You’ve read a bit here about “how are they doing before they head downrange?” research being carried out by the CF. Now, we see calls for “how are they doing after returning from downrange?” research – more, from MERX (highlights mine):
The Department of National Defence, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), Toronto, Ontario has a requirement for the conducting of interviews, in both English and French, on post-deployment reintegration experiences of Canadian Forces (CF) members, transcribe the recorded interview material, translate any French interview transcriptions into English, and write brief one to two page summaries of the major themes emerging from each of the interviews. The work for the first set of interviews, transcriptions, translations and summaries (first post-deployment cycle) is expected to commence in May 2010 while the work for the second and third set of interviews, transcriptions, translations and summaries (second and third post-deployment cycles) will commence approximately October/November 2010 and April/May 2011, respectively …. The funding for this project is limited to: $45,000.00 CAD (all applicable taxes excluded) for the firm requirement, and $45,000.00 CAD (all applicable taxes excluded) for the optional requirement….
The Statement of Work (PDF) says the “optional requirement” involves follow-up interviews of either more people as needed, or interviews involving new questions that come up during the process.
The Statement of Work also cites research suggesting it took about four months “following a fairly stable deployment such as Bosnia” to reintegrate (Thompson, M.M. & Gignac, M.A.M. (2002). The experience of Canadian Forces augmentees. In P. Essens, A. Vogelaar, E. Tanercan, & D. Winslow, Eds.), The Human in Command: Peace Support Operations (pp. 235-263). Amsterdam: Mets & Schilt/KMA), adding the aim of the latest research is to compare the post-Afghanistan reintegration experience to this.
(I’ll leave the assessment of how “stable” the former Yugoslavia was (Medak Pocket notwithstanding) to those who’ve been there.)
If you’re interested in other research along these lines, check out the DRDC’s Centre for Operational Research and Analysis’s Technical Memorandum “Effects of Personnel Tempo on Military Members, their Families, and the Organization: An Annotated Bibliography” published in November 2008 here (PDF).
Deadline for the bidding: 2pm EDT on April 23, 2010
Update (1): 7 Apr 10 – Ottawa Citizen catches up.
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