Military deployment and stress : an empirical survey in the SANDF's operational military personnel of the Western Cape

This study explores the psychological impact of deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) military operational personnel to community policing duties of crime and violence in the Western Cape. It is primarily motivated by the fact that, apart from the inherently stressful nature of military deployment, there may be other organisationally induced stressors that impact on the soldiers' psychological well-being. Another concern that has frequently emerged within the SANDF is that the inclusion of the SANDF military operational personnel into community policing duties, which are primarily a responsibility of the South African Police Service (SAPS), may be an ill-informed undertaking. The basis of this concern is that the currently assigned task of community policing is different to the soldier's and military institution's primary training, design, and functional mandate. Other concerns have been in. the form that (1) the ongoing deployment of the SANDF military operational personnel to a community policing function invariably politicises a defence force, (2) such deployment may undermine the image and legitimacy of the SANDF amongst some sectors of the population, and (3) efforts to apply military solutions to community problems inherently and invariably lead to acts of repression.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Mangxola, Noel Mzwamadoda

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dawes, Andrew

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9768

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9768