ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the cultural contexts that affect the college experience of student veterans and military service members (SVSM). It introduces the multi-site case study conducted to provide an in-depth look into cultural conflict that SVSM experience in the college environment. The chapter compares and contrasts the cultures of the US military and US higher education. It also describes a variety of cultural differences that SVSM experience in their transition to the college environment. The chapter introduces Berry's model of acculturation as a framework to organize responses of SVSM in facing the conflict between the cultures of the military and higher education. Transition studies on SVSM indicate that cultural difference is one of the challenges that many SVSM experience upon entering college. In understanding SVSM's experience, it is critical to comprehend the culture of the military that serves as the standard of conduct for the lives of military service members. The most essential feature of the military culture is collectivism.
