What is Army life like?

It is different for everyone and different throughout your career. For me, I usually do exercise every morning, I then go into the office and respond to emails or work on projects. When I was a young officer, I would visit my troops, check on the equipment and stores, make decisions about training and deliver training activities. My soldiers would parade, be briefed and then get on with daily tasks such as vehicle maintenance and learning about their trade in more depth by someone with more experience. We would conduct training as a troop, do exercise or sport and have final briefings at the end of the day. Some times we would go on the ranges to fire our weapons, or out into the local area to practice map reading skills. We did a lot of cross country driving which was my favourite activity to do with my soldiers. I absolutely love driving off-road in my trucks and landrovers!

Hello,

I can only really tell you what I think of Army life, but if you had a particular army career in mind I might be able to give you some more specific information.

Work life - I enjoy how varied this is, whether you are in the UK or abroad, rarely are two weeks the same. There are lots of opportunities for career progression and you are encouraged to undertake various courses to further your learning.

Work/life balance - I have spent the last few years in a military medical centre, and am currently working in an NHS setting for training purposes. I can't wait to go back into a military environment. I had weekends off, often an afternoon off for sports, a longer lunch break and time to keep fit. Provided I didn't spend too much time chatting I could usually finish on time (1630). Annual leave is more than generous and I never felt like I wasn't getting enough time off.

Home life - the army provides subsidised accommodation and you end up living in single living accommodation or married quarters. I've found both have a nice community atmosphere and are much better value than anything you could rent privately.

Sport/Adventure training - loads of opportunity to get involved with both of these, particularly if you're proactive or have a particular interest. I've mostly been skiing and mountain biking, but there's a huge variety. There's not many sports you can't play in the army!

Travel - how often you deploy or go on exercise abroad will depend on your job role. I've travelled more with the Army in the last few years than I've ever done by myself. It's been a lot of fun.

I hope that gives you some insight, if you have any specific questions or queries do let us know.