The regular-service myth.

Abstract

This study of the formation and continuity of an artificial group, the regular Army and Navy, indicates some of the psychosociological reasons why certain individuals and their families cling to the regular-service myth and cherish and promote it. Certain intragroup institutional influences impede the normal maturation of the regular-service personality. These institutional forces are (I) kinship, (2) tradition, (3) occupation, and (4), most important of all, individual gains in security. The genesis of the regular-service myth is to be found in the service academies. This myth is promoted by all members of the regular establishment. Upon the success of this indoctrination depends the strength of the group.