Date of Award

4-22-2015

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Peace and Conflict Studies

First Advisor

Siobhan McEvoy-Levy

Abstract

While there exists a multitude of information regarding the societal reintegration of both formerly deployed military members and ex-convicts, there is a lack of research comparing and contrasting each group's previous experiences and their effects on the processes of reintegration. From a national focus, the United States' incarceration rate is increasing and the recidivism rate between 2005 and 2010 was surveyed at seventy-five percent of prisoners being arrested again within five years of their release.1 From a military perspective in the United States, the rates of suicide among military members are exceeding the combat-related death rates for soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.2 Such difficulties in reentry/reintegration are evident in the statistics surrounding both the penal system and the military, and it poses the questions of: "how do the aspects of the prison culture and the military culture affect the reentry and reintegration processes?" and "is the process of societal reintegration of ex-military combatants similar to the process of reintegration of ex-convicts?" Through a meta-analysis of personal accounts, social theory publications, sociological and ethnographic studies, governmental databases, and NOD group resources, I will compare the cultures of both the penal system and the military and their effects on reentry/reintegration. In this analysis, I will focus solely on the military and prison systems of the United States. This research can shed light on the aspects of prison/military culture that either assist in societal reentry/reintegration, or conversely, hinder it. This research will hopefully lead to the generation of solutions in the future to improve the reentry/reintegration process and reduce the rates of suicide and recidivism.

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