Transitioning from the Out Date: Information Seeking Behavior of Junior Enlisted Army Veterans of Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2013

Keywords

veteran, information seeking behavior

Abstract

This thesis is an exploratory study of the information seeking behavior of junior enlisted United States Army veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF and OEF). During this study, 25 qualitative interviews were conducted with veterans residing in the vicinity of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Veterans in this study discussed their experiences with the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP), the Veterans Affairs Office, non-profit agencies, and extended families as primary sources of information during and after transition using their reported expiration of term of service (ETS) or “out date” as a frame of reference. Most services focused on assisting veterans rely on the date of ETS to schedule appointments and services; this date for the majority of veterans of OIF and OEF in this study refers to their ETS date as “out date.” The types of information that the veterans sought prior to transition and currently seek were discussed and compared to analyze their information seeking behavior and how it changes as veterans seek to contextualize and make sense of their place in the civilian world.

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