Browsing by Author "Smit, H. A. P."

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    Developing military environmental literacy in the South African Army through a dedicated military environmental management course
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2020) Smit, H. A. P.
    It is important for soldiers to be military environmentally literate to prevent unacceptable behaviour in the environment in which they conduct their missions. This is especially true during peacekeeping and disaster relief mission, but holds equally true for combat situations. Military environmental literacy is the nature and level of the attitude toward, knowledge about, and behaviour in and toward the environment in which the military operates. The construct of military environmental literacy (MEL) consists of three components, military environmental attitude (a general feeling of favour or disfavour toward the military environment, i.e. the environment in which the military operates), military environmental knowledge (the ability to identify a number of concepts and behaviour patterns related to the military environment, i.e. the environment in which the military operates), and military environmental behaviour (a demonstration of how one acts toward or in the military environment in which the military operates). The MEL of South African Army soldiers were measured in a study reported on in 2017, as well as in a test-retest survey in 2018. A specially developed valid and reliable questionnaire to test military environmental literacy was used in both surveys. This article argues that exposing soldiers to a dedicated military environmental management course can positively influence their military environmental literacy.
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    Military environmental literacy in the South African Army
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2018) Smit, H. A. P.; Van der Merwe, J. H.
    Traditional military activities, such as fighting wars, are inherently destructive. Modern militaries undertake a diverse range of military activities, use large areas for military training and operational purposes, and are confronted with a global focus on environmentally responsible behaviour. These conditions compel militaries to ensure that soldiers display the correct attitude toward, behaviour in and knowledge about the diverse physical, social and cultural environments they occupy and on which they have an effect. Globally, and in South Africa, this is not only a moral obligation but a legal imperative too. The aim of this article is to report on the military environmental literacy (MEL) (attitude, behaviour and knowledge regarding the environment in which the military operate) of the members of the South African Army (SA Army). To achieve this aim, existing environmental questionnaires were evaluated to ascertain their suitability for use in an SA Army context. None of them was usable to appraise MEL in a SA Army context effectively. Consequently, an iterative process was initiated to develop a tailor-made, valid, reliable and organisation-specific questionnaire to assess MEL in the SA Army.