A study of professionalism during the Falklands/Malvinas war: the case of the Argentine Marines
This paper assesses how organizational culture affects the fighting performance of units in the battlefield. By focusing on the behavior of a group of Argentine troops during the Falklands War in 1982. Between May 21 and June 14, Argentine and British troops engaged in a fierce land battle for the possession of a group of islands in the South Atlantic known as the Falkland/Malvinas. In a campaign that a participant characterized as “no picnic,” British Marines, paratroopers, and Guards troops defeated the Argentine garrison comprised mainly of conscripted soldiers.