ABSTRACT
All of us in the helping professions have a passion for helping others find solutions to the issues that are causing them concern, as well as helping to make their lives more productive. In order for that to happen when working with military personnel and their families, we first must pay attention to the culture of the military. Social workers can make a significant contribution to military service members and their families, but first it is essential that the worldview, the mindset, and the historical perspective of life in the military are understood. Social workers, just like other helping professionals, already pay attention to the cultural diversity of the people they are working with. The unique culture of the military is, indeed, a diverse group of people in American society that must be understood as uniquely different from the civilian world. “All experiences originate from a particular cultural context; the [social worker] must be attentive to this context and the role that cultural identity plays in a client’s life” (Dass-Brailsford, 2007, p. 78). As Reger, Etherage, Reger and Gahm (2008, p. 22) state, “to the extent that a culture includes a language, a code of manners, norms of behavior, belief systems, dress, and rituals, it is clear that the Army represents a unique cultural group”. While the article written by these authors focuses on the Army, each of the military services have components that are unique to that service, as well as common across the military.
