All eyes on Sudan: The journey of female psychologists in the theatre of operation

Zungu, Didi; Visagie, Nicolette

doi:10.4102/sajip.v46i0.1739

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Little literature regarding the positive experiences of soldiers during deployments is available (see Runge et al, 2020). Over the years, the SANDF has contributed to this body of literature, focusing on exploring the experiences of specific groups during deployment, such as military psychologists, airborne section leaders, as well as a PK mission in DRC (Bruwer & Van Dyk, 2005;Williamson, 2015;Zungu & Visagie, 2020).…”

Section: Deployment Experiences Of Soldiers Associated With Psomentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing deployment experiences of South African National Defence Force personnel during peace support missions: Sudan vs Democratic Republic of Congo

Visagie¹,

Toit²,

Zungu³

et al. 2022

SCIM

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The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has operational responsibilities in Africa regarding peace support operations. These deployments are the bread and butter of the SANDF and members are therefore frequently deployed for extended periods. These deployments are unique environments with taxing circumstances, which place various psychological demands on the soldier. The psychological impact of these demands originates not only from combat and the consequent clinical effect thereof, but also from organisational factors and the contribution of family stressors. The study reported here endeavoured to examine the positive and negative subjective deployment experiences of soldiers in two different mission areas. The data compared and further utilised to provide a framework of two proposed matrices, namely booster and stressor matrices, which may affect the optimal psychological functioning of soldiers. The study adopted a survey design utilising qualitative data focusing on retrospective data. The data stems from the Psychological Demobilisation Questionnaire developed by psychologists in the SANDF and amended by the authors. Data were collected from both combat service support and combat forces, from two different missions in different countries, both missions were one year in duration. Data revealed both positive and negative experiences correlating with the context of operations. These themes were categorised in terms of the sphere of functioning (organisational, family and clinical) from the deployment experience. The booster and stressor matrices provide a practical and accessible framework to military commanders on how to ‘boost’ or mitigate some of the experiences of their deployed force, as the commanders play a key role in the deployed soldier’s experience and the impact of such experiences in the theatre of operation.

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Section: Deployment Experiences Of Soldiers Associated With Psomentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing deployment experiences of South African National Defence Force personnel during peace support missions: Sudan vs Democratic Republic of Congo

Visagie¹,

Toit²,

Zungu³

et al. 2022

SCIM

Self Cite

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“…Recent South African (SA) literature focuses on separations due to peacekeeping operations (Dodd et al, 2020;Mtshayisa & Letšosa, 2019;Zungu & Visagie, 2020). These operations have unique characteristics, with each operation resulting in its own unique stressors.…”

Section: Stressors During the Absencementioning

confidence: 99%

Organisational support to overcome the challenges of extended absences of officers in the SANDF

Harmse

O’Neil

Strasheim

2022

SCIM

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Generally, military members are often required to work away from home, resulting in extended absences from their families. International studies have shown the effects of extended absences to be severe and associated with long-term social, emotional and behavioural challenges. Longer and more frequent absences negatively affect member morale and could result in military members terminating their employment sooner than planned to maintain their personal relationships and to ensure the wellbeing of their families. The aim of the study on which this article reports was to explore and describe the experiences of extended absences on members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) with specific reference to organisational support to aid both the member and his or her family to cope with the challenges experienced before, during and after absences. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 senior officers of the SANDF during 2019 and 2020, before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The interviews focused on officers’ lived experiences of extended absences due to deployment or military training. The findings indicated that absence generally has an adverse influence on military members, not only due to the challenges they face during the absence, but mostly due to the effect it has on their families. Organisational support is not only required in terms of preparing the military member, but should be extended to include preparation prior to their absence, care for the military members and their families during the period of absence, as well as support with reintegration after the absence. The results of this study show that little support is provided by the organisation, especially during reintegration after deployment, and especially in the case of absences due to training. Organisational support during the preparation phase, during absence and with reintegration could mitigate the stress and negative experience associated with extended absences. With the aim of strengthening the capacity of the armed forces, we propose various initiatives that could assist military members and their families to cope with the additional strain of prolonged separation.

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All eyes on Sudan: The journey of female psychologists in the theatre of operation

Cited by 2 publications

References 33 publications

Comparing deployment experiences of South African National Defence Force personnel during peace support missions: Sudan vs Democratic Republic of Congo

Comparing deployment experiences of South African National Defence Force personnel during peace support missions: Sudan vs Democratic Republic of Congo

Organisational support to overcome the challenges of extended absences of officers in the SANDF

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