Introduction

Veteran transition to civilian life is often evaluated through tracking of employment status, rates of homelessness or incarceration, and other metrics such as psychological responses to combat, physical health indicators such as the prevalence of alcoholism amongst veterans, and evaluating the outcomes of interventions, for example the efficacy of PTSD treatments.

Research and policy often make a distinction between ‘successful’ and ‘negative’ transition, oversimplifying a complex process. Policy around transition is often prescriptive, for example JSP 100 Defence Holistic Transition Policy (MoD 2021, p.1) states that: ‘a successful transition is one where the individual’s Service becomes an important element of their past and their identity and has a positive effect on their life as a civilian.’

But, is this how all veterans define a successful transition? Is military identity always a positive and enduring identity? Do all veterans feel like civilians? In short, do veterans’ experiences match up with societies expectations of them? To answer questions like these we need is a much better understanding of the lived experiences, and voices, of those who make this transition.

Researchers have begun to explore how veterans’ experience transition. We know that transition involves crafting new identities, learning new social skills for civvy street, and developing a new sense of belonging and community. However, to date, this research has been based on small numbers of veterans, and has tended to consider veterans who are in support programmes for example veterans with mental health diagnoses or veterans within the criminal justice system. What is lacking in this research is a wider cross-section of the ex-service population, including those who are not engaged in support programmes.

Method

To gain a broad understanding of veterans and their experiences of transitioning to civilian life, we interviewed a wide range of veterans, and family members, from the south west of England. We conducted ‘life story’ interviews with 49 ex-service personnel and family members. Our participants were diverse, with different service backgrounds, different ages and genders, and different experiences of civvy street.

We were delighted with the response from the veteran community, who came forward to share their stories, often with the hope that their participation in the research would help other veterans. Without their generosity this project would not have been possible.

By the end of the interviewing phase of research, we had over half a million words worth of interview data, spanning over 800 pages! All names have been changed and information that could identify participants, for example references to specific times and places, has been removed or changed. This protects the anonymity of our participants.

Findings

The headlines

The first thing we identified was the huge diversity of stories we were told! Transition to civilian life is different for different people, and many factors influence how it is experienced. The complex and unpredictable nature of transition, and life, means we cannot generalise about what a ‘successful’ transition looks like, or how veterans ‘should’ feel about their post-military lives and identities.

The second key finding is not something which happens to veterans. Transition is something veterans do, and they do it in different ways. Veterans have a significant degree of agency in how they negotiate transition and this suggests that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to transition support is not adequate. We need to work with veterans to help them realise their own goals, recognising that they have skills and capacities to draw on.

The third major finding is that transition to civilian life is not a single event, nor a process of adapting to become ‘more civilian’ over time. Instead of talking about ‘transition’, which suggests a neat process which ends, our data shows that veterans’ lives are characterised by transitional experiences – an ongoing negotiation of complex civilian and military identities and cultures throughout the life course.

The fourth finding concerns support for veterans. We found that, even for those who have ‘successfully’ transitioned to civilian life (those who have secured housing, employment and are not engaging with veteran support organisations for specific difficulties), there was still a significant emotional and mental burden associated with adapting to civilian life. Support for veterans and families should be available throughout the life course, and this support should address issues such as negotiating identity, managing relationships, and negotiating the cultural differences between military and civilian workplaces.

The fifth finding concerns the lack of understanding between veterans and civilians. Many of our participants described feeling stereotyped when they revealed their military background to civilians. Many participants found civilian workplace culture frustrating and hard to understand. Some of our participants were uncomfortable about government initiatives to ‘recognise’ and celebrate veterans. Our evidence suggests that increasing understanding of the diversity of veterans’ transitional experiences is a more useful goal than simply increasing ‘recognition’ of veterans by issuing Veterans badges and other schemes. The problem with ‘recognition’ is that it can perpetuate stereotypes about military service by telling society what a veteran ‘should be’, further alienating our veterans. What is needed is dialogue to build understanding between military and civilian communities.

Digging deeper: Key themes from the data

In our data there were some common themes and stories told about transition from military to civilian life.

Some of the common themes we came across in our research involved stories of these ongoing identity clashes. Some veterans described how despite being in the civilian world for decades, they still sometimes felt the same social and cultural challenges they faced on initially leaving the military. Other veterans initially left service in the past, however, have reconnected after decades of no contact. A number of female veterans that we interviewed had unique experiences on transition, in some cases linking to the experiences they had whilst in the military.  Other themes were veterans dealing with the stereotypes of them held by some members of the public, and interestingly in some cases, we saw veterans leaning into the stereotypical identity of ex-military personnel.

You can read more about key themes that emerged from the stories we listened to on our  Blog.

For more information on policy implications, please see our ‘Policy’ Briefing.

Behind the Scenes of Research

Ever wondered what happens during research, or why the process seems to take so long?

The aim of the Military Afterlives project is to understand how British veterans and their families have experienced the transition out of the military and back into civilian life. As well as sharing our findings we also wanted to give you a glimpse ‘behind the scenes’ of the world of research.

This timeline shows the journey we have taken from initial ideas to where we are now, and where we are planning to go in the future.