Researching the Military focuses on the experiences of researchers who study the military around the world. It explores the historical, social, institutional and personal factors that frame research and scrutinize the way knowledge in this area impacts society and policy. More than merely analyzing research experiences (yet necessarily including them), it is also about the experiences of researchers, their position with regard to the object of their studies, the institutional context where they work and the way their research impacts the academic and policy-making fields in the respective countries. The common theme to the various chapters is reflexivity, a conscious effort at addressing the conditions of research and the position of the researcher and the research participants in that interface. By collecting diverse experiences of researchers from across the world, this volume aims to enhance reflexivity in the field of military studies and to encourage the exchange of knowledge between the academic field and the military arena. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, research methods, sociology, social anthropology and security studies, in general.

This new handbook is about the practices of conducting research on military issues. As an edited collection, it brings together an extensive group of authors from a range of disciplinary perspectives whose chapters engage with the conceptual, practical and political questions raised when doing military research. The book considers a wide range of questions around research about, on and with military organisations, personnel and activities, from diverse starting-points across the social sciences, arts and humanities. Each chapter in this volume: Describes the nature of the military research topic under scrutiny and explains what research practices were undertaken and why. Discusses the author's research activities, addressing the nature of their engagement with their subjects and explaining how the method or approach under scrutiny was distinctive because of the military context or subject of the research. Reflects on the author’s research experiences, and the specific, often unique, negotiations with the politics and practices of military institutions and military personnel before, during and after their research fieldwork. The book provides a focussed overview of methodological approaches to critical studies of military personnel and institutions, and processes and practices of militarisation and militarism. In particular, it engages with the growth in qualitative approaches to military research, particularly research carried out on military topics outside military research institutions. The handbook provides the reader with a comprehensive guide to how critical military research is being undertaken by social scientists and humanities scholars today, and sets out suggestions for future approaches to military research. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, war and conflict studies, and research methods in general.

This volume offers an overview of the methodologies of research in the field of military studies. As an institution relying on individuals and resources provided by society, the military has been studied by scholars from a wide range of disciplines: political science, sociology, history, psychology, anthropology, economics and administrative studies. The methodological approaches in these disciplines vary from computational modelling of conflicts and surveys of military performance, to the qualitative study of military stories from the battlefield and veterans experiences. Rapidly developing technological facilities (more powerful hardware, more sophisticated software, digitalization of documents and pictures) render the methodologies in use more dynamic than ever. The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Military Studies offers a comprehensive and dynamic overview of these developments as they emerge in the many approaches to military studies. The chapters in this Handbook are divided over four parts: starting research, qualitative methods, quantitative methods, and finalizing a study, and every chapter starts with the description of a well-published study illustrating the methodological issues that will be dealt with in that particular chapter. Hence, this Handbook not only provides methodological know-how, but also offers a useful overview of military studies from a variety of research perspectives. This Handbook will be of much interest to students of military studies, security and war studies, civil-military relations, military sociology, political science and research methods in general.

Operations Research (OR) emerged in an effort to improve the effectiveness of newly inducted weapons and equipment during World War II. While rapid growth ofOR led to its becoming an important aid to decision making in all sectors including defense, its contribution in defense remained largely confined to classified reports. Very few books dealing with applications of quantitative decision making techniques in military have been published presumably due to limited availability ofrelevant information. The situation changed rapidly during the last few years. The recognition of the subject of Military Operations Research (MOR) gave tremendous boost to its development. Books and journals on MOR started appearing. The number of sessions on MOR at national and international conferences also registered an increase. The volume of teaching, training and research activities in the field of MOR at military schools and non-military schools enhanced considerably. Military executives and commanders started taking increasing interest in getting scientific answers to questions pertaining to weapon acquisition, threat perception and quantification, assessment of damage or casualties, evaluation of chance of winning a battle, force mix, deployment and targeting of weapons against enemy targets, war games and scenario evaluation. Most of these problems were being tackled on the basis of intuition, judgment and experience or analysis under very simple assumptions. In an increasingly sophisticated and complex defense scenario resulting in advances in equipment and communications, the need for supplementing these practices by scientific research in MOR became imperative.

Military academies have served youth for more than a century with proud traditions of producing graduates who are scholars, leaders, and athletes who adhere to a code of honor and ethical principles as they take the knowledge, skills, and dispositions gained at those academies into higher education, the business world, military service, civic endeavors, and the broader workforce. There is a current gap and need for research that explores the various components of a K-20 military school/college education and how those components successfully produce leaders of character for our military, civic, academic, and business worlds both in the United States and abroad. The Handbook of Research on Character and Leadership Development in Military Schools synthesizes research on the impact of military academies by providing a singular compendium of current academic studies on the graduates of military academies and the communities of which they enter after graduation. The chapters will explore the academics, leadership, character development, citizenship, athletics, and other dimensions of both global and national, and both private and public, military academies. This book is ideal for current leaders, staffs, governing board members, and alumni of military academies both in the United States and internationally along with policymakers, government officials, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the implications of character and leadership development on individuals enrolled in or graduated from military schools.

The study of operations research arose during World War II to enhance the effectiveness of weapons and equipment used on the battlefield. Since then, operations research techniques have also been used to solve several sophisticated and complex defense-related problems. Operations Research for Military Organizations is a critical scholarly resource that examines the issues that have an impact on aspects of contemporary quantitative applications of operations research methods in the military. It also addresses innovative applications, techniques, and methodologies to assist in solving defense and military-related problems. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as combat planning, tactical decision aids, and weapon system simulations, this book is geared towards defense contractors, military consultants, military personnel, policy makers, and government departments seeking current research on defense methodologies.

"Operations research (OR) is a core discipline in military and defense management. Coming to the forefront initially during World War II, OR provided critical contributions to logistics, supply chains, and strategic simulation, while enabling superior decision-making for Allied forces. OR has grown to include analytics and many applications, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and big data, and is the cornerstone of management science in manufacturing, marketing, telecommunications, and many other fields. This new edition of the Handbook of Military and Defense Operations Research continues to present the voices leading OR and analytics to new heights in security through research, practical applications, case studies, and lessons learned in the field"--

"The Context of Military Environments: Basic Research Opportunities on Social and Organizational Factors synthesizes and assesses basic research opportunities in the behavioral and social sciences related to social and organizational factors that comprise the context of individual and small unit behavior in military environments. This report focuses on tactical operations of small units and their leaders, to include the full spectrum of unique military environments including: major combat operations, stability/support operations, peacekeeping, and military observer missions, as well as headquarters support units."--Publisher's description.

One of the hallmarks of a true profession is its ability to assess and regulate itself, especially with respect to adherence to its foundational ethos. Such self-examination is difficult and often causes discomfort within the profession. Nonetheless, it is absolutely necessary to enable members of the profession to render the service for which the profession exists. U.S. military professionals have never shied away from this responsibility, and they do not today, as evidenced by this riveting monograph. Discussing dishonesty in the Army profession is a topic that will undoubtedly make many readers uneasy. It is, however, a concern that must be addressed to better the Army profession. Through extensive discussions with officers and thorough and sound analysis, Drs. Leonard Wong and Stephen Gerras make a compelling argument for the Army to introspectively examine how it might be inadvertently encouraging the very behavior it deems unacceptable.

Researching the Military focuses on the experiences of researchers who study the military around the world. It explores the historical, social, institutional and personal factors that frame research and scrutinize the way knowledge in this area impacts society and policy. More than merely analyzing research experiences (yet necessarily including them), it is also about the experiences of researchers, their position with regard to the object of their studies, the institutional context where they work and the way their research impacts the academic and policy-making fields in the respective countries. The common theme to the various chapters is reflexivity, a conscious effort at addressing the conditions of research and the position of the researcher and the research participants in that interface. By collecting diverse experiences of researchers from across the world, this volume aims to enhance reflexivity in the field of military studies and to encourage the exchange of knowledge between the academic field and the military arena. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, research methods, sociology, social anthropology and security studies, in general.