Lt Gen Kamal Davar says... India and the new geopolitical churnings

According to the WHO, this virus still exists in many parts of the globe in some form or the other. After the end of the Cold War in the early 90s, the global geopolitical and geo-economic divide, consequent to the ongoing Russo-Ukraine War, has never been so harshly polarised. [...]it is pertinent to note what President Xi had spoken recently in the National People's Congress stating that he will endeavour to "more quickly elevating the armed forces to world-class standards-and make it a great wall of steel." Importantly, for decades, India does carry some moral authority with itself with its foreign policy based on the Nehruvian concept of nonalignment now aptly called 'strategic autonomy' which has been long respected by the 'third world' now referred to as the 'global south'.

A/Moral Divide: Questions for an Asian American Studies Research Paradigm

Research for the community ultimately aims to effect social change. Transpacific studies offers an analysis about global power, war and colonial presence, and unequal exchanges between nations that explores the transnational ties of Asian Americans.11 For instance, Laura Kina and Wei Ming Dariotis's work examines the intersection of American empire and the racialized/gendered representations of mixed-race Amerasians. The promise of transpacific studies and critical refugee studies is that they not only assess the traumas, needs, and conditions of Asian American communities, but they also examine the subjectivities, hopes, and futures of migrants and refugees as active, creative agents themselves.14 For example, transpacific scholar Wesley Ueunten writes about resistance to the construction of an American military base in Okinawa: Old people, as old and tiny as my Baban [grandmother] in my memories of her, have come to sit on the beach every day in quiet but unrelenting resistance to American Manifest Destiny and Japanese fatalistic dependency on that Destiny. In theory then, the genealogical and discursive analyses of transpacific studies and critical refugee studies would shed light on how we view social realities, and illuminate what's often missing in the analysis of these concepts.

Ambulatory Care Nursing in the Military

Selection to become a Navy nurse begins with meeting certain qualifications and requirements, which include a degree from a 4-year university, age between 18 and 41, currently licensed, willing to serve 3 years Active Duty, and in good physical condition (Navy Recruiting Command, n.d.). [...]I reported to my current duty station, US Naval Hospital Naples, where I serve on the Board of Directors as the Director for Healthcare Business. In this role, I serve as a specialty subject matter expert and provide expert advice to Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and Nurse Corps Chief.

The Geopolitics of Anti-Asian Violence: Cold War Contradictions In the Era of "Building Back Better"

In this formulation, the US-ROK Alliance—what the State Department deems the "linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity" in the region—stands not as a form of military occupation or imperial clientelism, but one of righteous defense from regional bogeyman such as the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).3 The endemic violence of US militarism—from sexual exploitation in military "camptowns" to the extralegal status of US servicemen—is rendered a mere footnote to a program of liberal internationalism which claims to preside over what the US military euphemistically terms a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific. "4 Blinken's easy distinction between the singular act of the Atlanta shootings and the routinized violence of US imperialism speaks to the contradictions at the heart of the Biden administration's aspiration to restore both racial liberalism and global US power.5 Since the campaign trail, platitudes about restoring global US leadership have made up the core of the Biden administration's foreign policy platform. [...]Biden pitched his presidency as a means to reinstate the era of racial liberalism in order to "restore the soul of the nation" from the crude racism of the Trump era.7 Asian /Americans have been cast to perform the work of legitimation under the intersecting projects of racial liberalism and US hegemony—from the symbolic inclusion of Asian /Americans into the US national body to the incorporation of allied Asian states into a US-led orbit of militarized peace.8 On the one hand, Asian /Americans have become a performative symbol of a reascendant racial liberalism. What does it mean, then, in a region still shaped by Cold War imperialism, to proclaim that "America is back," as Kamala Harris did on her first trip to Asia as Vice President in August 2021?13 Even more, how do we make sense of the declaration of a "new" Cold War, emerging as it does from the unfinished business of an "old" Cold War that never ended?

Ambulatory visits, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2021

The aggregate numbers and rates of ambulatory care visits by active component service members in 2021 were the highest of the previous ten years. Most disease and injury categories experienced slight increases in both rates and numbers. From 19% of ambulatory care visits in 2020 to less than 15% in 2021, telehealth contacts were used less frequently. The statistics for 2021 demonstrate a return to pre-pandemic levels, notwithstanding the possibility that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was related with declines in the incidence of disease and injury diagnoses in the community of service members seeking ambulatory care. Additionally, the proportions of telehealth-delivered medical encounters have similarly decreased to the lower levels seen before the pandemic. Lessons learned may direct future actions to lower the frequency of disease and harm in the post-pandemic era. This study details the ambulatory health care visits made by active component members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps in 2020 in terms of frequency, rates, trends, and other factors. U.S. service members' ambulatory visits to fixed military and nonmilitary medical treatment facilities (reimbursed through the Military Health System [MHS]) are recorded in standardized, computerized records. The Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS), the data source for this report, routinely archives these records for health surveillance purposes. This research excludes ambulatory visits that are not frequently and fully recorded using standardized electronic records (for example, during deployments, field training exercises, or at sea). As in previous MSMR reports, the primary (first-listed) diagnostic position of the visit records was used to categorize all records of ambulatory visits of active component service members according to the first four characters of the ICD-10 codes. In this research, a specific query of the DMSS records was carried out to identify ambulatory visits that were completed via "telehealth" encounters rather than in-person meetings (e.g., via telephone or video conferencing). Most data summaries included both types of encounters and did not make a distinction between them, however due to the rise in telehealth encounter usage during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, changes in the proportions of telehealth encounters were examined.

Volunteering behaviours among UK military Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic and associations with health and well-being

LAY SUMMARYThe COVID-19 pandemic influenced ways in which individuals volunteered and created barriers for participation because of differing restrictions. The research assessing how Veterans volunteer is limited, but there may be aspects of military culture that encourage service to others. The authors investigated volunteering among UK Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic and what factors made Veterans more or less likely to volunteer. The study found that 60% of Veterans had volunteered in the past 12 months, a level similar to that among the UK general population. Overall, Veterans volunteered more often through formal organizations rather than on an informal basis, such as helping individuals such as neighbours. However, in relative terms, levels of formal volunteering decreased and levels of informal volunteering increased during the pandemic. Veterans were more likely to volunteer if they were officers or to increase volunteering if they felt lonely. Veterans who reduced volunteering were more likely to have mental health problems. Understanding volunteering among Veterans may open up more opportunities for participation. Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic facilitated new methods of and motivations for volunteering and created barriers to participation through social restrictions and lockdowns. The research assessing the volunteering behaviours of ex-service personnel (Veterans) is limited;however, as a group they may be more likely to volunteer because of aspects of military culture that encourage pro-social behaviours. The authors investigated levels of formal and informal volunteering among UK Veterans during the pandemic, factors associated with volunteering, and whether the pandemic affected Veterans' volunteering behaviours. Methods: An additional wave of data was collected from a longitudinal cohort study of the UK Armed Forces through an online survey conducted from June to September 2020. Participants were included if they had left the armed forces after regular service and were living in the United Kingdom. Invitation emails were sent to 3,547 Veterans, with a 44% response rate (N = 1,562). Results: Overall, 60% of Veterans reported volunteering in the past 12 months. Of those who volunteered, 41% reported formal volunteering, and 44% reported informal volunteering. Veterans reported reducing formal volunteering because of the pandemic (45%), but they also reported increasing informal volunteering (66%). Discussion: During the pandemic, UK Veterans volunteered at a level similar to the UK general population. They reported higher levels of formal volunteering and lower levels of informal volunteering compared with the UK general population. Understanding who among Veterans is likely to engage in volunteering could support future strategies to engage volunteers and open more opportunities for participation.

Ssessment of post-vaccination collective immunity against new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) among servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian Federation

The recent vaccination campaign targeting the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) carried out in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, on the background of the current unstable global pandemic situation, makes it necessary to study post-vaccination population immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and thus identify key features of immunity in organized military collectives. In the future, this will make it possible to objectively assess the risks of a worsening pandemic situation, effectively adjust the ongoing sanitary and anti-epidemic measures aimed at preserving and strengthening the health of military personnel, as one of the main conditions for maintaining the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. During a study conducted on epidemic indications, it was found that vaccination with Gam-Covid-Vac contributes to the formation of collective immunity with 95% effectiveness. A gender-based analysis of the immune response showed that the proportion of persons who lack class G immunoglobulins to SARS-CoV-2 among females is twice than that among men (9.3% and 4.7%, respectively). Seroprevalence indicators, classified by blood group, range from 94.4% (AB (IV) Rh-) to 97.4% (A (II) Rh-). There were no significant differences in seroprevalence between groups of people with different blood groups;however, the highest value of seroprevalence was seen among military personnel with blood group A (II) Rh-. In this context, it is advisable to continue monitoring the formation of immunity in individuals with various blood groups. The results obtained made it possible to form a primary medical and social "portrait" of a serviceman with the most adequate immune response to the introduction of the Gam-Covid-Vac vaccine (a man under the age of 20 with blood type A (II) Rh-) and to draw a conclusion about the high effectiveness of vaccination in military units (formations) staffed by conscripts and military educational organizations.

U.S. SINGAPORE RELATIONS *

Though geographically only about three times the size of Washington, DC, and with a population of about 5.9 million, the city-state of Singapore exerts economic and diplomatic influence on par with much larger countries. Its stable government, strong economic performance, educated citizenry, and strategic position along key shipping lanes afford it a large role in regional and global affairs. For the United States, Singapore has been a partner in both trade and security initiatives and an advocate of a strong U.S. role in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, Singapore's leaders have aimed to maintain close relations with China, and to maintain positive ties with all regional powers.

The Ukraine-Russia War and Its Implications for Philippine Foreign Policy: Pushing Further to a Limited Hard Balancing Policy towards China

This article examines the impact of the Ukraine-Russia War on Philippine foreign policy. It observes that Russia's invasion of Ukraine created the widespread idea that China might emulate its strategic partner on how to deal with an irredentist claim by using force against Taiwan. This alarmed the Duterte Administration at the time it was shifting policy towards China from appeasement to limited hard balancing. This policy aims to constrain China's maritime expansion in the South China Sea by building up the Philippine military's external defence capabilities, maintaining its alliance with the United States, and making security arrangements with other middle powers like South Korea, Japan, and Australia. The outbreak of the Ukraine-Russian War further pushed the Duterte administration to this policy of limited hard balancing towards China. This was shown by President Duterte's decision to strengthen the country's security relations with the U.S. In conclusion, the article notes that the current Marcos Administration has followed its predecessor's footsteps in applying a policy of limited hard balancing policy towards the revisionist powers in the 20th century.

Masking morality in the making: how China's anti-epidemic promotional videos present facemask as a techno-moral mediator

The spread of Covid-19 has made facemask a critical artifact for people all over the world. Mediating between (non-)wearers and their environment, facemask makes people aware of a set of morally relevant distinctions and sometimes forces decisions on them. In fact, the semiotics of "facemask in use” largely shapes the parameters for human practice and experience in the epidemic. Drawing on the techno-moral mediation concept [Verbeek, 2008. "Obstetric Ultrasound and the Technological Mediation of Morality: A Postphenomenological Analysis.” Human Studies 31 (1): 11–26], we explore how anti-epidemic promotional videos released by Chinese authorities build facemask-related narratives in the Covid-19 epidemic. Findings reveal that "facemask in use” links people's "smaller love” for family to a "bigger love” for Chinese people in general;transforms an individual to member of a large group of commoner-turned-protectors;or marks the military's loyalty and obedience to the Party-State, which makes possible the "Chinese speed” in saving lives. We add to extant literature by unraveling an entanglement between the moralization of facemask-wearing and China's traditional values, social institutions and media newsroom culture about disaster coverage. This scrutiny into the "face-masking morality in the making” implies that the power to frame the cultural significance of facemask induces an alternative mode of techno-moral change, which may outlast the epidemic itself.

Policymaking and liberty restrictions in the Covid-19 crisis, the case of France

This chapter analyzes the legislative and policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic in France. It aims at assessing how the French policymakers adapted to the pandemic in terms of regulation and policymaking. The chapter relies on the cross-referencing of ongoing findings from two research projects financed by the French National research Agency, the first one, "ANR Army," on the role of the armies in the "war" against the coronavirus and its perception by the population. The second research project, "ANR Localex" focuses on local and regional normative dynamics. It then analyzes the nature of the exceptional legislative framework in place at the national level, in light of the use by the French government of the armed forces to help manage the crisis, in a context where the involvement of military forces domestically is extremely regulated. The chapter also analyzes the normative dynamics at other levels of legislative and policymaking. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Organisational Psychology of Ethical Military Leadership during Times of Crisis: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article sheds light on the positive impact of ethical leaders on their subordinates' behaviours during times of crisis. The article focuses on the turbulent and abrupt changes taking place in military external operating environments which could negatively affect military personnel's mental health and psychological wellbeing. Pandemics and humanitarian crises are an example of such external environmental turbulences. These environmental turbulences are explored from an organisational perspective, under which they are viewed as a form of organisational change associated with a psychological uncertainty that has a negative impact on individuals. This uncertainty must be treated wisely by military leaders in all sectors of the armed forces in order to manage resistance to change and to prevent the negative psychological consequences that could be generated by such uncertainty. This article thus analyses ethical military leadership as a means to addressing the negative psychological consequences caused by change uncertainty in difficult times. It explores the terms change, change uncertainty, and ethical leadership. Various recommendations are made in the discussion section to facilitate the organisational process of implementing ethical leadership across all organisational levels of the armed forces.

POLISH TERRITORIAL DEFENCE FORCES AND INNOVATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC THE ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL OF A MIXED TYPE FORCE IN NON-MILITARY CRISIS RESPONSE

Innovation can be understood in multiple ways. It can be seen as big breakthroughs and the introduction of entirely new inventions or as small, incremental changes introduced to existing products, processes, or solutions. Innovation can also be considered as a capability or a characteristic of individuals and organisations. It is viewed as one of the desired (if not crucial) aspects of functioning in a complex environment. This also refers to the armed forces and their activities during war and in response to crises. One of the biggest changes in the Polish Armed Forces in the second decade of the 21st century was the establishment of the Territorial Defence Forces (TDF), a mixed service comprising volunteer and full-time soldiers. This article aims to assess the innovative potential as well as the potential for innovation of such a mixed type of force in non-military crisis response by reviewing the key characteristics and actions carried out by the TDF.

High Unemployment and the Armed Forces: The Costs and Benefits of Recruiting Military Personnel in Norway

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the subsequent non-pharmaceutical interventions by governments to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus, and adjusted consumer behaviors have resulted in high unemployment rates worldwide. In this paper, we explore whether the Norwegian Armed Forces can exploit this period of high unemployment to strengthen security and defense in Norway while increasing the job opportunities for young individuals in a difficult labor market. Before the pandemic, the Norwegian government had planned to gradually increase the number of personnel in the armed forces. Hence, an expedited recruitment strategy may improve welfare. We calculate the costs and benefits to Norwegian society of a strategy that exploits the hike in unemployment rates to recruit new personnel to the armed forces at a faster rate. We find that the expedited recruitment strategy will likely provide net benefits to society if the unemployed have a fair chance of being employed. However, we stress that there must be a real need for higher defense spending, it is difficult to estimate the economic value of defense production, and there may be a trade-off between the goals of labor market policies and those of defense policies. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Defence & Peace Economics is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Panel 19, Number 9, East: In Memoriam to Larry Insel

The author on his first trip to Washington, DC, in 1993, squeezed in a day of sightseeing between his meetings and conferences. When the author came upon the Vietnam War Memorial, he was suddenly seized with the urge to find the name of a long-lost high school friend, Larry. This poem came to him as he sat in the Metro train, making his way back to the hotel outside Baltimore. The author scribbled it on the back of an envelope. The Vietnam Era shaped the author's life. Because of the lottery, the author and his friends struggled to find ways to avoid fighting a war they didn't believe in. Larry's decision to join the armed forces early on stood in contrast to the angst and struggles the rest of our close friends experienced. The author's sense of loss during the Vietnam War years echoes today's COVID-19 era tragedy. Then and now, there are so many losses: not just relatives and friends, but also the loss of a unified voice of comfort in the face of profound polarities, the persistent lack of civility in public discourse, and the uncertainty-and at times terror-that we all collectively face. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Transferable Resilience Practices: Communication and Resilience of U.S. Military Spouses during the Initial Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study uses the communication theory of resilience as a sensitizing framework to explore how U.S. military spouses transferred resilience practices acquired during military deployment to early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from 27 in-depth interviews with U.S. military spouses showed that the military experience shaped participants' appraisal of the pandemic and helped them to discursively enact resilience through previously developed practices. Six major themes emerged: (a) crafting normalcy through the military lifestyle and experience;(b) affirming identity through military anchors;(c) invoking military mantras as alternative logics;(d) foregrounding productive action through flexibility and planning;(e) maintaining communication networks through (i) technology, (ii) family and community support, and (iii) intentional communication with partner;and (f) downplaying negative feelings by generating positive emotions. Findings contribute to the communication theory of resilience by showing how individuals with a history of resilience can transfer already-built resilience practices from one context (deployment) to another (COVID-19).

Domestic Military Deployments in Response to COVID-19

Militaries are commonly deployed in response to domestic disasters. However, our understanding of this phenomenon remains incomplete, partly because the particulars of disasters make it hard to generalize about deployments used in response. This article leverages the COVID-19 pandemic's global reach to systematically evaluate common hypotheses about when and how militaries are used to respond to domestic disasters. It presents original global data about domestic military deployments in pandemic response and uses it to assess common theoretical expectations about what shapes whether and how militaries are used in such contexts. The results suggest that decisions about whether to deploy militaries stem from the securitization of domestic disaster relief rather than being responses to specific disaster-related features, state capacity shortcomings, or other social or political factors, even as some of these elements shaped how militaries were used. The article concludes by outlining some hypotheses for future research about the impact of this securitization on civil–military relations.

The role of career development in ensuring effective quality management of training

Orientation: It is widely acknowledged that career development needs to be viewed as a critical element by organisations to capacitate employees and contribute to organisational success. The role of career development in capacitating leaders to ensure effective quality management (QM) of training is not well known. Research purpose: This research aimed to investigate officers in corps training units' perceptions regarding the role of career development in managing the quality of training in the South African (SA) Army. Motivation for the study: Limited research exists concerning the career development of leaders responsible for the QM of training internationally and nationally. This study intended to fill the gap. Research design and method: Qualitative focus group interviews were conducted using a sample comprising 49 officers at six SA Army corps training units. Main findings: The appointment of unqualified and incompetent leaders in critical positions, lack of continuity in the staffing of personnel, the appointment of incompetent personnel in training positions and the lack of mentors and opportunities for mentoring of officers adversely affected the QM of training in the SA Army. Practical/managerial implications: There is a need for leaders in the SA Army to ensure that career development strategies are adequately planned and managed in the training context. This will ensure that leaders with adequate potential are appointed and developed to guarantee high-quality training. Contribution/value-add: This research provided an empirical description of the role that career development plays in the organisational system to ensure adequate QM of training.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian Armed Forces Veterans who live with chronic pain

Introduction: Chronic pain is more prevalent in military Veterans than in the general population. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans living with chronic pain is unknown. This study compared the impact of the pandemic and public health measures on Canadian Veterans and non-Veterans. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted across Canada. Participants (n = 3,159) were adults with chronic pain recruited from April to May 2020. Seventy-six participants reported having formerly served in the CAF and were pair-matched with non-Veterans. Results: CAF Veteran participants' mean age was 55.1 (standard deviation = 9.6) years;50.0% were female. Over 60% lived with chronic pain for > 10 years. Two thirds of Veterans (67.1%) reported worsened pain since pandemic onset, and 44.7% experienced moderate to severe psychological distress. This was comparable to the non-Veteran group (63.2%, p = 0.61;35.5%, p = 0.25), and no differences were found between female and male Veterans (p = 0.22, p = 0.36). Percentages of participants reporting changes in pharmacological pain treatments because of the pandemic were similar in CAF Veterans (14.9%) and non-Veterans (13.3%) (p = 0.68). Over 50% of Veterans modified their physical/psychological pain treatments due to the pandemic, compared with 45.3% of non-Veterans (p = 0.24). Discussion: Pain deterioration, psychological distress, and pain treatment changes were observed in CAF Veterans living with chronic pain during the COVID-19 pandemic, as was the case in non-Veterans. These results will help develop interventions to adequately face pandemic waves to come and future health crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (French) Introduction : La prevalence de la douleur chronique est plus elevee chez les veterans que dans la population en general. La mesure dans laquelle la pandemie de COVID-19 a touche les veterans des Forces armees canadiennes (FAC) souffrant de douleur chronique n'est pas connue. La presente etude compare l'impact de la pandemie et des mesures de sante publique chez des veterans et des non-veterans canadiens. Methodologie : Une etude transversale en ligne a ete effectuee partout au Canada. Les participants (n = 3 159) etaient des adultes vivant avec de la douleur chronique, recrutes en avril et en mai 2020. Soizante-seize participants ont indique avoir servi dans les FAC et ont ete apparies avec des non-veterans. Resultats : L'age moyen des participants veterans FAC etait de 55,1 ans (ecart-type = 9,6);50 % etaient des femmes. Plus de 60 % d'entre eux vivaient avec de la douleur chronique depuis plus de 10 ans. Deux tiers des veterans (67,1 %) ont indique que leur douleur s'etait aggravee depuis le debut de la pandemie et 44,7 % ont ressenti de la detresse psychologique moderee a grave. Ces pourcentages sont comparables a ceux observes chez le groupe de non-veterans (63,2 %, p =0,61 ;35,5 %, p = 0,25) et aucune difference n'a ete notee entre les veterans masculins et feminins (p = 0,22, p = 0,36). Les pourcentages de participants rapportant des changements dans leurs traitements pharmacologiques pour la douleur, en raison de la pandemie, etaient semblables chez les veterans des FAC (14,9 %) et les non-veterans (13,3 %) (p = 0,68). Plus de 50 % des veterans ont modifie leurs traitements physiques/psychologiques pour la douleur en raison de la pandemie, comparativement a 45,3 % des non-veterans (p = 0,24). Discussion : Une intensification de la douleur, de la detresse psychologique et des modifications apportees aux traitements de la douleur ont ete observees pendant la pandemie de COVID-19 chez les veterans des FAC qui vivent avec la douleur chronique comme c'etait le cas chez les non-veterans. Ces resultats aideront a mettre au point des interventions qui permettront de faire face de facon adequate aux prochaines vagues de la pandemie et a de futures crises sanitaires. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Chronic pain is more frequent in military Veterans than in the general population. The objective of this study was to assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic has had a greater impact on Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans who live with chronic pain compared to non-Veterans. An online survey of Canadian adults with chronic pain was conducted between April and May 2020;76 respondents reported having formerly served in the CAF and were compared with 76 similar non-Veterans. About two thirds of the Veterans had been living with chronic pain for longer than 10 years. Two thirds reported worsened pain since the pandemic began. Nearly half experienced moderate to severe psychological distress. These changes were similar to those in non-Veterans with chronic pain. A significant number of Veterans and non-Veterans changed their pain treatments due to the pandemic. In summary, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restriction measures did not have a greater impact in CAF Veterans with chronic pain compared with non-Veterans. However, changes in chronic pain supports are needed to be better prepared for COVID-19 waves to come and future health crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

COVID and Cognitive Warfare in Taiwan

In this study, we examine China's cognitive warfare coordinated with military air operations during the COVID pandemic in Taiwan. In May 2021, Taiwan experienced its first novel coronavirus outbreak with up to 500 daily cases. The Chinese government launched a series of coordinated "cognitive warfare” campaigns targeting Taiwan in addition to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) frequent air force incursions into Taiwan's air zone. Meanwhile, through manipulation of the vaccine supply, China turned COVID vaccine into a political issue in Taiwan involving multiple players including pharmaceutical developers, tech giants, and local politicians. Combining multiple sources of data, we analyze the Chinese Government's orchestrated cognitive and information warfare (IW) efforts targeted at influencing the Taiwan public's trust in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government as well as its home-developed vaccine. Identifying the patterns of influencing using cognitive and IW, we found China's ultimate goal was to instill skepticism and confusion in Taiwan's public about the President Tsai Ing-wen's health policy and more generally undermine the creditability of the DPP government.