I__. - International Military Testing Association

VERTICAL COHESIOk PATTERNS IN LIGHT INFANTRY UNITS'
Cathie E. Alderks
U.S. Army Research Institute for the
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Alexandria, VA
Researchers have shown that strong cohesion among soldiers
as well as cohesion within platoon level leadership teams has a
consistent association with platoon performance and the ability
to withstand stress (Siebold and Kelly, 1988a, 1988b). However,
research pertaining to the impact of vertical cohesion up and
down the chain of command on small unit performance is limited.
In this paper the pattern of vertical cohesion from squad through
company and its impact on performance at Army Combat Training
Centers are examined.
METHOD AND SAMPLE
Data were collected by questionnaire from soldiers and
leaders within five light infantry battalions (N = 60 platoons)
at three points in time. The first point in time (Base) occurred
4-6 months before the battalion was scheduled to go through a
training rotation at either the U.S. Army National Training
Center (NTC), Fort Irwin, CA, or the U.S. Army Joint Readiness
Training Center (JRTC), Fort Chaffee, AR. The second point in
time (Pre-rotation) was 2-4 weeks prior to the rotation; the
third point (Post-rotation) occurred 2-4 weeks following the
training rotation.
Base and pre-rotation questionnaires were administered by
researchers from the U.S. Army Research Institute to platoon
level soldiers (squad members (SM), squad leaders (SL), platoon
sergeants (PS), and platoon leaders (PL)) one company at a time
in either a classroom or dayroom setting. Soldiers took
approximately 30 minutes to complete the 160-item questionnaire
after instructions. Soldiers responded on a machine readable
answer sheet. Post-rotation questionnaires were given at the
start of interviews in an office or dayroom setting to the
following groups of soldiers within a company: 1) all PLs, 2) all
PSS, 3) two-thirds of the SLs, and 4) all SMs from one intact
squad in the company. Post-rotation questionnaires were short
(21 items plus some unit and position identification questions}
and took soldiers less than 10 minutes to complete: responses
were made on the questionnaire itself.
'The views expressed in this paper are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Army
Research Institute or the Department of the Army.
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