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THE DISCONNECTED BODY: AN EXAMINATION OF THE U.S MILITARY SYSTEM AND ITS NEGLECT OF EXPRESSIVE FUNCTIONS A Dissertation by RACHEL ROMERO Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2012 Major Subject: Sociology i The Disconnected Body: An Examination of the U.S Military System and Its Neglect of Expressive Functions Copyright 2012 Rachel Romero ii THE DISCONNECTED BODY: AN EXAMINATION OF THE U.S MILITARY SYSTEM AND ITS NEGLECT OF EXPRESSIVE FUNCTIONS A Dissertation by RACHEL ROMERO Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Stjepan G. Mestrovic Committee Members, William Alex McIntosh Rogelio Saenz John J. McDermott Head of Department, Jane Sell May 2012 Major Subject: Sociology iii iii ABSTRACT The Disconnected Body: An Examination of the U.S Military System and Its Neglect of Expressive Functions. (May 2012) Rachel Romero, B.A., University of North Texas; B.A., University of North Texas; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Stjepan G. Mestrovic This dissertation explores the systematic negligence of expressive functions in current United States Military System (USMS) practices. I draw from classical sociological theory and employ the Parsonian understanding of “expressive” versus “instrumental” social functions, to illustrate the U.S. military’s abandonment of procedures that tend to the emotional needs of the group and individual soldiers. I expand beyond Talcott Parsons’ understanding of the “symbolic/expressive” pattern variable, and engage this idea to discuss a variety of affective principles including leadership support, group cooperation, social cohesion, loyalty and trust, emotional stability, and reverence towards rituals. Subsequently, I wed these elaborations of pattern variables to principles which generally are coded as maternal and feminine. The main argument of this work is the following; social functions that typically are considered “feminine,” “motherly,” “emotional” are not characteristically valued in modern worldviews, although these functions are critically significant for the overall iii iv wellbeing of society. As a result, an overemphasis of the ideal types instrumental functions, “masculinity,” “efficiency,” and “rationality” monopolize today’s most influential social institutions, including the military. The deficiency of balance between expressive and instrumental functions results in various forms of deviance and anomie; including war crimes. iv v DEDICATION In Thanksgiving v vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This manuscript has been a product of thanksgiving. I feel incredibly fortunate to wake up each morning and live the life I have been given. I want to thank my parents, Beatriz Escandell and Blas R. Romero, for providing sound foundations during my childhood; and particularly thank my dad for diligently carrying the developments of those foundations after my mother’s passing. I want to thank my younger sister Massiel Romero who is an unbelievable figure of inspiration, love, support, hard-work and many other astonishing qualities uncontainable for these pages. The rest of my family— grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, are equally deserving of my gratitude upon the completion of this work. I would also like to thank Teresa McGlynn and Joseph McGlynn Jr. for making me feel so close to the heart of their family. And last, but not least, I would like to acknowledge in a special way the dedication, persistence, prayerfulness and love of my friend and partner Joseph McGlynn III. This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of the Texas A&M Department of Sociology. In particular I would like to thank the support and encouragement of Dr. Jane Sell, and my aggie friends Carlos Barreto-Beck, Dr. Ashley Ryan Caldwell, James Chouinard, Jenny Davis, Dr. Nicole Farris, Dr. Ronald Lorenzo, and April Plemons. I am equally thankful to the graduate students and faculty in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin for their outpouring love and inspiration. This program has served as a second home to me countless of times. vi vii Finally, I would like to thank the most wonderful dissertation committee on Earth: Dr. Stjepan Mestrovic, Dr. William McIntosh, Dr. Rogelio Saenz, and Dr. John J. McDermott. I am forever thankful for your participation and involvement in this project. Dr. McIntosh and Dr. McDermott are some of the most inspiring and caring professors I have encountered as a graduate student. These two men are saints. Over the years Dr. Mestrovic has become more than an advisor to being a tireless friend and a life mentor. I want to thank him for sharing with me all of his experiences as a war-crime expert witness in the preparation of this dissertation. More importantly, I want to thank Stjepan Mestrovic for sharing his life experiences along the way my own life journey. To all and all, many thanks. vii viii NOMENCLATURE AO Area of Operation AR 15-6 A formal or informal investigation in the U.S. Army ARTICLE 32 A military hearing roughly equivalent to a civilian grand jury BCCF BN Battalion ; an army unit consisting of about 800 soldiers CIC or CID United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, still known by the acronym for the Criminal Investigation Division CIA Central Intelligence Agency COIN Counter Insurgency COP Combat Outpost DHA Detainee Holding Area E-1 or PV1 Private; lowest U.S. Army enlisted rank; rank for recruits and soldier-prisoners E-2 or PV2 Private E-3 or PFC Private First Class E-4 or SPC Specialist; Not a non-commissioned officer rank E-4 or CPL Corporal; Lowest rank for non-commissioned officers E-5 or SGT Sergeant E-6 or SSG Staff Sergeant E-7 or SFC Sergeant First Class i vii ix E-8 or MSG Master Sergeant E-8 or 1SG First Sergeant; Highest ranking sergeant in a company of soldiers E-9 or SGM Sergeant Major EFP Explosively Formed Projectile or Explosively Formed Penetrator; a type of IED (see below) used in Iraq and Afghanistan against the U.S. military and capable of penetrating or destroying heavily armored vehicles FOB Forward Operating Base GTMO Guantánamo HMMWV High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle or Humvee ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IED Improvised Explosive Device; a homemade bomb usually planted roadside and used in Iraq and Afghanistan against U.S. military personnel and vehicles JAG Judge Advocate General's Corps; The military’s legal branch JOA Joint Operation Area MHAT Mental Health Advisory Team MI Military Intelligence MJ Military Judge MP Military Police MOS Military Occupational Specialty MWR Moral Welfare Recreation ix x NTC The National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California O-1 or 2LT Second Lieutenant; lowest U.S. Army commissioned officer rank O-2 or 1LT First Lieutenant O-3 or CPT Captain O-4 or MAJ Major O-5 or LTC Lieutenant Colonel O-6 or COL Colonel O-7 or BG Brigadier General OEF Operation Enduring Freedom; the U.S. war in Afghanistan OIF Operation Iraqi Freedom; the U.S. war in Iraq PANEL The rough equivalent of a jury in a civilian trial POW Prisoners of War PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PX Post Exchange RPG Rocket Propelled Grenade ROT Record of trial ROE Rules of Engagement S3 In a military staff, the officer in charge of intelligence, security, and information SBCT Stryker Brigade Combat Team SOP Standard Operating Procedure TC Trial counsel; the prosecutors in a court-martial x xi TDS U.S. Army Trial Defense Services; military defense lawyers within JAG UCMJ Uniform Code of Military Justice UN United Nations XO Executive Officer xi xii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... xii 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 Methodology .................................................................................................. 2 Problems in Interpreting War Crimes: A Selective Review of the Literature 5 General Outline .............................................................................................. 11 2. THE LONG WAR: A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE FOR WIDESPREAD PATTERNS OF MILITARY MISCONDUCT… ............................................... 15 The Geneva Conventions: A Reinterpretation .............................................. 15 The Abu Ghraib Scandals: A Scapegoating Narrative? ................................ 25 Additional Cases of Military Misconduct ..................................................... 35 Supplementary Testimonies .......................................................................... 40 3. THE SOCIAL BODY: THEORIES OF COOPERATION AND THE U.S MILITARY ......................................................................................................... 47 The Social Body: Struggling for Existence ..................................................