James G. Daley is known for his enthusiasm in writing books regarding the military affairs. It has been his main aim in writing that the military image, especially that of America to regain their considerable reputation in the society in becoming not as mere “war agents” but also as agents of human interest who in many ways try to provide the needs of the society and their families the best way that they could.
Daley is also known for his outmost concern for the society and how their needs are being attended to by those who are in charge of particularly taking position in giving and performing the said responsibilities towards the human society. He writes regularly as a columnist in several bulletins and has a constant release of books with regards human society welfare and the military forces. Among the books he wrote include “The Military Family: A Practice Guide for Human Service Providers’ and the “Social Work Practice in the Military”. These books, particularly that of the Social Work Practice highlights the responsibility vested upon the shoulders of the soldiers to take care of the welfare of the society including their families in time of distress and adversaries. To know more about this written work, it would be helpful to understand its primary effects to the social work of military men through reviewing its contents and the way it has been presented by the author himself.
About the Book
Social Work Practice in Military pertains to the impact of the social work that the military men provide the human society. It is a social work integrated book that discusses the involvement of the military men within the practices of social assistance programs. It has been divided into four parts of discussion which are also subdivided into 21 paragraphs of complete description of the situations that the military group of men had to face to be able to achieve their aim of providing not only protection but also social work to the ordinary people of the community. Most likely, the book has been written in a way that it would feature the different essays of different authors pertaining to the different issues that the book particularly discusses. The summarization of the essays and the comments of Daley on the issues that they have primarily given clarity to, certainly adds up to the validation and the authority of the informations presented in this particular reading material.
Summary and Content
As mentioned earlier, the book is divided into four parts which are considerably (I) The History of Military social Work; (II) Practice Arenas; (III) Unique Issues of Military Social Work; (IV) Future Direction of Military Social Work. These divisions are designed to host the discussions of the subdivisions namely the 21 chapters that have been presented to be able to discuss the important issues in focus.
Part one: The History of the Military Social Work talks about the procedures of establishing the different social work sections within the three major branches of military practice which include the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. These major sections of Military Forces have not been involved in any social work n the past. Instead, the non-government groups such as the Red Cross and other psychiatric assistance groups are the ones accompanying the military groups in their activities of reaching out to the communities especially those that are affected by wars or natural disasters at that. However, when the head officers of the military groups of the American region realized that they are capable of assisting the community through their own efforts, the Military social work divisions have been gradually established and strengthened by the regulations and policies that govern the said military divisions. This enabled the military force to perform a widened scope of duty to the community other than simply giving protection to the human community in time of adversaries.
The second part discusses the different divisions of the military social work activities. The said divisions include the family advocacy programs, the tricare environmental programs; abuse programs, medical social work, mental health assistance, combat and non-combat operational programs; and policy practices. The said divisions could be observed to have different focuses of assistance to the human society. The assistance primarily includes medical issues and family empowerment. The programs of the social work handled by military men are particularly designed to help their families who are not with them most of the time, more than that it also helps the whole human community in meeting the different challenges of life that are at times worsened by meeting the hardest situations brought about by health problems and natural disasters at that. Most military social works are done to help low-leveled communities face the challenges of living in a much more civilized human society.
Part three and Part four particularly hosts the discussion on the different issues that are developed by several sectors of the society questioning the ethical application of the military social work activities within the human community. Along with this, the impact of the said issues on the future situations that face the military social works are also discussed to clarify the reputation of the military men who are aiming to simply assist the human society with the challenges that it faces.
Thesis and Theme
As it could be observed, the main reason for writing this reading material is to primarily help the society understand the reality of the impact of military social work to the human communities. The author particularly aimed to help the readers understand the importance of military social work application and how it should be viewed by ordinary people in the society. The constant giving of high regard for the efforts of the military men in dealing with the hardest adversaries that the human society faces has also been one of the most important messages that have been pointed out in this particular book.
Most likely, Daley, the author, intended to show the truth behind the mission of the military men in establishing the social work division of the three different groups of military armies in the United States as well as with the military groups around the world.
Another important part of the book pertains to the sacrifice that the military men faces in helping the society get the best possible services that the army could provide them with. They are commissioned to stay far away from their families to be able to render service to those who are much in need of their help. Although this particular responsibility is not that easy to accept, they do not hesitate in assisting others in the best way they could. According to Daley, this sacrifice of time and effort should indeed be a cause of giving considerable respect to the military forces that they are due.
Why the Book was written
Not many people see the importance of the implication of military social work within the growing human society. Most likely, not everyone is able to identify the fact that the people who are affected by the military social services are indeed becoming more aware of the efforts that the military forces put forward for them. Enlightening the society with regards the heroic acts of the military force which have been unspoken about for how many years, according to Daley, is one of the most important reasons why the Military men should be given exceptional respect and acknowledgement.
Comparison and Contrast with Other Books
Incorporating other author’s thought within the discussion of the issue primarily makes this particular book different from that of other reading materials that also pertain to Military activities. The implications of the authors that help clarify the discussion procedures regarding social work that is provided by the military force makes this book a more reliable source of information. The scholarly approach of Daley in summarizing the thoughts of the authors in discussing the different issues of military social work activities application certainly gives a strong reputation to this reading material.
Daley’s book certainly separates itself from other military social work discussions through the use of a more authoritative approach in presenting the data about the said issue with the help of the ideas borrowed form other writers. The integrated views of different observers of the military activities have set a strong difference of the book from other published materials regarding the military social work engagements.
Critique and Analysis
The scholarly approach and the clarified discussions that could be read in Daley’s book certainly allows it to become one of the most reliable text for students who are trying to know the basics of military social work and how they are done to actually affect the lives of the people within the human society. The clarity of the explanation on how the mission of the military force on protecting the society applies to the social work that they provide the communities indeed serves as an effective way of discussing the issues of military social work to people who have lesser familiarity with the activities of the military men.
The limited use of technical military terms makes this text an easy to read material. Readers of the said book would surely learn much about the military social work assistance provisions and thus be enlightened in understanding the main theme of the book. Consequently, once the enlightenment happens, the respect and acknowledgment of the sacrifice and efforts of the military forces in completing their missions to the human community shall be well encouraged and later on applied by the larger part of the human society.
Overall Reaction
Overall, the book of Daley is a complete discussion on how the military social work has started, how it has been applied through the years, and how it is supposed to develop in the future. The discussion of the different views of social work enthusiasts regarding the issues that concern the work of the military men in providing what the society primarily needs helps in the development of the understanding of the readers regarding the situation that the military forces face.
Understanding the military force’s mission closely shall help the society recognize the need of acknowledging the hard work of the military men. Their integrity in completing their appointed tasks whether it may cause them to sacrifice different aspects of their lives shall indeed be recognized by the society upon reading his particular material of intimate learning regarding the inner reasons of applying the military social work procedures.
