What were your expectations before joining, and how did they change after you served?

Hey Kye, great question. I started off in the Army Cadets and then went to University Officer Training Corps, so by the time I joined the Reserves I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Deploying on operations with my Reserve unit then gave me a good chance to see what a Regular job might look like which enthused me to join full time. I would definitely recommend visiting units and talking to serving soldiers to help you with your expectations so there aren't any big questions you have unanswered by the time you start training.

I think the biggest change in my expectations from joining to after having served for a while was how flexible service could be. I was able to take off extended periods from work for parental leave, and took a 10 month career break to travel the world, all with the support of the army. I guess I thought my time would be much more dictated to me when I arrived at my unit, but that hasn't been the case at all.

im not sure, when i joint i didnt really know much about the army other than i was something i always wanted to do. at the time the army was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq so i was expecting/hoping to deploy on OPs.

Now after 16 years much has changed. Me and my personal life. My Role from a challenger 2 driver to a jackal 2 commander in a light cav regiment. not to mention the wider Army. Its the smallest its ever been and expected to do twice as much. although now we arent actively fighting like when i joint, life feels much busier.