Cohesion in Military and Aviation Psychology: An Annotated Bibliography and Suggestions for US Army Aviation

Abstract : Military units rely on cohesive teams for mission success and Soldier safety. Although the U.S. Army has increasingly viewed cohesion as a key to the success of combat operations, a comprehensive review of the cohesion literature yielded few published studies specifically addressing cohesion in military rotary-wing aircrews. The purpose of this review was to examine the cohesion-related literature in military and aviation psychology from the past decade to identify a set of characteristics associated with cohesive teams that can readily be applied to the Army rotary-wing aviation environment. The primary characteristics gleaned from this research are summarized and four qualitative dimensions are suggested that appear to be related to cohesion development. Suggestions for building cohesive Army aviation units are offered. In addition, an annotated bibliography of the key studies from which these dimensions emerged is provided.

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