Military Social Work Analysis

As seen before, the number of military and veteran personnel in post-secondary education is substantial. Due to this, there is also a greater need for specialized social workers to aid military and veteran personnel in their pursuit of higher education. Most civilian social workers are unaware of the uniqueness of military life. To better serve their clients, social workers should first become versed in military culture, military and government structures of care, current military and veteran population issues and appropriate policy and practices (Savitsky, Illingworth, & DuLaney, 2009, p. 336). Social workers must proactively engage with military and veteran groups through civilian partnerships and by disseminating resources and tools backed
Military personnel, veterans, and their families’ lives are structured around a hierarchical, sociopolitical environment within a structured military organization (Wooten, 2015, p. S8). This environment dictates how they live, work, and receive health care and social benefits (Wooten, 2015, p. S8). This is what truly distinguishes military, social work from its civilian counterpart. Therefore, a specialized field of social work must meet high-performance expectations, individual demands, standards of order and discipline, occupational hazards while upholding the norms in military culture (Wooten, 2015, p.
S9). In the micro perspective, social workers should not only understand military culture and subcultures, but also the life-stage and developmental influences of basic and advanced military training (Wooten, 2015, p. S9). Additionally, social work professionals must understand the multidimensionality of vulnerability, risk, and resilience associated with military service and deployments (Wooten, 2015, p. S9). Finally, they must also be aware of the evidence-based treatments for combat-related PTSD and empirical evidence regarding the behavioral indicators (Wooten, 2015, p. S9). In macro perspective, social workers must effectively evaluate, advocate, and mediate on behalf of military personnel and their families (Wooten, 2015, p. S10). Since rank defines socioeconomic status and upward mobility in the military, social workers must understand how rank influences social status and behaviors of military personnel and their families in a sociopolitical context and the larger military environment (Wooten, 2015, p.