Leisure Perceptions of Combat Veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom

Framed within the Theory of Planned Behavior, researchers examined the relationship between military life, deployment, and leisure engagement. Following a constant comparative analytic framework, we transcribed and coded semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews with 10 combat veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and member check interviews. Twenty-five themes emerged from the interviews, 10 of which were unique to the combat veterans. Military life both facilitated leisure by creating opportunities and providing resources, as well as constrained it by creating impermanence and imposing structure. Themes emerged about negative influences of deployment on veterans, and about a general sense of appreciation during reintegration post-deployment. There appears to be dialectical tension between constraints and facilitators of leisure. Researchers found the theory of planned behavior to be useful in interpreting results and exploring strategies to improve the well-being of combat veterans.