Notes taken at the NASW GA Conference in October 2017 during the lecture of William C. White, BSW, MSW, LCSW.
- S. M. stands for service member.
- The military has it’s own culture.
- Service members do not talk about things with an outsider.
- The family is viewed as a complete unit.
- The entire family is considered “in the military”.
- Distinct military culture is reflected in the beliefs, norms, and language.
- Everyone in the military are still unique individuals (they are not a homogenous group).
- People are not all the same even when they are in the military.
- People do try to have as normal a life as possible however they define normal.
- Service members are in a constant wartime tempo (are world wide deployable at all times).
- Service members are considered the property of the military.
- The military stresses to “keep everyone safe”.
- One goal of basic training is to strip away some of the “civilian”.
- There are emotional cycles of deployment.
- The LOVE AND LOGIC curriculum is used (parenting program).
- The average child in a military family will move 6-9 times during a school career.
- “A stinky member has a stinky home” (if a member has a terrible body odor it’s likely their home has poor sanitation as well).
- Officers are held to a higher standard than enlisted service members. Know the ranks (enlisted, officer, warrant officer).
- Become familiar with the mission of each service branch as well as the duties associated with each mission (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard).
- Understand the core values of each branch:
- Air Force–Integrity first.
- Army–Loyalty.
- Coast Guard–Honor.
- Navy–Honor.
- “Sir” and “Maam” works if you don’t know the service member’s rank.
- Get a copy (for reference) of all the ranks of all the branches.
- There is limited confidentiality in regards to social work services with service members.
- Resiliency and the ability to “bounce back” will be understood by service members.
