A soldier's perspective on serving in Iraq and Afghanistan

Edited book (chapter)

Gehrmann, Richard. 2015. "A soldier's perspective on serving in Iraq and Afghanistan." Goodall, Jane and Lee, Christopher (ed.) Trauma and public memory. Houndsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 193-206
Chapter Title

A soldier's perspective on serving in Iraq and Afghanistan

Book Chapter CategoryEdited book (chapter)
ERA Publisher ID2865
Book TitleTrauma and public memory
Authors
AuthorGehrmann, Richard
EditorsGoodall, Jane and Lee, Christopher
Page Range193-206
SeriesPalgrave Macmillan Memory Series
Number of Pages14
Year2015
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Place of PublicationHoundsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire
ISBN9781137406798
9781137406804
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137406804.0022
Web Address (URL)http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/trauma-and-public-memory-jane-goodall/?K=9781137406798
Abstract

This chapter examines the Australian soldiers’ experience of military service in the war on terror in the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers traverse unsettled barriers and zones of expectation between war and peace, and cross different zones of experience. The zones of experience are explored through the description of a typical military deployment in the Middle East. The experience of a national culture and family memories can have an impact on the contemporary soldiers’ experience, and this is discussed with reference to the significance of commemorative days such as the Australian tradition of Anzac Day, which serves to provide support for the military veteran and their family. There is a particular focus on experience of the part-time army reservist experience of transitioning from full-time military duty in a war zone, to the different demands of the civilian employment in peacetime.

KeywordsAustralian Army, military, Afghanistan war, Iraq war, Anzac, Army Reserve
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020430302. Australian history
440804. Defence studies
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Arts and Communication
University of Western Sydney
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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