Soldiers face new battle in civvy street

Jun 27 2008 by Nicholas Craig, The Journal

SOLDIERS are a significant part of North East life. This month, with hundreds of military reservists celebrating the Territorial Army’s 100th anniversary on Tyneside, and marking the tragic deaths in action of Private Nathan Cuthbertson from Sunderland and Corporal Sarah Bryant of Cumbria, soldiers are more high-profile than ever.

What happens when serving soldiers come back home for good? The return to civilian life is a culture shock. Finding a job, particularly when employers are cautious because of the impending crunch, must be even harder.

New research has found that soldiers go through a change of life, a transitional “military mentalpause”, when they leave the Army. The condition has not changed in more than a hundred years.

Better news is that the study also found most do well when they return to civilian life. Long-serving servicepeople, curiously, are less likely to be institutionalised than those with shorter service.

The skills they learn during a lifetime with the Army, Royal Navy or Royal Air Force translate well to civilian jobs. They are used to planning, organising, being team players and leading projects, and have a positive work ethic.

What they find most difficult is coming to terms with civilian clock-watchers and poor timekeepers.

The region has a high number of ex-soldiers. I hope local employers appreciate the substantial contribution they can make to business. The myth that many soldiers with specialist skills take up security jobs has been exploded by the University of Leicester’s research. Many find relatively well-paid employment in a wide variety of occupations after active service.

Employers, however, remain largely ignorant of servicepeople’s roles. The number of ex-soldiers using their marketable skills usefully in employment remains far from its true potential as a result. After the pressures of war, the challenges of civilian life can be equally traumatic.

A succession of senior military groups, such as the Royal British Legion and the Army Families Federation, are demanding that more be done to honour the “military covenant”, the Government’s life-long duty of care to those it employs to fight.

The employability of former soldiers would also benefit from focused attention by the local business community. Employment support from the Army, Navy and Air Force and encouragement from companies when soldiers enter civilian life are long overdue.

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton law firm