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Military Cultural Competence

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Abstract

This article offers a new definition of military cultural competence based on a review of the literature. As a starting point, the defining characteristics of military culture is discussed and includes the chain of command, military norms, and military identity. Having laid this groundwork, the multidimensionality of military cultural competence—attitudinal, cognitive, behavior—is discussed. Clinical applications of these various competencies are provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families (CIR), Los Angeles, USA

    Hazel R. Atuel & Carl A. Castro

  2. USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 1150 S. Olive Street, Suite 1400, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, USA

    Hazel R. Atuel & Carl A. Castro

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  1. Hazel R. Atuel
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  2. Carl A. Castro
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Correspondence to Hazel R. Atuel.

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Dr. Atuel declares no conflict of interest. Dr. Castro declares no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Atuel, H.R., Castro, C.A. Military Cultural Competence. Clin Soc Work J 46, 74–82 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-018-0651-z

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