U.S. Air Force Junior Officers: Changing Professional Identity and Commitment.
Abstract
Evidence presented in this research suggests civilianization of junior officers in the Air Force has progressed beyond heterogenity in the convergence with society--that all segments including the combat components ae converging with civilian counterparts. This represents a fundamental change in the orientation of military officers. The qualitative data reported in this study comes from an in-depth analysis of over 250 hours of interviews with 83 Air Force junior officers and 43 of their spouses. The quantitative data includes questionnaire items accomplished by each interview. Evidence reported in this study suggests the social world of the Air Force junior officer has lost the articulation characteristic of earlier times. Strong macro level social forces have caused the adoption of corporate rather than professional modes of operation. Prestige structures within the air Force reflect this change as management skills replace combat flying as the characteristic function. The result is a civilianization of junior officer identities and extensive use of civilian counterparts as reference groups. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA119101
Entities
People
- Frank Ray Wood
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology