Page 107 - JSOM Summer 2024

understanding to be filtered through the weight of ambiguity relationship to the pressure of performance given the specific
associated with uncertainty when engaging different profes- SOF mission objectives.
sional disciplines. This rational impression management style
provides short-term optimization of unconventional resil- Degradation of Unconventional Resilience
ience by reducing performance pressure amid SOF missions The first impression management style that degrades uncon-
by aligning needs and capabilities. It provides long-term op- ventional resilience is posturing military power as killing (i.e.,
timization of unconventional resilience by expanding military deification of the Operator as the ultimate hero), which is il-
attitudes, norms, and values that constitute professionalism in lustrated in the following quote:
SOF culture.
When all people want to do is hang with the Operators
The second impression management style that optimizes un- we support, they put on this façade of being an Operator.
conventional resilience is impregnating SOF power with med- They lose themselves on these teams because of some
ical potency (i.e., authentication of vulnerability), which is imagined idea of what it means to be supporting Special
illustrated in the following quote: Operations. It seems to be more in the men. They try to
live up to this image of “I’m an Operator!” Then they start
People are trying to turn war into a pretty thing, and war focusing on achieving that status; whatever it is. They
is not pretty by nature. I think that’s a problem that we don’t see it, but others see it. For some individuals, there’s
have with our country and its image of SOF. We want to no self-awareness in relationship to the Operator. Worse
have bloodless wars with unscathed heroes. The reality is yet, they pattern the wrong things when it comes to imi-
war’s ugly and it’s violent. Medicine can bring a bit of calm tating the professionalism of SOF. They think if you’re not
amidst that storm. I remember this Operator—we didn’t this rough and tough dude with a cool beard and all these
take care of him in the operating room—he would hang muscles, then you don’t belong in SOST. Operators are
outside smoking and I would chat with him. At one point, not just about puffing out their chest, being able to dead-
he was really aggravated. I said, “Man, what’s the issue?” lift 400 lbs., having facial hair and shooting people in the
The Operator said, “They’re fucking sending me home. I face. They’re always thinking about how they come off
don’t need to go home. I need to be back with my boys. when speaking as well as thinking about people’s reaction
This is bullshit.” I asked why he was being sent home and to them. People in SOST often don’t think about why do
he said, “Because this is the third time I’ve been blown up they do the things they do or how they should say things
and they think there’s something wrong with me.” I was they say when projecting the image of what it means to
like, “Seriously, you’ve been blown up three times? Bro, be an Operator. It’s comical to watch, but disheartening
take a knee. It’s okay for you to go home. Nobody is go- and bad for the organization.
ing to think any less of you. You’ve been blown up three
times. Appreciate you’re still walking on this earth. Not Erroneous perceptions about what constitutes the martial
everyone gets that opportunity. Trust me we see death (fighting) skills of warfighting tend to conflate the act of kill-
every day.” ing with the totality of the Operator’s military prowess. Re-
ducing the Operator’s capabilities to one technical skill (i.e.,
Military assumptions about what counts for legitimate power killing) and disconnecting the meaning associated with the
tend to confuse creature comforts and concern with helpless- makeup of their tactical posture (clothing, grooming, and
ness, making the act of caring unwelcome in achieving social kit) from its functional goal in the practical performance of
status in SOF culture. In response, SOST medics expose under- SOF missions, creates the social conditions for the Operator
lying tension that mounts as SOF operators crescendo toward to be viewed as the ultimate political symbol (national hero)
as an ideal persona. By regulating the pressure of performance and become the object of worship. Forfeiting the SOF medic’s
associated with the misinterpretation of human fortitude, tactical posture for the Operator’s tactical posture, in an at-
torque is dialed down, which normalizes the importance of a tempt to garner military prestige, ironically degrades the tacti-
recovery period in sustaining SOF practical performance. The cal function of medicine (life-saving) by further degrading the
everyday practice of engaging care appreciates the importance professional standards of medicine in an already compromised
of vulnerability in maintaining true SOF readiness, allowing environment.
a subtle sensitivity to be filtered through the weight of ambi-
guity associated with uncertainty when discriminating actual Deifying the Operator amplifies the tension of life-saving med-
capability to support SOF mission objectives in real time. This icine in the face of catastrophic injury. Torque is dialed-up,
affective impression-management style provides short-term weaking the SOF medic’s practical performance. The everyday
optimization of unconventional resilience and helps alleviate practice of striving to achieve a false persona focuses a high
some of the performance pressure within military culture by expenditure of energy toward the wrong functional goal and
encouraging a resting state as a necessary component of SOF produces a disingenuous professional impression that cannot
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power. It provides long-term optimization of unconventional support the weight of uncertainty involved in SOF medicine.
resilience by softening military assumptions that callous SOF This style of managing social impressions causes short-term
professionals. degradation of unconventional resilience by obfuscating the
SOF medic’s real technical skills, making it more complicated
The previous quotes highlight how adaptive impression man- to accurately employ medical assets in support of SOF mis-
agement massages performance pressure and adjusts torque, sions. It causes long-term degradation of unconventional resil-
enabling activity to toggle between periods of intense activ- ience by increasing ambiguity, escalating anxiety, and eroding
ity and recovery. Qualitative data suggest that, when func- confidence. Ultimately, worshipping Operators not only dis-
tioning optimally, this social determinant creates recoil in the ables the SOF medic’s ability to support the performance pres-
support structure that enables expansion and contraction in sure of SOF missions but also adds weight to the mission.

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