Adjusting to Peace: Military Values in a Cross-National Comparison

Abstract

Cadets at military academies represent an elite group of junior officers destined to fill the top posts in their respective armed forces and set the future standards of professional behavior. But in an era where the military profession is undergoing tremendous change as a result of a shifting mission requirements-from conventional warfare to peacekeeping and humanitarian aid-how committed are young officers to their future careers and involvement in such missions? To what extent does military socialization shape this commitment? Our research, comparing the attitudes and values of cadets at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point to those of student officers at the South African Military Academy (SAMA) at Saldanha, indicates that the values and long-term commitment of officers to their respective armed forces are directly influenced by both military socialization and reinforcement of those values by the broader society.