The impact of multiple deployments on soldiers' peacekeeping attitudes, morale, and retention

In the post-Cold War era, the United States Army has undergone a dramatic t ransformation. In this new security era, the Army is increasingly participa ting in nontraditional operations. Also during this period, the frequency w ith which American service members have been operationally deployed (OPTEMP O) has increased. In this article, we analyze the impact of multiple deploy ments on peacekeeping attitudes, personal morale, and reenlistment intentio ns. In terms of peacekeeping attitudes, the greatest effects were on judgme nts of the appropriateness of alternative personnel to perform peacekeeping operations. With respect to morale and reenlistment intentions, we found s upport for the negative impact of multiple deployments on personal morale. However, we found no statistical support for the relationship between numbe r of deployments and reenlistment intentions.