ORCID
Ken Marfilius: 0000-0001-8566-1905
Document Type
Poster
Date
4-9-2026
Keywords
Special operations, Military transition, High stakes transition, Information behavior, Information behavior theory
Campus Community
School of Information Studies, Office of the Dean, School of Education, School of Social Work, Veteran and Military Behavioral Health Collaborative
Language
English
Acknowledgements
Dr. Ken Marfilius, Dr. John Jordan, Dr. Xiafei Wang, Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool), Veteran Community Partners, Syracuse University Office of Veteran and Military Affairs and the D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families
Disciplines
Military and Veterans Studies | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description/Abstract
Transitioning Service members face a complex mix of challenges as they transition back to civilian life, including the need to make sense of career-related information while renegotiating identity, belonging, trust, and purpose. Often overlooked, however, is the informational side of that experience and how leaving the military, either voluntarily or involuntarily, impacts one's ability to judge relevance, evaluate credibility, and act on guidance when familiar military structures no longer exist. This is especially true for our nation's elite U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers. Special Forces are mission-driven and possess highly distinct character traits that allow them to perform effectively under significant amounts of prolonged physical and psychological stress. Therefore, when considering the transition process back to civilian life, it is critical to consider all the cultural, informational, and contextual factors that impact their transitions. This study uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine how U.S. Army Special Forces veterans make sense of career information through semi-structured interviews with those who transitioned within the past five years. It is guided by Ian Ruthven's Information Behavior Theory of Transitions and Brenda Dervin's Sense-Making theory, two prominent frameworks in information behavior and life transitions. This study also discusses various context-driven factors that influence the information experiences, including military identity during transition, loss of team structure, and the impact of burdens associated with Operator Syndrome. The study draws on in-depth interviews to capture the nuanced ways Special Forces veterans seek, avoid, evaluate, and apply information while reconstructing a coherent civilian self amid uncertainty and strain. Furthermore, this dissertation offers real-world insights for creating transition support that is credible and timely across Transitioning Assistance Program (TAP), Veterans Affairs, and SOF-specific programs. The findings may help make transition support more practical and fit the way Special Forces experience information and sense-making during this high-stake transition from military to civilian life.
Recommended Citation
Teodoro, Christian and Marfilius, Ken, "Navigating High-Stakes Transition: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Study of the Information Experiences Among Green Berets During Transition" (2026). Voices of Service Symposium. 37.
https://surface.syr.edu/vos/37
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
