ABSTRACT
Our objective is to make human factors scientists aware of the need for research regarding military peacekeeping. Little research has focused on the soldier as peacekeeper, even though a growing percentage of U.S. soldiers’ time is being spent in peacekeeping operations. The combat soldier faces a binary friend/foe discrimination task, and a mission involving the destruction of the enemy and the enemy’s warfighting capacity, with relatively less restrictive rules of engagement. The peacekeeper soldier faces a fuzzy friend/foe/non-foe discrimination task, and a mission involving negotiation among disputing factions and preservation of life, with relatively more restrictive rules of engagement. Today’s American military forces often must shift between both these roles, resulting in stress that impacts performance in either role. These two roles probably make different workload demands on their operators, suggesting a need for focused research on combat versus peacekeeper workload; some current research programs into these issues are outlined.
