The American Psychological Association (APA) has many different divisions in order to increase the available research on human behavior. Division 19 of the APA is the Society for Military Psychology. This division encourages both the research and application of psychological research to problems experienced specifically by military personal. The membership consists of military psychologists who serve the military in various functions including research activities, providing mental health services, advising senior military commands and working with various Congressional committees.
Because of the diverse requirements of the military the psychologists who are members of Division 19 represent a diverse population as well. Positions include research psychologists, experimental psychologists and social psychologists. These three diverse fields are a small sample of the psychologists who are assisting the military in maintaining the health and welfare of the military forces.
While the military is engaged in combat operations the psychologists are able to increase their understanding of the psychological consequences of combat operations. In order to assist their research neuropsychologists are using the latest technology in their field to examine the consequences of combat situations on neural tissue and its ability to function. This information is then used by researches in other fields to create various hypotheses and enhance their findings.
While these psychologists are focused on providing the best mental health care for individuals employed by the military it will be possible for their research to be applied to the civilian world. Situations in which this crossover of research will be a benefit are natural disasters such as a hurricane or flood or a terrorist attack such as the World Trade Center.