Departement Gesondheidswetenskappe Faculty of Health Sciences THE UNFOLDING LANDSCAPE OF SOUTH...

Departement Gesondheidswetenskappe

Faculty of Health Sciences

THE UNFOLDING LANDSCAPE OF SOUTH AFRICAN

MILITARY CULTURE:

The views of officers from within

Prof Lindy Heinecken

Presentation at 2011 Strategy Conference on Military Culture, Stellenbosch University, 23 September 2011

Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology●

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

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OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

AIM• What factors influence military culture in South Africa

from outside and within?

SCOPE• The nature of the military task (warfighting, peacekeeping,

constabulary)

• The nature of military organisation (discipline, cohesion, selfless service)

• Societal forces and effect on military culture (trade union rights, gender equality)

CONCLUSIONS

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POP SURVEY AMONG SANDF OFFICERS

METHODOLOGY

PROFILE OF OFFICERS RESPONDING TO POP SURVEY



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POP SURVEY AMONG SANDF OFFICERS



RaceBlack/African

747 (52.6%)

Coloured106

(7.5%)

Asian32 (7.5%)

White536

(37.7%)

Arm ofservice

Army877

(63.8%)

Air Force211

(15.3%)

Navy146

(10.6%)

SAHMS141

(10.3%)

Rank Lt/Captain (SAN)

10 (0.9%)

Maj/Lt Cdr

302 (21.9%)

Lt Col/Cdr

570 (41,3%)

Col/Capt

452 (32.8%)

Brig Gen/

46 (3.3%)

Gender Male1259 (85.8%)

Female201 (13.8%)

Profile of respondents to POP survey (1999-2009)

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NATURE OF MILTIARY TASK

Warfighting vs peacekeeping roles Agree Unsure

Disagree

The Department of Defence should focus its current programmes on conventional military training rather than supportive roles or external peacekeeping

33% 15% 52%

The Department of Defence should provide peacekeeping forces to African countries.

78% 9% 11%

The present Department of Defence should play supportive roles such as policing support, humanitarian support and election support rather than conventional military roles.

46% 12% 42%

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DOD current training should focus on conventional training

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Constabulary roles rather than conventional roles

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As Frost (2000:38) states, where the task of an organisation is redefined, so the culture of the organisation changes and this in turn impacts on the functioning of an organisation.

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NATURE OF MILITARY ORGANISATION

MILITARY DISCIPLINE AND AUTHORITY

As Buckingham (1999:8) states, “failure to consistently enforce even minor standards or the failure to respect the legitimate authority of the leader may escalate quickly to insubordination that spreads throughout the entire organization”. For members of the military to show respect for authority there must be firstly trust in military leadership and secondly, faith in the chain of command.



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Trust in chain of command Agree

Unsure

Disagree

The respective headquarters and staff divisions looks after the interests of individual members of the Department of Defence well

16% 27% 57%

I am opposed to the idea of a representative association bypassing the existing chain of command to negotiate on my behalf

51% 18% 31%

11Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology

●Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences


Opposed to representative association bypassing the existing chain of command to negotiate on my behalf

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COHESION AND ESPRIT DE CORPS

In this regard Seibold (2011:463) warns:“… regardless of shared goals, trust can be destroyed or much reduced among the team members due to favoritism being perceived as shown to certain members, perceived lack of fair play, or perceived aberrant behaviour which is perceived to be inimical to formal or informal group norms and standards. Lack of trust in turn can inhibit teamwork substantially and decrease support for pertinent otherwise accepted goals”.



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Factors affecting cohesion Agree Unsure

Disagree

Integration led to close cooperation between the former statutory and non-statutory forces

41% 26% 33%

Affirmative action during the promotion of officers does not undermine the competency of the Department of Defence

37% 16% 47%

14Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology

●Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences


Integration led to closer cooperation between former forces

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Affirmative action does not undermine competency level of DOD

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Institutional/Occupational indicators

Agree Unsure

Disagree

I prefer the military way of life to the civilian way of life 68% 15% 17%

Job satisfaction is more important than a high income and good fringe benefits

62% 17% 21%

Even if I would receive a financially better civilian job, I will still not resign from the DOD

34% 27% 40%

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SOCIETAL FORCES



James Burk (1999:458) states that on of the most profound influences (apart from the move towards all-volunteer force) is the expanding circle of citizenship and the push to institutionalize practices of equality of rights and opportunity.

In South Africa, two issues which have a fundamental influence on military culture and which emanate from pressures from broader society are the demand for “worker rights” and “gender equality”.

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SOCIETAL FORCES



Agree

Disagree

Unsure

Support for collective bargaining and trade unions

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SOCIETAL FORCES



Support for women in frontline combat roles

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SOCIETAL FORCES



Similar to the findings by Miller (1995) on women serving in the military in the United States, SANDF military women and ‘men’ feel that women should be allowed to serve in combat roles only if they can meet the standards required. Women generally resent being pushed into these positions and prefer policies where their choices are matched with their skills and abilities.

The issue of gender integration and the effect on military culture, stretches beyond issues of combat inclusion and masculinity. Of greater concern are matters of sexuality and sexual harassment. Webb (1997) states, for example that sexual jealousies, courtships and favouritism affect authority relations and drive a wedge into issues of fairness and discrimination. This is a matter of greater concern.

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CONCLUSIONS



Statement by Sun Tzu, quoted in Buckingham, (1999:8).

“When the General is morally weak and his discipline not strict, when his instructions and guidance are not enlightened, where there are no consistent rules to guide the officers and men and when the formations are slovenly, the Army is in disorder and self-induced chaos”.

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