Proceedings of the 14th International Academic Conference, Malta

NEW MODEL OF SOCIAL POLICY IN BULGARIA ON ADAPTATION OF THE MILITARY, DISCHARGED FROM THE MILITARY SERVICES

VENELIN TERZIEV, SEVDALINA DIMITROVA

Abstract:

The starting point of our research is the specificity of social work with the military discharged from military service. The need for transparency and equal treatment of users of social services and respect for the dignity of the military, presupposes the importance of the social work with them. This is supported also by the fact that hundreds of specialists from the army have been transferred to the public sector and are able to make a significant contribution to the reconstruction of Bulgarian society and add value but this is not the case in real life. There is often an impression that that their experience and knowledge is unnecessary. People who have committed themselves to military service at young age, as a rule, adapt to the conditions of civilian life with difficulty. Despite having a special military skills and knowledge they actually form a new „risk group", especially when they fall to the attention of the criminal world. There are various analyses and reports of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Ministry of Defence on this issue that are very indicative. In confirmation of this, a third of them are offered „a job" in the security departments of various private organizations, banks and / or specialized licensed private security units. Practice shows that some of the reserve officers experience serious difficulties with the selection of civil profession. Although they are highly qualified, many of them cannot find a job for months, discontinue their works experience or lose their qualification. Finding the reasons for this is based on the analysis of materials from sociological and psychological research that allow defining the specifics of internal and personal adaptation. Accordingly, there are different age groups of military staff, leaving the armed forces and the Bulgarian Army, whose social adaptation is manifested differently. The importance of social work should be taken into consideration, when identifying the main issues of socialization and adaptation of the military leaving military service and transitioning to the conditions of civilian life, resulting from their economic, age, psychological and social characteristics, and their current social status. This determines the necessity of further development of existing and establishing new types of social work with them. Moreover, the social security system of the military has historically been developed as a part of the national policy.

Keywords: SOCIAL WORK, SOCIAL MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL ADAPTATION OF THE MILITARY

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