Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Perception of military vs civilian organization personnel

  1. #1
    Registered User sennef@cimic-coe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Jordan
    Posts
    4

    Default Perception of military vs civilian organization personnel

    This generic list was part of a module to make visible the exisiting prejudices living amongst personnel of both organizations working in mission areas

    Military vs Civilians

    Disciplined vs Independent
    Hierarchical vs Decentralised
    Command & Control vs Consensus & Agreement
    Whole career training vs On the Job training
    Doctrinal Publications vs Few field manuals
    End State Approach vs Long Term View
    Objectives driven by politics vs driven by humanitarian concerns
    Extension of State vs State
    Extension of State vs State free
    Extension of State vs Multilateral
    Extension of State vs Governmental
    Extension of State vs Intergovernmental
    Extension of State vs Non Governmental
    Hierarchical vs Non Hierarchical
    Tradition rich vs Tradition rich
    Formal vs Informal
    Doctrinal vs Principles
    Rigid vs Ad-hoc
    Highly Structured vs Loosely Configured
    Boys with Toys vs Non Guided Organizations
    Rigid vs Children of the Sixties
    Authoritarian vs Flaky do gooders
    Conservative vs undisciplined
    Impatient vs unpunctual
    Civilian Phobic vs anarchic
    Excessively Security Conscious vs self righteous
    Militaristic vs anti military

  2. #2
    Council Member BayonetBrant's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    261

    Default

    Boy, that sounds like it's trying to get a heavy-handed reaction out of each side by accentuating as much of the negativity on either list.

    Was it put together by 10th-graders?
    Brant
    Wargaming and Strategy Gaming at Armchair Dragoons
    Military news and views at GrogNews

    “their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of ‘rights’… and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure.” Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers 1959

    Play more wargames!

  3. #3
    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    DeRidder LA
    Posts
    3,949

    Default

    I rather look on it as a military version of apartheid (and I am retired Army)
    Last edited by Tom Odom; 03-16-2009 at 02:15 PM.

  4. #4
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Rancho La Espada, Blanchard, OK
    Posts
    1,065

    Default A major problem with these stereotypes

    is the fact that the list lumps all civilian organizations together. That is also a problem with the military organization side although not as pronounced - even the Air Force shares a military culture and language. But civilian organizations really do come in all shapes and sizes. The culture of civilian govt bureaucracy is quite different from that of private sector bureaucracy. And all bureaucratic organizations differ greatly from many NGOs....

    So, without some differentiation among kinds of organizations, I would not find this module particularly helpful because the discussion it is likely to provoke may tend to reinforce stereotypes a nd oversimplify a really complex issue.

    Cheers

    JohnT

  5. #5
    Registered User sennef@cimic-coe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Jordan
    Posts
    4

    Default Ice breaker

    You are all correct in your comments. This is a compilation of existing prejudices
    As in this thread, it never fails to generate fantastic discussions between all parties (intra-military, IOs, NGOs), breaking the ice. Because one gets to know one another, co-existence slowly turns into cooperation.

  6. #6
    Council Member Ken White's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    8,060

    Default What? When did this happen?

    Quote Originally Posted by John T. Fishel View Post
    even the Air Force shares a military culture and language.
    Darn, I missed the memo. Nobody ever tells me anything...

Similar Threads

  1. Vietnam collection (lessons plus)
    By SWJED in forum Training & Education
    Replies: 140
    Last Post: 06-27-2014, 04:40 AM
  2. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-14-2010, 02:38 PM
  3. Officer Retention
    By Patriot in forum Military - Other
    Replies: 360
    Last Post: 07-03-2009, 05:47 PM
  4. Conference on Professional Military Education
    By SWJED in forum Training & Education
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-08-2006, 10:58 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •