Military Deployment: The Military Organisational and Social Culture

Physicians and nurses had to navigate the military organisational and social culture. This chapter focusses on deployment issues related this military culture (as opposed to a more situational nature, on which previous chapter focussed). Main issues concern bureaucracy, hierarchy impeding swift decision-making and taking medical advice seriously, and opposing values and priorities complicating medical standards. Personal experiences demonstrate that the military organisational culture and values also complicated multiple issues initially considered situational, such as insufficient practical training or inadequate means to treat civilians. Medical personnel experienced comradery and some level of mutual respect was usually established, either through demonstrating military virtues or through demonstrating medical skill in crisis situations, thereby confirming the relationship of dependency. However, true integration was generally not achieved. Tension between norms, values, and priorities remained present throughout deployments.