Fifty years of coming home from foreign wars: subjective interpretations of social and cultural reintegration challenges over the decades in veterans exposed to combat and peacekeeping

Despite soldiers worldwide being deployed for centuries to fight wars on foreign shores, successful reintegration back into civilian lives remains elusive despite much research into each theatre of war’s unique phenomenal impact. The transition from soldier back to civilian is a complex journey with social and cultural factors integral to resettlement at different times in history. Therefore, this study explores both positive and negative interpretations of veterans’ experiences of transition back to civilian life from five combat/peacekeeping deployments over the last 50 years. As a phenomenological study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 veterans (17 male, 1 female) and data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Six themes emerged from the data: Organisational Betrayal, Moral Vulnerability, Cumulative Abandonment, Self-Destruct and Useless, Maladaptive Coping, and Adversarial Growth. These themes encapsulate the significant psychosocial struggles endured by generations of veterans and highlight the psychological distress experienced as a result of perceived organisational betrayal and invalidation. Further findings discuss the detrimental effects of stigma on help-seeking behaviour and the capacity for personal growth and self-reparation following exposure to combat trauma.