Chapter 7: Homecoming Soldiers: A ‘before-and-after’ Analysis of Motivations, Financial Situation and Criminality

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the motivations of Danish soldiers before and after deployment, as well as to investigate the consequences of the deployment for the soldiers’ finances and criminal behaviour.

We first examine what motivates soldiers before and after deployment. Then, we investigate (any) changes in their financial situation and (any) criminal behaviour and compare these results with those of a control group that has not been deployed. The three themes – motivation, finances and criminality – cover a wide selection of possible changes in the soldiers’ status, changes that may result directly from their deployment. Motivation is an important element that can reveal both who the deployed are and why they choose to be sent on an international military mission. Moreover, the analysis can provide insight into how motivation changes when a soldier is sent on a single mission, as opposed to several missions. The motivational analysis leads to a broader understanding of what it meant to be deployed in 2011 and how far soldiers’ expectations were met when they returned home.