
October 1994.

The principal sources for the original items came from
previous surveys and/or discussions with volunteers during five
week-end inprocessing days at Fort Belvoir, VA. We also
considered comments obtained by researchers administering
questionnaires and the comments made by respondents on the first
survey administered at Fort Bragg. The measures of
organizational commitment and job satisfaction were based on
research in the industrial/organizational psychology literature
(Allen & Meyer, 1990; Meyer & Allen, 1984; Seashore, Lawler,
Mirvis, & Cammann, 1982; Teplitzky, 1991).

Reasons for volunteering. The checklist of reasons for
volunteering contained 15 items: 14 specific categories (e.g.,
medical benefits, challenging work, adventure/travel) plus an
"other" category. Respondents rated each reason on a 5-point
Likert scale from Very Unimportant to Very Important. There was
also a Not Applicable option. This set of items is on page 8 of
the Background and Training questionnaire administered at Fort
Bragg in October 1994 (Appendix A). A general item asking
soldiers how they felt about going to the Sinai (also on a 5-
point scale from Very Negative to Very Positive) is on page 7 of
the same questionnaire.

Expected effects of Sinai deployment. Previous research
(e.g., Card, 1983; Ivie, Gimbel, & Elder, 1991) has shown that

life course events such as military service have long-term as
well as short-term effects on people’s lives. To tap into some
of these changes, survey respondents were asked to rate the
anticipated effects of the deployment on various aspects of life,
such as physical health, civilian job/career, marriage, and
children. The soldiers responded to anticipated change in each
life aspect by checking a 5-point Likert scale ranging from
Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree or a Not Applicable option.
This expectations variable comprises the items on page 9 of the



Purpose of Research

The purpose of the present research was twofold: (1) to
ascertain the reasons why members of the RC volunteered for this
deployment, and (2) to provide baseline data related to various
aspects of the soldiers’ lives that might be affected by a major
life course event such as a peacekeeping deployment. Knowing why
soldiers volunteer for this kind of mission can provide the Army
with useful information for future deployments of RC soldiers.
Ascertaining the effects of such deployments on soldiers and
their families will enable the Army to assess the pros and cons
of such deployments and provide guidance for future Army policy
and planning relating to the use of reservists in peacekeeping
operations.

Research Questions

The questions to be explored in the portion of the ARI
research described in this document are:

1. Reasons. What are the reasons RC soldiers give for
volunteering for this peacekeeping deployment?

2. Anticipated effects. What effects do soldiers expect the
deployment to have on various aspects of their lives?
Before they deploy, how do soldiers expect the deployment to
affect the following:

physical health

emotional well-being

civilian job/career

military career

marriage

adjustment to spouse upon return

children

likelihood of volunteering for future operations
likelihood of remaining in ARNG/IRR/AC

3. Before-deployment status. At this before-deployment point,
what are soldiers’ organizational commitment, career

intentions, educational aspirations, and marital/family
status?

Method

Sample

The sample for this research comprises the 407 RC soldiers
and the 96 AC soldiers who completed a before-deployment survey.
The RC respondents had volunteered and were selected for the
deployment. The AC soldiers may or may not have volunteered in

2



° REASONS FOR VOLUNTEERING °

Please use the scale below to rate how important EACH of the following was
to you when you decided to volunteer for this mission:

N/A - | did not volunteer for this mission.

1=very unimportant 2=unimportant 3=neither important nor unimportant 4=important S=very important

Earning points towards retirement benefit

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Montgomery G.I. Bill benefits

Challenging work/Learn new skills/Improve old skills

Military career advancement/Promotion

Serve country/Serve Army
Adventure/Travel/See the world/Learn about other
Educational course credit/Credit towards degree

Needed more money

Was unemployed
Take some time out from school/job

Family pressures/problems
Wanted to get away from a bad neighborhood

Other - Please specify:

cultures

Comments:

35
)


Table 8

Pre-deployment Career Intentions

Stay until/beyond Retire before

Group 20 years Undecided 20 years

N (%) N (%) N (3)

All soldiers 284 (56) 161 (32) 60 (12)

Component
Reserve 216 (55) 131 = (33) 49 (12)
Active 59 (62) 25 (26) 11 (12)
Rank

Junior enlisted 143 (47) 118 (38) 46 (15)
NCO’s 115 (74) 29 (19) 11 (7)
Officers 25 (64) 11 (28) 3 ( 8)

Note. Percentages may not total to 100% because of rounding error.

23



5. Which of the following applied to you just befor reporting for this
training? (mark all that apply)
Employed full-time (35 hours or more per week)
Employed part-time (Less than 35 hours per week)
Unemployed, looking for work
Unemployed, not looking for work
Attending college
Trade/vocational school
Not in school

6. If you were employed prior to this training, what was your civilian
job?
N/A - | was not employed

Job Title:
7. If you were employed prior to this training, what was your annual
income?
N/A - | was not employed ~ $30,001- $40,000
Under $10,000 .. $40,001 - $50,000
$10,001 - $20,000 _. More than $50,000

$20,001 - $30,000

8. Since your 18th birthday, how many full-time jobs have you had?
(include your present job)
N/A - | have not held a full-time job

1-2
3-4
5-6
More than 6

9. Since your 18th birthday, how many times have you been unemployed
for more than 3 months?
N/A - | have not been unemployed for more than 3 months

1 4
2 . 5
3 6 or more

10. Do you plan to return to your former civilian job after completion of this

mission?
N/A - | was not employed
Yes
No
Not sure

11. How easy will it be for you to return to your former civilian job?
N/A - | was not employed or do not plan to return

Very easy Difficult
Easy Very Difficult
Neither easy nor difficult _ Not sure

40



Table 7

Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix of Continuance and Affective

Commitment Items

Commitment Continuance Affective
Measure Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3

Continuance Items

Too costly to leave 80918 .05064 -.07427
Afraid to quit/no job -80246 -.06282 09660
Scarcity of alternatives -77826 -.01040 -03008
Leaving disrupts life 7702 -16449 -09901
Necessity more than desire .71413 +21304 - 00442
Too few options 71409 -03681 -.02249
Hard to leave now 71262 - 08820 -00268
Stay for benefits 48525 -13674 -34446

Affective Items

Sense of belonging -09990 87651 06929
Personal meaning 04764 .82621 - 04367
Emotionally attached 08185 .82010 17710
Feel part of family -13140 .73124 -18262
Enjoy discussing military .10479 -48969 -47382
Military problems my own 09386 .19238 74655
Attach to another org. -03954 - 33130 - .40336
Percent of Variance 31.7 18.8 7.7
Eigenvalues 4.75 2.83 1.05

22



PRELIMINARY REPORT ON SELECTED LIFE COURSE VARIABLES AND REASONS

FOR VOLUNTEERING FOR THE 28th SINAI DEPLOYMENT

CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION 1
Background 1
Purpose of Research 2
Research Questions 2
METHOD 2
Sample 2
Measures 3
Procedure 5
Analyses 5
RESULTS 5
Reasons for Volunteering 5
Anticipated Effects of Deployment 6
Organizational Commitment 7
Career Intentions 8
Educational Status and Aspirations 8
Marital and Family Status 9
DISCUSSION 10
Reasons 10
Effects on Various Aspects of Soldiers’ Lives 10
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 12
13

REFERENCES

ix



References

Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and
antecedents of affective, continuance and normative
commitment to the organization. Journal Occupational
Psychology, 63, 1-18.

Card, J. J. (1983). Live: r Vietnam: Thi ersonal i ct of

military service. Toronto: Lexington.
Cohen, J. (1994). The earth is round. American Psychologist,

49, 997-1003.

Cook, J. D., Hepworth, S. J., Wall, T. D., & Warr, P. B. (1981).
The experience of work: A compendium and review of 249

Measures and their use. London: Academic Press.

Ivie, R. L., Gimbel, C., & Elder, Jr. (1991). Military
experience and attitudes in later life: Contextual

influence across forty years. Journal of Political and
Military Sociology, 19, 101-117.

McGee, G. W., & Ford, R. C. (1987). Two (or more?) dimensions
of organizational commitment: Reexamination of the
affective and continuance commitment scales. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 72, 638-642.

Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1984). Testing the "side bet"
theory of organizational commitment: Some methodological

considerations. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 69,

372-378.

Seashore, S. E., Lawler, E. E., Mirvis, P., & Cammann, C.

(Eds.). (1982). Observing and measuring organizational

Change: A quide to field practice. New York: Wiley.

Teplitzky, M. L. (1991). Junior Army officer retention
intentions: A path analytic (ARI Tech. Rep. No. 934).
Alexandria, VA: U.S. Army Research Institute for the
Behavioral and Social Sciences. (AD A242 094

13



Dependent children are defined as unmarried children who depend on you for

lover half their support. This includes adopted children and stepchildren. A
dependent child must also be in one of the following categories:
Not yet 21 years old
Attends college and not yet 23 years old, or
¢ Has mental or physical handicap and is any age
13. As defined above, how many dependent children do you have?
None Four
One Five
Two Six or more
Three
14. How many dependent children live with you?
None _ Four
One Five
Two “_. Six or more
Three
15. Other than dependent children, how many people (such as parents or
siblings) count on you to provide financial support?
. None ~ Four
~ One > Five
Two ~ Six or more
_ Three
16. Just prior to your MFO assignment, which of the following were you a
member of? (mark only one)
The Regular Army
The Individual Ready Reserve
“ On Active Duty, on full-time status, in an Army Reserve Unit.
. On Active Duty, not on full-time status, in an Army Reserve Unit.
On Active Duty, on full-time status, in an Army National Guard Unit.
On Active Duty, not on full-time status, in an Army National Guard Unit.
3

30



17. What is your rank?

Pv1
Pv2
PFC
SPC
CPL
SGT

SSG
SFC
MSG
18G
SGM
CSM

wo1
cw2
CW3
Cw4
MW4
MW5

2LT
1LT
CPT
MAJ
LTC
COL

IF YOU ARE A WARRANT OFFICER, PLEASE GO TO QUESTION 21.

18. Enter and fill in
your permanent
primary MOS/AOC.

19. Enter and fill in

your permanent

secondary MOS/AOC.

20. Enter and fill in
what is (or what
will be) your
MOS/AOC during your
Sinai deployment.

21. Have you ever completed a full tour (2 or more years) of Active Duty in

the Regular Army?
~ Yes :

No

31



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Technical Report 1046

Preliminary Report on Selected Life
Course Variables and Reasons for
Volunteering for the 28th Sinai Deployment

Laurel W. Oliver and Ronald B. Tiggle
U.S. Army Research Institute

Stephanie M. Hayes
Howard University

Multinational Force and Observer Task Force
Ruth H. Phelps

and

Organization and Personnel Resources Research Unit
Paul A. Gade, Chief

U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
5001 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22333-5600

Office, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel
Department of the Army

August 1996
Army Project Number Personnel Systems and
20262785A790 Performance Technology

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.



CAREER INTENTIONS

1. Which of the following best describes your career in the military or your
current intentions for such a career? The term "military" in each statement
refers to your own military component, whether Army National Guard, US
Army Reserve, or Regular Army.

| have been in the military for 20 or more creditable years.
| plan to stay in the military beyond 20 years.
| plan to stay in the military until retirement at 20 years.
| am undecided about staying in the military until retirement.
| will probably leave the military before retirement.
! will definitely leave the military before retirement.
2. How certain are you about your answer to Question 1 above?
Very uncertain
Somewhat uncertain
Neither certain nor uncertain
Somewhat certain
Very certain
3.

If you think you may leave the military before 20 years, when do you think
you might leave?

N/A - | have been in or plan to stay in the military for 20 or more years
Less than 1 year

6-9 years
2-3 years 10-14 years
4-5 years 15-19 years

4. How certain are you about your answer to Question 3 above?
Very uncertain

Somewhat uncertain

Neither certain nor uncertain
Somewhat certain
Very certain

5. Comments:

11



° EXPECTATIONS °

Please indicate how you expect your deployment to the Sinai to affect various
aspects of your life. Use the scale below to indicate how much you agree or
disagree with EACH of the following statements:

1=strongly disagree 2=disagree 3=neither agree nor disagree 4=agree 5=strongly agree 6=N/A

My physical health will improve.

My emotional well-being will improve.

My civilian job/career will benefit.

My military career will benefit.

My financial situation will improve.

My marriage or other significant relationship will suffer.

My spouse and | will quickly adjust to each other when | return.

My children will be negatively affected.

| will be more likely to volunteer for similar future operations.

| will be more willing to stay in the Army National Guard/US Army
Reserve/Regular Army.

Please indicate your expectations about what your deployment to the Sinai
will be like. Use the scale below to indicate how much you agree or disagree
with EACH of the following statements:

1=strongly disagree 2=disagree 3=neither agree nor disagree 4=agree 5=strongly agree 6=N/A

oo. s.2) My role will be well-defined during the deployment.
My leadership role will be important to the success of the mission.
My duties will be pretty boring during the deployment.
My life will be pretty boring during the deployment.

Comments:

36
e °



the table, the most highly rated reasons (over 4.0 on a 5-point
scale) were adventure, challenging work, serving one’s country,
and career advancement. The lowest rated reasons were being
unemployed, family pressures/problems, and getting away from a
bad neighborhood. In between ratings were generally associated
with various benefits and the need for more money.

Some of the reasons written in under the "other" category
included: "get into good shape for college athletics," "take
time off from girlfriend," and "missed the Amny."

mparisons by rank. In Table 2, we present reasons for
volunteering broken out by rank (junior enlisted personnel,
NCO’s, and officers). In general, differences were not great
even if they were statistically significant. Junior enlisted and
NCO’s rated benefits and "educational course credit" more highly
than did officers. Junior enlisted also ranked "needed more
money" and "get away from a bad neighborhood" higher than the
other two groups. On the remaining reasons, the three groups did
not differ significantly from each other.

Comparisons of employed and unemployed RC soldiers. There

were relatively few differences between soldiers who had been
employed and those who had not been employed before volunteering.
As can be seen in Table 3, employed soldiers ranked
"adventure/travel" significantly lower than did soldiers who had
not been employed. Greater differences occurred on "needed more
money" and "was unemployed," both of which employed soldiers
ranked significantly lower than did unemployed soldiers.

Anticipated Effects of Deployment

Before they deployed, soldiers were asked to indicate how
they expected various aspects of their lives to change as a
result of the deployment to the Sinai. Tables 4 and 5 contain
the means and standard deviations for soldier expectations for
various life aspects. The 5-point scale ranged from "Strongly
Disagree" to "Strongly Agree," with each item stated in a
positive fashion using terms such as "improved," "enhanced," etc.

Table 4 shows findings for the entire sample and for the two
components. Soldiers’ expectations for deployment effects were
positive, averaging 3.74 on the 5-point scale. Expectations for
effects on marriages and families were less positive than the
overall mean (3.33), with the other effects perceived more
favorably (3.94).



The second factor, accounting for 19% of the variance, was
the affective component. This factor reflected feelings of
emotional attachment to the military. The three items we found
that had the highest loadings on our affective factor were also
found by McGee & Ford (1987) to have had the highest loadings on
the affective factor in their factor analysis. The three items
on our adapted measure were:

(1) I feel a strong sense of belonging to the military.
(2) The military has a great deal of personal meaning for me.
(3) I feel “emotionally attached” to the military.

The third factor had a marginal eigenvalue of 1.05. This
result suggests that the factor was primarily defined by the one
item which did not load significantly on the affective or
continuance factor. This item, "I really feel as if the problems
of the military are my own," was reported by Allen and Meyer
(1990) to have loaded on their affective factor.

Career Intentions

Table 8 contains before-deployment career intentions for the
soldiers who deployed to the Sinai. Note that the original
response options to the career plans items were collapsed into
three categories: (1) those who had already been in for 20 years
or planned to stay in until or beyond 20 years, (2) those who
were undecided about their career plans, (3) and those who
planned to leave before 20 years.

Component differences were small. A slightly larger
percentage of RC than AC were undecided about their career plans
(33% vs. 26%), and a smaller percentage of RC than AC were
planning to stay in the military until or beyond a 20-year
retirement (55% vs. 62%). There was no difference between
components in the percentage of soldiers planning to separate
before 20 years (each 12%).

Because the number of officers was so small when distributed
across the three categories, comparisons by rank for this group
are inconclusive. The youngest group, junior enlisted soldiers,
was least likely to stay until or beyond 20 years, was most
undecided about staying, and was most likely to plan to separate
before 20 years.

Educational Status and Aspirations

Tables 9 and 10 relate to deployees’ before-deployment
educational status and educational aspirations. Table 9 contains
data for the entire sample and for the two components.
Differences between components were minimal. A larger proportion

8



REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

1. REPORT DATE 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (from. . . to)
1996, August Final August 1994-May 1996
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER

Preliminary Report on Selected Life Course Variables and Reasons for | 5 pROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

Volunteering for the 28th Sinai Deployment 0602785A
6. AUTHOR(S) 5c. PROJECT NUMBER
A790.
Laure W. Oliver, Ronald B. Tiggle, and Stephanie M. Hayes 5d. TASK NUMBER
4311
Se. WORK UNIT NUMBER
HOL
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER
U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
ATTN: PERI-RP

5001 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22333-5600

9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. MONITOR ACRONYM

U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences ARI

5001 Eisenhower Avenue

Alexandria, VA 22333-5600 11. MONITOR REPORT NUMBER
Technical Report 1046

12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words):

This report documents the before-deployment to the Sinai, a peacekeeping operation that comprised troops from the Reserve Component (RC) as well
as the Active Component (AC). Before deploying, 503 soldiers completed surveys developed by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral
and Social Sciences tat contained items covering a broad range of demographic and attitudinal variables. The findings of this report concen the
reasons RC soldiers gave for volunteering; the expected effects of the deployment on the lives of all soldiers, and all deployees’ before-deploying
educational aspirations, career intentions, organizational commitment, and marital/family status. RC soldiers’ reasons for volunteering involved
adventure, career challenge/advancement, and patriotism. The entire sample of soldiers expected the deployment to have positive effects on various
aspects of their lives, especially their physical health and their military careers. Levels of organizational commitment and career intentions were high
across the entire sample. Married soldiers reported high marital satisfaction and high levels of spouse support for the deployment. Differences among
subgroups tended to be small, although RC soldiers were generally more positive than AC soldiers, and officers were more positive than enlisted
personnel. There were few substantive differences among the soldiers on the variables examined. The authors conclude that before-deployment
status on the selected variables is roughly equivalent for the entire sample of deployees across both components (RC and AC) and all three rank levels
(junior enlisted personnel, noncommissioned officers, and officers.

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Anonymity Confidentiality Data quality Enlisted soldiers Research methodology
Multinational Force and Observers Reserve Component Active Component
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF =

=| 19. LIMITATION OF | 20. NUMBER 21. RESPONSIBLE PERSON

ABSTRACT OF PAGES (Name and Telephone Number)
16. REPORT 17. ABSTRACT | 18. THIS PAGE

Unclassified | Unclassified | Unclassified | Unlimited 53



e e
8. What is your current marital status? (mark only one)
‘. Single and never married
Married for the first time
., Remarried - was divorced or widowed
~ Separated due to marital problems but no legal action taken
“ Legally separated or filing for divorce

- Divorced
Widowed
9. Are you engaged, or is there an important girlfriend/boyfriend in your life
tight now? .
_. Yes .. No

10. Which of the following applies to your spouse or important
girlfriend/boyfriend? (mark all that apply)
“Not Applicable (N/A) - not married or no important girlfriend/boyfriend
~ Employed in a civilian job
~ In school

TM Active Duty Military
Is he/she taking Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI) or
Special Separation Benefit (SSB)?
“~ N/A - Not offered or not eligible
“No - Offered and eligible, but not taking VS! or SSB
“Yes - Voluntary Separation Incentive
“ Yes - Special Separation Benefit

41. Enter and fill in the 5-digit zip code for your home of record.

42. Which term best describes the type of area where you lived the majority
of the time while you were growing up? (mark only one)

N/A -- moved several times City
Rural/farm Military Base/Post
~ Suburban ~ Other
29



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U.S. ARMY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
FOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

A Field Operating Agency Under the Jurisdiction
of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel

EDGAR M. JOHNSON
Director

Technical review by

Joseph Hagman
Joan Harman

NOTICES

DISTRIBUTION: Primary distribution of this report has been made by ARI. Please address
correspondence concerning distribution of reports to: U.S. Army Research Institute for the
Behavioral and Social Sciences, ATTN: PERI-STP, 5001 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, Virginia
22333-5600.

FINAL DISPOSITION: This report may be destroyed when it is no longer needed. Please do not
return it to the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences.

NOTE: The findings in this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army
position, unless so designated by other authorized documents.



12. During the past year, how often have you performed tasks in your civilian
life (job, hobbies, school, volunteer work) that were similar to tasks in
your primary MOS?

N/A - | have been on Active Duty for the past year

Never Weekly
A few times Daily
Monthly

13. How well can you perform the tasks that are critical to your primary MOS in
the Sinai?
- VERY WELL, | am ready without any additional training.
FAIRLY WELL, | need only a few days of refresher training.
'M A BIT RUSTY, | need a couple of weeks of refresher training.
NOT WELL, | would need nearly complete training.

14. Where did you get your MOS 11B (primary or secondary) certification?
Not applicable - | am not MOS 11B certified
Fort Benning
Fort A P Hill
Other (please specify)

41 14



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31. How do you feel about going to the Sinai?
.. Very positive
Somewhat positive
Neutral
Somewhat negative
~ Very negative

32. Do you think that this mission will be good for your Army career?

N/A - | will leave the Army within the next year.
_ Yes

No
Not sure

33. Please PRINT your name and permanent home address below.

34


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Background and Training questionnaire administered at Fort Bragg
in October 1994 (Appendix A).

Organizational commitment. The commitment variable was
operationalized in a 15-item scale based on the Meyer and Allen
(1984; Allen & Meyer, 1990) measure of organizational commitment.
The Meyer and Allen instrument was modified by substituting "the
military" for "my organization" and deleting one item which did
not apply to the military. We also reworded reverse-coded items
so that all items read in a positive direction. We used two of
the three subscales that Meyer and Allen identified in their
instrument.® These two scales were: affective commitment,
which is the emotional attachment the respondent feels for the
organization, and continuance commitment, which assesses the
costs to the person of leaving the organization.‘ The
respondent rated each item on a 5-point Likert scale from
Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. This variable, entitled
"Army Organization," comprises the items on page 10 of the
Background and Training questionnaire (Appendix A).

Career intentions. Intentions concerning making a career in
the military were measured on a 6-point scale representing the
length of time the respondent expected to remain in the military.
This item was based on the Propensity to Stay Measure of
Teplitzky (1991) but was adapted to be appropriate for RC
personnel as well as AC soldiers. The career intentions item is
on page 11 of the Background and Training questionnaire (Appendix
A).

Educational aspirations. Three items related to the
respondent’s educational aspirations. One asked for the highest
educational level the respondent had attained to date; another
asked about expectations for acquiring additional education; and
a third asked about plans for taking courses while in the Sinai.
These items are No. 7, No. 26, and No. 27, respectively, in the
Background and Training questionnaire (Appendix A).

Marital/family status The measure of marital status was
item No. 8 in the Background and Training questionnaire (Appendix
A). Item 13 in the same questionnaire asked the respondent how

many dependent children he/she had. A third item (No. 30 in the
Family and Finances questionnaire administered at the same time
and place) asked for an assessment of the quality of the marital

5We did not use a third subscale, normative commitment, as it
was not relevant for our purposes.

“Teplitzky (1991) used the Meyer and Allen (1984) affective
dimension in her measure of organizational identification,
substituting "the Army" for "my organization. " Teplitzky used
reverse coding for four of the seven items in her scale.

4



Attitudes towards Roles and Missions

A. Role of the U.S. military

SCALE
1. Very unlikely

2. Somewhat unlikely
3. Somewhat likely
4. Very likely

What do you think is the likelihood that the United States will be involved in
each of the following kinds of deployments within the next ten years?

a. Peacekeeping force

b. an Guerilla war

c. 9 22:8) Limited conventional war

d. rele Large conventional war

e. Tactical nuclear war

f. “320 A war in which tactical chemical weapons are used
g. Pees A war in which tactical biological weapons are used
ho. “> Strategic nuclear war

i. “<=> Humanitarian assistance after a domestic disaster
je Ces Restoration of order after a domestic disturbance or riot
k. o°0:) Overseas humanitarian assistance

42

15



SCALE

1. Strongly disagree
2. Disagree

C. Adjustment to Multinational Operations 3. Neither agree nor
disagree

4, Agree
5. Strongly Agree

1. It's much more difficult to work with foreign nationals
than with people from the United States.

2. 25s. You can trust foreign nationals as much as you can trust
people from the Unites States.

3. = Most people from most countries are pretty much alike.

4A, es | like to travel.

5. | look forward to new experiences.

6. vvereys; | like to try foreign foods.

44 17



As can be seen in the table, physical health and military
career were the aspects of their lives that soldiers in the
entire sample and in both components expected to be most
positively affected. In general, the RC soldiers expected more
positive outcomes than did AC soldiers. Significant differences
between components (RC>AC) occurred on expectations for physical
health, emotional well-being, and several outcomes related to
military careers and military service.

Table 5 contains data on the deployment effects expected by
the various rank groups. There were some significant differences
between expectations of the junior enlisted personnel and those
of NCOs and officers. For example, junior enlisted anticipated
more positive outcomes for physical health and emotional well-
being as well as for two outcomes related to military careers.
Junior enlisted and Officers expected to be more willing to stay
in the Army than did the NCOs.

Not shown in Table 5 is the general item relating to how
positively the soldier felt about going to the Sinai. The
overall mean was 4.69 on a 1-5 scale, with means for all
component and rank groups uniformly high.

Organizational Commitment

Commitment status overall and by subgroups. Before-
deployment scores for the two scales of the organizational

commitment measure can be found in Table 6. The overall mean for
affective commitment (emotional attachment to the organization)
was 3.49 on a 5-point scale, and the overall mean for continuance
commitment (perceived costs of leaving the military) was 2.76.
The RC soldiers and the AC soldiers did not differ on either type
of commitment. The only significant difference we found between
groups on commitment occurred in the comparisons by rank for
affective commitment: officers scored significantly higher on
affective commitment than did either junior enlisted soldiers or
NCO’s. We did not find any significant differences among the
three rank groups on continuance commitment.

Factor analysis of measure. Factor analysis of the

correlations among the organizational commitment variables
revealed three distinct factors. The two strongest factors
support the findings of Allen and Meyer (1990) who provided
evidence to support the conceptualization of organizational
commitment in terms of an affective component and a continuance
component. The basic structure of these factors is presented in
Table 7.

The most powerful factor, accounting for nearly 32% of the
variance, was the continuance component. This factor reflected
the soldier’s perceptions of the costs associated with leaving
the military.