If you are with someone who’s in the army, and you also join the army. Is there a way you can stay together?

Hi there,

Thanks so much for asking this question. A lot of people are really anxious about achieving a work / life balance, and whether relations (with someone else in or out of the Army) are possible to keep going whilst your training and in the long term.

There are a lot of dual serving couples in the military (I am one of them!), and whilst it can be a little tricker to organise and synchronise lives, having someone who understands what you are going through, and gets the demands the Army places on you, is actually a real bonus.

It is however a really personal question, and all depends on the people involved, and the sort of relationship you have. It is easier for some capbadges to post people geographically closer together than others, so if you think this relationship is forever, then you may want to consider a capbadge which would allow you to be posted to the most locations, generally a supporting arm which can be employed within other units.

Once you start training it is important to register your relationship formally on our HR System (called JPA), which will really help your chain of command when it comes to sorting out both of your postings. It’s also important to explain everything to your chain of command and career manager, you will still be expect to do your job but your chain of command are there to facilitate you being able to do that and will want to support you in all ways they can.

I wish you the best of luck with everything, and please feel free to come back to me on the thread if I can answer anything else for you.

Katie