Aircrew Experiences During the Vietnam Conflict: Combat, Cohesion, and Leadership,
Abstract
During the past 50 years behavioral scientists have published little concerning the combat experience of aircrews. To investigate social-psychological factors in the combat experience of aircrews, a structured interview was developed and used to interview twenty combat aircrew veterans of the Vietnam Conflict. Findings concerning combat, cohesion, and leadership are reported. The empirical literature on the comb at behavior of aircrews is surprisingly small. During World war I flying was new and research focused on physical effects, e.g., lack of oxygen, vibration, and prolonged flight (Dearnaley and Warr, 1948). During World War II Grinkler and Spiegel (1945/1979) studied hundreds of airmen accomplishing a variety of flying duties in the European theater. Their study, Stress, remains the largest, most indepth psychological study of combat aircrew behavior. Grinkler and Spiegel were the first to report that fliers exhibited a higher degree of group cohesion than ground forces. Likewise they documented profound effect of the combat leader on morale.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 17, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADP006939
Entities
People
- Antone E. Gajeski
- John A. Ballard
Organizations
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg