How to cope with the guilt of leaving my 2 young children aged 1 and 4 and my husband to join the army
Anonymous asked a question to Amie P.
He’s just served his 6 years and left and my dreams always been to join and be a RMP I’ve now applied and I can’t help but feel guilty like I’m leaving them behind and most of all just worried about missing them and being away in training how do I cope with this.
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- Category: Career development, Career progression
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That is a really difficult question to answer and it sounds like it is weighing very heavily on you. The army, like many jobs, can sometimes mean time away from your family, particularly during basic training, but it makes lots of provisions to keep you together too.
There has never been a better time to join the armed forces because there are more policies to help you with family life than there ever has been. Wrap around child care, reduced periods of commitment, career breaks, generous parental leave, compassionate leave etc.
Equally, all basic training establishments are set up to help trainees deal with the strains of going through the process. For some people it is their first time away from home, or their first time living in a new place. For some it is even a fairly new country. All of these factors can make training difficult, but there is a welfare system in place to assist you when you have low moments. Both the Army Welfare Service and the chaplain's department are there to support you, as well as a number of helplines you can call and talk to someone.
Ultimately, the decision to join the army and be away from your family for a time can be a very difficult one. Just know that, once you have completed your training, you can move in to service families accommodation together and live the same kind of family life that most people experience.
Josh
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