Military Service for a Civilian

Military service is one of the most challenging and yet most selfless career that you can one can ever be involved in. In the military your character is shaped right from the very first day of training up to your retirement.

During training, a civilian has to be transformed to a military person. This is done through physical and mental training. These tasks are not very easy since the above mentioned objective has to be achieved. The first day you are familiarised with your drill instructor, what follows next is an intense training regime that takes a couple of weeks. Here you are trained on basic survival and tactical skills such as shooting and marksmanship, rappelling and military parades. One is also taught the basic customs and culture of the military.

What follows is the field exercise. These exercise teach the soldier the essentials of team work and how it helps in survival while in the field. The continued weapons training also helps the individual to gain confidence as a soldier.

The next stage is known as Advanced Individual Training (AIT). This is where a recruit is trained on the remainder of the basic training and also he has to specialize in a specific field. As a soldier you receive hands on training so that you can deliver during deployment.

Deployment means to move the military from a home installation such as the barracks to another location for the purposes of discharging military duties. Several steps are followed here. These include;

Pre-deployment phase. When not deployed, soldiers and their divisions undertake training to prepare for the military duties. During this stage, they go through normal drills and medical assessments that uphold their individual and unit readiness level. From the family point of view, this phase is normal as the soldier is at home and going to work on a consistent basis. Close to the end of this phase, the division will be informed of a possible deployment and will receive orders to assemble. Upon the orders, preparation for deployment begins, including required briefings, additional training, medical and dental evaluations, and possibly therapy to ensure that service members are ready and able to be deployed. This phase concludes when soldiers or their units physically leave.

Deployment phase. This stage begins with the physical movement of the soldiers and their units from their home to the designated area of tasks. This phase can be a stressful time for them and their kin as they face what that means for them. The rest of the phase largely involves the performance of military duties.

Post-deployment phase. Soldiers return to their homes, and prepare to go back into usual life, with different branches of service offering additional updates, training, physical and mental evaluations, and counselling to assist.

Reintegration phase. This stage comprises restoration into family life and the community, as well as reintegration into military duties. Units may require soldiers to complete briefings, training, counselling, and medical evaluations during this stage. However they (together with their family) may experience some tension during this phase, as everybody readjusts to life together. On the brighter side, many support services are available for service members and their families to make this readjustment easier.