Description
Book SynopsisAmerican Soldiers in Iraq offers a unique snapshot of American soldiers in Iraq, analyzing their collective narratives in relation to the military sociology tradition.
Grounded in a century-long tradition of sociology offering a window into the world of American soldiers, this volume serves as a voice for their experience. It provides the reader with both a generalized and a deep view into a major social institution in American society and its relative constituents-the military and soldiers-during a war. In so doing, the book gives a backstage insight into the U.S. military and into the experiences and attitudes of soldiers during their most extreme undertaking-a forward deployment in Iraq while hostilities are intense.
The author triangulates qualitative and quantitative field data collected while residing with soldiers in Iraq, comparing and contrasting various groups from officers to enlisted soldiers, as well as topics such as boredom, morale, preparation f
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: American Soldiers 2. Creeping Banality: The Boredom Factor and American Soldiers 3. Troop Morale: The Social Psychology of American Soldiers 4. Fusion and Fissure: American Soldier Attitudes toward Social Issues 5. Over There: American Soldier Attitudes toward Foreign Issues 6. McSoldiers: Human Tools or Innovative Professionals? 7. Real G.I. Janes: American Female Soldiers in War 8. Baghdad Calling: Soldier Communications with the Home and Other Fronts 9. Turning Point: Iraq as a Change Agent for Soldiers 10. Death in the Ranks: Class War or Equal Opportunity? 11. Conclusion: Soldiers, Minds, and American Society
