Soldier morale is a complex social construct influenced by factors at multiple levels and integrates many research domains. Performance of soldiers can be influenced by morale, but the degree of this effect is difficult to assess and map back to strategic, operational, and/or tactical decisions based on current research approaches. Physiological and psychological factors related to low morale can lead to undesirable behaviors like suicides, substance abuse, and accidents. The current approach to measuring soldier morale is often based on a single point estimation limiting dynamic perspectives on this phenomenon. This may also impact similar exploratory studies - due to insufficient data for validation of model causalities. The simulation-based work found in the literature focuses on a single level of analysis and uses the System Dynamics method, which overly reduces scope and detail necessary for capturing related dependencies even if more data were available. This research seeks to explore, model, and simulate soldier morale at multiple levels of analysis. The developed sample case scenario pertains to US security efforts against insurgency in Afghanistan in 2007. The scenario includes representation of the patrol base operations serving as a platform for calibration and exploration of factors affecting soldier morale and its relationship with sample performance measures. The developed proof-of-concept simulation model was used for testing the effect of both size of patrol base and violence level on soldier morale. The model can serve as a platform for evaluation of decisions during surges and deployments that pertain to system structure, scheduling, and policies.
Exploration of Soldier Morale Using Multi-Method Simulation Approach
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