Cohesion over time in a peacekeeping medical task force

The U.S. military is increasingly involved in operations that require specially configured task forces that are tailored to the demands of a particular operation. Given the presumed importance of unit cohesion as a social influence on soldier morale, performance, and stress resiliency, a critical question is how cohesion develops in such units. This study examines cohesion over time in a U.S. Army medical task force that was newly constituted to serve in a United Nations peacekeeping operation in what is the former Yugoslavia. Survey data from three phases of the operation (predeployment, mid-deployment, and late-deployment) show that cohesion levels develop in an inverted-U pattern-starting out low, reaching a high point around mid-deployment, and then decreasing again toward the end of the B-month mission. Analyses of variance comparing work groups or sections within the task force reveal group differences on cohesion, with military police and physicians highest and operating room staff (nurses and technicians) lowest. Situational and home environment stressors correlate negatively with cohesion during predeployment, whereas work relationship problems are stronger (negative) correlates at mid- and late-deployment. Boredom correlates negatively with unit cohesion at mid- and late-deployment. Regression results show that different unit climate variables influence cohesion over time, with confidence and trust in leaders paramount in the early-deployment phase, confidence in fellow soldiers and mission success more important during mid-deployment, and confidence in leaders, as well as trust that families are being cared for on the home front, the strongest predictors of cohesion late in the deployment. These results demonstrate the importance of assessing cohesion across phases of a deployment and suggest several directions for future research.