MILITARY PSYCHOLOGY RESPONSE TO POST-PANDEMIC RECONSTRUCTION (Two Volume Set)

Military response to disasters is increasing exponentially and the global pandemic is no different; prodded by the COVID-19, most militaries the world over go into force protection mode and at the same time, reach out to those in distress as the last resort of government to deal with pandemic. Psychologists play a critical role in facilitating those who have experienced or witnessed a disaster or other personally traumatic events. Given their proximity to frequency of occurrences of such traumatic events, military and police psychologists are in a unique position to study human behaviour under crises situations and recommend best practices and psychological interventions during and after the pandemic currently being experienced the world over. According to researchers, psychologists who respond to human tragedies like the current pandemic must conceptualise post-pandemic interventions, using strategies that take into account individual and group characteristics of the individual/unit/sub unit, intensity, and magnitude of the crises, based on the level of stress/trauma being experienced.
This book is written by both military and civilian specialists working in the field of military psychology and/or military leadership; it consists of 41 chapters written by 47 authors from 16 countries. We view this book as a contribution to understanding our field better, promoting communication, and providing references for learning about theories and best practices in other countries towards dealing with the pandemic. The intention of the book is to provoke some thoughts on how military psychology can be applied in not just military contexts but also explore diversity of applications in different realms, when dealing with pandemic in present times as well as during post-pandemic reconstruction from a psycho-logical perspective. Hopefully, this book will be a primer in opening up plethora of research in the immediate future to cater to the fragilities of the human mind in dealing with the pandemic.
CONTENTS
1. An Introduction to Post-Pandemic Reconstruction / Samir Rawat, Ole Boe and Andrzej Piotrowski
Belgium
2. Lived Experiences of Nurses in Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine / Erik de Soir
Belgium and The Netherlands
3. Worthy Goodbye From a Distance / Erik de Soir and Lies Scaut
Brazil and Portugal
4. Social Support Strategies Adopted by Brazilian Army for Soldiers and their Families During COVID-19 Pandemic / Carolina Rodrigues-Silveira, Soraya Reis Dantas, Patricia Rodrigues Siqueira, Michela de Souza Cotian and Maria José Chambel
Canada
5. The Restorative Power of Resilience / Lobna Cherif and Alan Okros
6. The Gendered Division of Emotional Labour and Post-Pandemic Reconstruction / Vanessa Brown
Estonia
7. Focus on Resilience in Cognitively Diverse Multidisciplinary Teams / Merle Parmak
India
8. Taming the Dragon by Unmasking Chinese ‘WOMB’ and Hegemonistic Designs During COVID-19 Pandemic / Samir Rawat
9. Role of Psychologists and Counsellors During and After Pandemic / Gayatri Ahuja
10. Extricating FLAB During and After Pandemic for Functional Fitness and Holistic Health / Vahishta Kapadia
11. Resilience Training to Minimize Impact of FLAB During Pandemic / Vahishta Kapadia and Samir Rawat
12. Learning Military ‘GRADE H’ in Post-Pandemic Environment / Shradha Sharma
13. Force Preservation and Military Protocols During Lockdown / Antony Fernandes
14. Secondary Stress, Burnout and PTSD among Emergency First Responders in Mumbai During COVID-19 Pandemic / Maitreyi Redkar
15. Mantra for Pandemic Using Astral and Cosmic Energy Through Soul Rendering Meditation / Gayatri Ahuja and Samir Rawat
16. Learning Strategic Leadership Skills From Military for Performance Management in Post-Pandemic Environment / Priya Joshi

VOLUME 2: India, Norway and Poland
17. Understanding Resilience with Automatic Self-Regulation / Andrzej Piotrowski, Ole Boe, Samir Rawat, Maitreyi Redkar and Abhijit P. Deshpande
18. Leadership in a Staff or a Garrison Compared to Combat Leadership Before, During and After Pandemic Crises / Ole Boe, Andrzej Piotrowski, Samir Rawat, Abhijit P. Deshpande and Johan Bergh
19. Gateways to Learning Self-Regulation the Military Way During Pandemic Lockdown / Samir Rawat, Abhijit P. Deshpande, Vahishta Kapadia, Andrzej Piotrowski and Ole Boe
20. Role of Character Strengths in Enduring Pandemic and Other Crises Situations: Lessons Identified and Learned from the Military / Ole Boe, Andrzej Piotrowski and Samir Rawat
21. Significant Value of Decompression on Lifting of Lockdown During Pandemic – Follow 9 R’s / Andrzej Piotrowski, Ole Boe, Samir Rawat and Johan Bergh
Indonesia
22. Lessons Learned from Military Psychology in Overcoming COVID-19: The Indonesian Army Experience / Eri Radityawara Hidayat and Didon Permadi
Iran
23. Adjustment, Wisdom, Adaptation and Coping Resources (AWAC) Following Vicarious Exposure to COVID-19 Pandemic: Changing Perceptions and Attitudes / Mahnaz Forouzan
Norway
24. Reducing Stress and Increasing Interaction in Military and High-Risk Organizations: Performance Factors with Relevance for Health Care Workers / Ole Boe
25. Can Emergency Preparedness Structures and Principles Successfully be Adopted Across Borders? A Comparison of Norway and USA Based on Social Theory / Jarle Løwe Sørensen and Eric Carlström
26. Between Chaos and Control: The Practical Relevance of Military Strategy in Fighting and Recovering from a Pandemic Outbreak / Bjørn Tallak Bakken
27. Trust During Pandemic Crises: An Agency Theoretical Approach with Examples From the Military / Johan Bergh and Ole Boe
28. Make the Invisible Enemy Visible: Military Debriefing in the Unforeseen Times / Glenn-Egil Torgersen, Kristian Firing and Trygve J. Steiro
29. Lessons Learnt and Identified: Developing a Solidarity Combat Mindset Against Invisible Enemies / Ole Boe and Glenn-Egil Torgersen
Oman
30. Matching RHYTHMs During and After COVID-19 Pandemic March / Saif Al Hashmi
Poland
31. The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Soldiers’ Quality of Life, Coping with Stress, and Combat Readiness / Andrzej Piotrowski
32. Psycho-Social Conditions of the Threat of Pandemic Coronavirus / Dariusz Jurczak
Romania
33. Strategic Military Leadership Challenges During and After Pandemic Crises / Cristian Dobre
34. The Role of Romanian Military Psychologists in Era of COVID-19: Providing First Line Responders with Adaptive Behaviours and Mental Health Strategies / Vasile Marineanu and Mirela Dorina Cremenescu
Serbia
35. Knowledge About Psychological and Propaganda Activities, Fear and Sources of Psychological Strength for Coping and Overcoming Crisis Due to COVID-19 Pandemic / Anita Pešiæ and Milan Miljkoviæ
36. Some Ways of Coping with Anxiety / Miljana Paviæeviæ, Jelena Miniæ and Miroslav Krstiæ
Slovenia
37. Pandemics: Some Thoughts on Leadership and Crisis Management / Petra Resman
USA
38. Building Confidence from the Ground Up: Sources and Strategies / Todd A. Gilson
39. The Freedom of Forgiveness Beyond Crisis: Interpersonal Strategies for Leaders / Amanda Metcalfe and Kenneth Briggs
40. Service Academy Integrative Education: Broad Student Support to Create Resilient Soldier-Citizens / Michelle A. Butler Samuels and Steven M. Samuels
Conclusions
41. Integrative Conclusions to Post-Pandemic Reconstruction / Glenn-Egil Torgersen, Samir Rawat, Ole Boe and Andrzej Piotrowski