Soldiers - before and after deployment

The purpose of this report is to describe Danish soldiers’ motivation before and after deployment, as well as the consequences of deployment for soldiers in terms of their financial situation and criminal behaviour.
The main conclusions of the report are:
1. Soldiers change their motivation after deployment: Before soldiers are deployed their reasons for deployment are largely ideological; they want to do something good for others. When soldiers return home their motivation is more directed at themselves, e.g. income and personal development.
2. Deployed soldiers have lower net debt and higher disposable income than a comparable control group.
3. Deployed soldiers do not become more criminal after deployment, and generally, crime rates among deployed soldiers are lower than in the control group.