Think about the iceberg metaphor and then select each below to learn more.

 

 

  • Iceberg at, above, and below sea level

    Military culture can be defined as the sum total of all knowledge, beliefs, morals, customs, habits, and capabilities acquired by Service members and their families through membership in military organizations. The external signs and internal values together make up the culture.

  • Service members armed with firearms walking through tall grass

    Military culture has developed and evolved over millennia around the shared experience of engaging in war and the need to perform with dignity and honor under what many would consider horrific conditions.  Military culture and the underlying warrior ethos provide the Service member with the context, support, and framework needed to endure and perform with dignity and honor.

  • Navy Service members standing with hands behind their back watching a ship with Service members standing around the edge

    In this section, the characteristics and functions of military ethos will be described.  The ways in which this worldview may contribute to stigma, help seeking, and health behaviors will also be described, and examples will be given of how military ethos may impact clinical presentation and interactions you may have with Service members, Veterans, and their families.