Integrating civilians into military organizations: Linking micro and macro levels of analysis

Abstract

LAY SUMMARY The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan changed how civilians are integrated in military units, which has key implications for both personnel and the larger organization. Examining micro-effects is important because they reveal unintended consequences of personnel policies based on macro-level goals and assumptions. This article reviews 15 years of sociological research on micro-level outcomes across several key domains. Extant literature presents consistent findings of negative impacts of civilian integration on social comparisons, retention, cohesion, and mental health. Conversely, mixed results are found on military-civilian (mil-civ) integration on military culture and customs. This article also proposes a novel theoretical model to explain how these micro-effects affect macro-level military readiness. Accordingly, this article provides a framework to organize extant literature and identify new research linking micro-macro levels in military organizations. It is clear mil-civ blended forces produce unintended challenges for military readiness and individual personnel. Moving forward, more research is needed to examine unintended effects based on race and gender representation in a mil-civ blended force. There is much still unknown about the micro-level effects of systematically integrating civilians — for both military and civilian personnel — but what is clear is that it produces numerous unintended challenges for military readiness and individual service members.