Group Cohesion and Unit versus Individual Deployment of U.S. Army Reservists in Operation Desert Storm

The common background and reduced disruption among personnel in Army Reserve and Army National Guard units are presumed to make these units very cohesive. The recent Persian Gulf War often necessitated reassigning soldiers from their original units to others to obtain the adequate number of personnel and the right mix of military occupational specialties in deployed units. This study examined the effects of reassigning privates through staff sergeants (E1-E6), some of whom were deployed with their units ( N = 1,572) and some of whom were deployed individually with another unit ( N = 209) during Operation Desert Storm. Possible benefits of keeping soldiers in intact units during deployment included greater civilian employers' support during deployment, fewer administrative procedural problems affecting soldiers (e.g., paying the soldier), and greater community support after soldiers' return. Individually deployed soldiers may have been motivated to go with another unit during deployment (e.g., perceptions of greater readiness in individual military and combat skill and lower readiness of their unit). Being individually deployed was not associated with lower organizational commitment (Army Reserve career intent) or future readiness (willingness to report for future mobilizations and perceived family support).