Now the war is over

There is a common belief that the boys come home when the war is over. Certainly the media commentators as a rule head for the nearest comfortable city to find a bed, a bath and a bar – although not necessarily in that order!

There is a common belief that the boys come home when the war is over. Certainly the media commentators as a rule head for the nearest comfortable city to find a bed, a bath and a bar – although not necessarily in that order! The enduring image of topless beauties welcoming the Falklands taskforce home after a job well done, victory parades – or the more cynical ‘tea and medals’ – contribute to this unconscious belief that operations are sharp and complete short-stay surgery.

True, the ongoing hostilities in Iraq and the military operations that continue while the country finds its feet after years of terrible repression are being reported, but many people may not realise their extent and the ongoing commitment they represent. The truth, as anyone who has spent more than a few seconds in uniform well knows, is that it is a great deal easier to go into a country than to leave it, and that operations inevitably result in a host of further problems in which the military become involved.

It was ever thus. The First World War finished in 1918, yet soldiers were still being demobbed in 1921 and probably later. Many spent longer in uniform after hostilities had finished than they did while they were in progress. Many returned to a country with no jobs to offer them and only cold streets to live on. After the Second World War there were complaints and disorder as disaffected Servicemen waited their turn to receive a grateful government’s thanks, a suit and a cardboard suitcase packed with clothing essentials.

In these days of smaller, volunteer forces, however, the problems are different. The warning that operations are imminent is enough to persuade many people who might have been preparing to leave the Services to defer their decision until they have had their chance to do their operational job, even if it involves personal danger. The infantryman longs to experience ‘crack and thump’, the submariner wonders what it will be like to launch that missile, and the pilot wants to go in fast and low.

The system also tells people warned off for operations that they are not going anywhere else. Courses are postponed, education plans are abandoned, handovers are delayed and holidays are cancelled. Many people suffer as well as insurance companies. Families and friends wave farewell to the departing warrior not knowing what arrangements will still stand and what will be dropped. Individuals board the transport not knowing whether they are going for days, weeks, months or years. And no one can tell them.

This inevitable uncertainty and chaos is mirrored among all those people and agencies planning routine arrangements involving Service people, and resettlement training providers are no exception. Courses are reduced, and in some cases scrapped. Workshops that cater for 30 have six attendees – including people medically unable to join their units and those who are so far down the resettlement path that their replacement is already in post and all the war establishment jobs are already filled.

The effect on UK plc is negligible and not even the tiniest blip has appeared on the employment statistics. The effect on the resettlement system and on the individuals themselves may be more serious. However, at least some of those whose personal plans have been upset by Mr Blair’s desire to remove a nasty tyrant will have been taking the opportunity to indulge in a little more personal development and distance learning. All CVs will have changed for the better; some of them dramatically. And a few people will have had roles and experiences that civilian employers will value highly.

Eventually, however, things settle down and normal service is resumed. Or is it? There will now be several groups wanting to take resettlement as well as those people whose contract has simply ended at the same time that operations are complete.

The first is those people who should, or would, have left before operations became imminent and who chose to stay in to see them through. They should now be clamouring for the courses they might have been taking while in or near various Middle Eastern destinations.

Another group is the individuals who have been affected by the experience. They could have no desire ever again to put themselves in the firing line; they might think that nothing in the military could ever be as exciting again; maybe they now have that T-shirt and are looking for another; or perhaps something soured them.

Whatever the reason, a short-term peak in leaving figures is likely to balance the short-term trough that has occurred. Indeed, Quest advertisers report that the response to their advertisements has increased dramatically recently, so it seems that the post-war surge has started.

Unless some major shift in retention has occurred – and none has been reported, despite an upswing in the numbers transferring within the Army – the numbers are bound to equalise. However, a quarter of the people eligible for the full resettlement training package elect for the job-finding element only. This is a more significant figure than relatively minor and cyclical leaving statistics, and one that the authorities say they are determined to improve. It is staggering that one in four Service leavers ignores a month’s free education and training during their resettlement phase. Perhaps a number of them regret it.