Important characteristics of operational force members

Abstract

The operational forces military context is generally acknowledged as one of the most stressful contexts as it is demanding of members on a physical, psychological, social level with organisational, intra- and inter-personal demands of an extreme nature (Gruber et al., 2009; Skomorovsky & Stevens, 2013). The South African Operational Forces – as a unit of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) – functions similarly to other such units internationally (Bartone et al., 2008; Gruber et al., 2009; Svendsen, 2014). Despite many referring to their military careers as a vocation or a calling, the military as employer - no different from other organisations in this regard – need to continuously try to optimally balance unique requirements and available resources by recruiting, selecting and training individuals that are a good match for the organizational requirements.