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Limited Choice: An Exploratory Study into Issue Items and Soldier Subjective Well-Being

Management School and Economics, the University of Edinburgh, EH8 9JY, United Kingdom, d.w.marshall{at}ed.ac.uk

Herbert L. Meiselman

U.S. Army Natick Soldier Centre, Natick, MA 01760, Herbert.Meiselman{at}natick.army.mil

The article considers the role of institutional provision in the U.S. Army and the contribution of issue clothing and equipment to the subjective well-being of the soldier. It draws on focus groups undertaken with servicemen and servicewomen in the U.S. Army and their experiences as users with issue clothing and equipment. The article considers the ways in which broader macroconsumption experiences affect soldiers’ quality of life and highlights the extent to which individual well-being is highly regulated by the institution and the collective interests. It illustrates the limited sovereignty of the soldier and argues for a more inclusive and cooperative policy to clothing and equipping soldiers as a means of improving their well-being.

Key Words: quality of life • subjective well-being • soldier • public sector • issue clothing

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