The history of special operations psychology is relatively recent. Although what is now called special operations can be traced to the very beginnings of the United States, it had its modern start in the 1940s, during World War II. During that war, such units as the U.S. Army Rangers, Merrill's Marauders (the 5307th Composite Unit [Provisional]), and the 1st Special Service Force began the long road to institutionalizing the concept of special operations in the U.S. military. One of the better known U.S. special operations organizations of the war was the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). In late 1943, tapping into the patriotism and dedication of some of the best psychologists in the United States, the OSS established the first psychological assessment center in the United States (MacKinnon, 1980; Morgan, 1957; OSS Assessment Staff, 1948). Ten years later, when U.S. Army Special Forces was created, halting steps were taken to use psychological assessment as part of the selection process. Over the years, this program waxed and waned, and it was eventually eliminated during the Vietnam War. 1 'Although I have been unable to document the reason for this elimination, the success of Special Forces operations in Vietnam and the need for greater numbers of Special Forces soldiers than a strict selection program could supply likely were the major causes.

Significant controversy has surrounded the use of psychologists as consultants to military commanders in the interrogation of captive enemy combatants. The evolution of ethical guidelines has rapidly brought standardization and guidance for the growing numbers of psychologists participating in these operations. This article recounts the integration of professional psychological resources in selected military operational units. It also relates the evolution of such resources and the development of ethical guidelines for psychologists supporting interrogation. Finally, the article advocates for the continuing role of psychologists in the provision of consultation to help ensure safe, legal, ethical, and effective military interrogation operations.

The use of psychologists to provide operational support to the military is not new. Much of applied psychology started with support of military operations in World War I and World War II (e.g., Britt & Morgan, 1946;Layman, 1943;McGuire, 1990;Melton, 1957). However, application of psychological expertise to support military commanders to attain strategic goals in a theater of war and facilitate intelligence operations requires a significant paradigm shift for many psychologists Williams, Picano, Roland, & Banks, 2006). Professional ethics is a central issue.Behavioral science consultation, as described in this chapter, is an area of practice that applies psychological science to interrogation and debriefing operations. Psychologists and other experts in behavioral science have consulted to law enforcement and intelligence agencies in both civilian and military settings for many years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, for example, use these subject matter experts both as individuals and in teams or behavioral science units.

This study explored how African Americans are currently represented in social work journals, research, and schools. Method: Journal publication content and editorship, research methods and designs, and school mission statements and course titles were examined. Results: Only 14% of publications in the top 5 social work journals targeted African Americans as study subjects. The terms "African American" and "race" appeared in only 10% of mission statements of the top 50 ranked schools of social work and 20% of mission statements of the top 23 ranked historically African American colleges and university (HBCU) schools of social work and appeared in only six bachelor of social work and four master of social work course titles at HBCU social work schools. Only 2 of the top 16 U.S. social work journal editors were African American. Discussion: Across current social work venues, this study reveals that there has been minimal emphasis in research and pedagogy on race and African American-related matters.

This article presents data from an exploratory study of the demographic and published scholarship profiles of the deans and university provosts of the top 50 schools of social work as ranked by the 2016 U.S. News and World Report ratings. Method: The authors used an exploratory design to conduct a content analysis of the demographic and scholarship characteristics of the deans and provosts of the 50 top schools of social work. Results: The data show that the majority of deans and provosts of the top 50 schools of social work are Caucasian. The frequency of mentions of African Americans and other ethnically diverse groups in published articles by deans is uneven. Implications: This study highlights recommendations to enhance the opportunities for deanships among racially diverse faculty and to guide further research that explores the reasons for lack of racially diverse candidates selected as deans of schools of social work.