Soldiers are trained to be disciplined and to follow orders. They learn to obey their commanding officers and to work together as a team.
Soldiers also have emotional needs like anyone else, including the need for intimacy and closeness. When deployed, soldiers often live in close quarters with others they did not choose to share a room with, eat all meals together, and spend most of their waking hours working together. This can create tension between them and lead to misunderstandings about personal boundaries. Soldiers must negotiate relational boundaries when it comes to matters such as privacy, sexuality, and touching.
They might need to decide how much physical contact is appropriate between themselves and their fellow soldiers. In this essay, I will explore how soldiers navigate these types of boundaries while living in environments where there are few opportunities for privacy.
Relationship boundaries refer to the limits that individuals set around their relationships with others. These boundaries help them protect their feelings and maintain healthy communication within the relationship. For soldiers, this can be challenging because they may feel a sense of camaraderie with other soldiers, but they do not want to cross the line into friendship or romance. The military code requires soldiers to maintain professionalism and avoid socializing outside of duty. As a result, soldiers may find themselves feeling isolated from others who understand what it means to be a soldier in a warzone. One way they deal with this isolation is by forming strong bonds with their comrades-in-arms.
If those bonds become too close, it can threaten unit cohesion. Therefore, soldiers learn to balance their need for support with their commitment to the mission.
Another challenge soldiers face is managing their sexuality in an environment where privacy is limited. They might have romantic feelings for someone else on the team, but they cannot act on them without breaking military regulations. Instead, they learn to manage their desires through discipline and self-control. Some soldiers even form secret relationships that no one knows about except themselves and the object of their affection. This can create tension when they return home from deployment and try to reintegrate into society as civilians.
Some soldiers struggle with touch. Touch is essential for human connection, but it can also be misinterpreted in a military setting. Soldiers must learn how much physical contact is acceptable between themselves and their fellow soldiers without creating confusion or tension. They might hug each other after a successful mission or hold hands while walking together, but these actions could lead to misunderstandings if taken out of context. Therefore, soldiers learn to communicate their boundaries clearly and respect the boundaries of others.
Soldiers navigate relational boundaries in environments with restricted privacy by balancing their emotional needs with their professional responsibilities. They learn to maintain healthy communication within their units, manage their sexuality discreetly, and understand appropriate levels of physical contact. By doing so, they build strong relationships that support them during times of war and help them transition back to civilian life successfully.
How do soldiers negotiate relational boundaries in environments with restricted privacy?
The experience of military service can be emotionally taxing as it requires individuals to maintain high levels of discipline and adhere to strict rules while living under constant surveillance from their superiors. In such conditions, soldiers may develop feelings of discomfort towards others due to lack of control over their private spaces, which could lead to misunderstandings or conflicts. Consequently, they need to establish effective communication channels that allow them to set appropriate boundaries within their relationships.