Transition From the Military Into Civilian Life

• Author: Lauren Godier,Matt Fossey,Nick Caddick,Alex Cooper,Linda Cooper
• DOI: 10.1177/0095327X16675965
• Published date: 01 January 2018
• Date: 01 January 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Transition From the

Military Into Civilian

Life: An Exploration of

Cultural Competence

Linda Cooper

1

, Nick Caddick

1

, Lauren Godier

1

,

Alex Cooper

1

and Matt Fossey

1

Abstract

In this article, we employ the theoretical framework and concepts of Pierre Bour-

dieu to examine the notion of ‘‘transition’’ from military to civilian life for U.K.

Armed Forces personnel. We put Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus,capital, and field to

work in highlighting key differences between military and civilian life. The use of

social theory allows us to describe the cultural legacy of military life and how this

may influence the posttransition course of veterans’ lives. There may be positive and

negative transition outcomes for service personnel when moving into civilian life,

and by applying Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts, we explain how such outcomes can

be understood. We suggest that the ‘‘rules’’ are different in military environments

compared to civilian ones and that service personnel must navigate a complex

cultural transition when moving between environments. There are numerous and

significant implications—including policy applications—from understanding transi-

tion through a Bourdieusian lens, and these are highlighted throughout.

Keywords

Bourdieu, civilian, veteran, transition, identity, habitus

1

Veterans and Families Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, United Kingdom

Corresponding Author:

Linda Cooper, Veterans and Families Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford Campus, Bishop Hall

Lane, Chelmsford CM1 1SQ, United Kingdom.

Email: linda.cooper@anglia.ac.uk

Armed Forces & Society

2018, Vol. 44(1) 156-177

ªThe Author(s) 2016

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X16675965

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There is a great deal of current political, social, and academic interest in the notion of

transition from the military to civilian life.

1,2

Transition has been defined as the

period of reintegration into civilian life from the military and encapsulates the

process of change that a service per son necessarily undertakes whe n her or his

military career comes to an end (Forces in Mind Trust [FiMT], 2013).

3

The pro-

cesses to facilitate transition are set out in detail by the Ministry of Defence (MoD;

2015), and the concept of military to civilian transition (MCT) is internationally

recognized (Castro, Kintzle, & Hassan, 2014). It is commonly asserted in the liter-

ature on military veterans that the majority make a smooth transition into civilian

life, but that a substantial minority go on to experience difficulties in such areas as

finding suitable employment, maintaining good mental health, homelessness, exces-

sive alcohol use, and crime.

4

Accordingly, finding appropriate ways to support

service personnel in making successful transitions to civilian life is viewed widely

as a priority for public policy and research.

Notwithstanding the importance of studying transition across national contexts,

this article uses U.K. sources of data, and U.K. terminology will be used through-

out.

5

While the U.K. military is overwhelmingly White, male, and young, the

veteran community is a heterogeneous group. In the 12 months prior to April

2016, 16,540 personnel (or 8.4%of the full strength) left the U.K. military (MoD,

2016). The most up-to-date figures from the Royal British Legion Household Survey

(2014) estimate that 4.4%of the U.K. population (2.83 m) are veterans. A further

3.2%are dependent adults (2.09 m) and 1.5%are dependent children (0.99 m). In

total, it is estimated that 9.2%of the U.K. population (5.91 m) are part of the veteran

community. These figures reflect an ag ing population, with 46%of the veteran

community over 75 years of age. Further, the extent to which U.K. veterans exist

as a ‘‘community’’ (e.g., in terms of coordinated social networks, advocacy, and a

public visibility) is unclear, given that accurate information on veterans, their health

and associated needs, and whether or not they differ from local communities is

sparse (Ashcroft, 2014). Compounding this lack of information, the self-identity

of ex-service personnel varies considerably, and so many do not even see themselves

as ‘‘veterans,’’ often due to multiple interpretations of the term, from World War II

veterans, to the present day U.K. government’s definition of having to serve at least

1 day in uniform (Ashcroft, 2014; Burdett et al., 2012).

The processes and experiences of transition for Armed Forces veterans are not

well understood, and research is only beginning to unpack associated issues. One

aspect of transition that has been relatively undertheorized is the influence of

military culture and what happens when an individual immersed in this culture

leaves it and returns to an environment that was previously familiar but may no

longer be so. Following World War II, Schutz (1945) evoked this tension in ‘‘The

Homecomer,’’ describing the emotions of being ‘‘in the wilderness’’ when returning

to what should be intimate and familiar, yet now appears strange and different. More

recently, Bergman, Burdett, and Greenberg (2014) pointed toward this tension by

employing a model of ‘‘reverse culture shock’’ to describe the unexpected

Cooper et al. 157