Expectations, Use, and Evaluation of Communication Media among Deployed Peackeepers

As part of an experimental unit, over five hundred active- and reserve-component (AC, RC) soldiers deployed to the Sinai Desert in 1995 on a peacekeeping mission. While most junior enlisted personnel were reservists, leadership positions were shared between components. Before their departure, most soldiers had high expectations regarding their ability to use a variety of communication media to reach their families. While their reported use of communication media was less than what they had expected, almost all soldiers did use the telephone or other means to communicate with home during their deployment. Contrary to our hypotheses, communication media use was not strongly related to rank or component (AC, RC), though junior enlisted personnel were somewhat less likely than other ranks to use some communication media. As expected, married soldiers were somewhat more likely to use telecommunications than unmarried soldiers. While all forms of communication media were deemed useful for conveying information, more interactive forms of communication (e.g., telephone) were preferred for communicating with family and friends, especially with respect to time-sensitive or other more difficult issues.