Good Old Boy Network and Sexual Harassment in the Army
This paper examines how the entrenched "good old boy" network in the U.S. Army contributes to the persistence of sexual harassment despite decades of reform efforts. Through a systematic review of relevant literature, the paper traces the demographic composition of the Army's enlisted and officer ranks, documents the scope of reported sexual harassment and assault cases, and evaluates the effectiveness of existing policies such as the zero-tolerance standard. The paper also identifies promising solutions, including awareness training and survivor-centered education programs. It concludes that deep-rooted cultural norms tied to masculinity and military tradition continue to undermine institutional efforts to protect female soldiers.
- Introduction: Good old boy network fuels Army harassment problem
- Demographic Composition of the U.S. Army Today: Women's representation trends in enlisted and officer ranks
- Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Army: Scope and documented cases of military sexual harassment
- Possible Solutions to Sexual Harassment: Training, awareness programs, and policy recommendations
- Conclusion: Cultural barriers persist despite institutional reform efforts
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds its argument in concrete federal data — the DoD Annual Report figures give the analysis measurable weight rather than relying solely on anecdotal claims.
- Connects demographic trends (percentage of women in enlisted and officer ranks over time) directly to the conditions that allow harassment to persist, making the structural argument coherent.
- Moves logically from problem identification to documented solutions, providing a practical orientation that strengthens the paper's overall usefulness.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates systematic literature synthesis: it draws on legal definitions, government reports, peer-reviewed military journals, and institutional data sources, then integrates them into a single, coherent narrative rather than treating each source in isolation. This technique is characteristic of a literature review that aims to map a problem space rather than test a single hypothesis.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing introduction that defines the good old boy network and situates it within the Army's culture. It then presents demographic context before documenting the scope of the harassment problem with specific statistics. A third section evaluates current and proposed solutions. The conclusion synthesizes findings and reiterates the cultural barriers that make lasting reform difficult. This five-part structure is well-suited to a policy-oriented literature review at the undergraduate level.
Introduction
Many people in the public sector — especially women and minority members who face obstacles to career success — blame the so-called "good old boy" network for preventing outsiders from gaining access to certain occupations, disciplines, or political positions. These public-sector networks pale in comparison, however, to the male-dominated culture that exists in organizations such as the U.S. Army. Although significant progress has been made in encouraging women to enlist and even serve in combat roles in recent years, the lingering effects of the good old boy network — together with the prevalence of sexual harassment and the high-profile reports of these occurrences — have discouraged many women from pursuing a military career. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the relevant literature to explain the Army's sexual harassment problem and to identify some possible solutions. Following this review, a summary of the research and important findings concerning sexual harassment in the U.S. Army are provided in the conclusion.
References
Black's law dictionary. (1990). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company.
Demographics of the U.S. military. (2020, July 12). Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved from
Ferguson, K. H. (2015, March/April). Can trust be restored? Military Review, 95(2), 26–30.
Sexual assault/sexual harassment in the military. (2020). Psychological Health Center of Excellence. Retrieved from https://www.pdhealth.mil/clinical-guidance/sexual-assaultsexual-harassment.
Stewart, J. N. (2019, April 26). Department of Defense fiscal year 2018 annual report on sexual assault in the military. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense. Retrieved from https://www.sapr.mil/sites/default/files/DoD_Annual_Report_on_Sexual_Assault_in_the_Military.pdf.
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