4. Sense of Purpose

● “My knees and hips aren't what they used to be when I was 20. That's really

what's changed. My physical ability to do something like Ranger School would

completely break my body. ”

● ”Once you have a kid and you tend to the line of duties, a lot of that gung-ho stuff

doesn't last.

Life phase changes are normal developmental processes to have. Things such as

age, physical limitations, and starting families can change what priorities are important

for soldiers within their military career.

Results

This section establishes a foundation for exploring the results that emerged from

the participants' narratives about soldier identity and belonging. Results are presented in

tables according to the six categories. Table 4, Sense of Purpose, starts the discussion of

the themes that arose during the study.

Table 4

Sense of Purpose

Theme

# Times Mentioned (N=16) Soldier Identity 21 Army badges 6 Self-worth 31 # Times Theme Referenced 50

29

91

Sense of purpose yielded interesting sub-themes that emerged from the data

analysis process. These sub-themes consisted of soldier identity, army badges, and self-

worth. These sub-themes were important when understanding what a “sense of purpose”

meant to a soldier. Nearly all participants annotated that soldier identity was a way of

life, meaning soldier identity was a part of who they were rather than something they did

once a month. Soldier identity was also about living a certain way of life (values, ethos),

much like how someone not in the military follows their morals or personal values. While

some of the participants had a stronger sense of soldier identity, others struggled when

they appeared to focus on their personal assigned value of what a combat patch meant to

them as a soldier, which was mostly seen in the participants who did not have a combat

patch. The desire for a combat patch was echoed throughout all themes and interviews,

indicating the significance of the combat patch to a soldier and their identity.

Other tangible items, such as badges/tabs (ABN, Air Assault, Sapper, Ranger),

were also noted of importance and appeared to impact their sense of purpose as these

schools and skill identifiers also gave something to strive for and cultivate a deeper sense

of purpose within their military career. Being able to wear badges or tables was also a

visual representation of a soldier, each badge highlighting a different skill set that would

be encouraged, like a school a soldier should attend and enhance promotion potential.

This desire for or currently owning Army badges, tabs, and patches was mentioned by

nearly all research participants as something important to them as part of their soldier

identity in addition to a bridge of reinforcement to their self-worth. Prestige, judgment,

and competitiveness add a layer to one’s soldier identity and belonging. Participants

within this study appeared to be impacted by negative perceptions of being in the

USA/ANG, which ultimately impacted their view of their self-worth. The majority of the

participants discussed how the Guard was not seen in a favorable light or were often