Joining the British army - How do I tell my family I will be joining?

I've been doing a lot of research into the British army and done a lot of documentary watching about the army, I've finally decided that I want to join the army.

I'm not quite sure on when I will join the army as an officer, my current plan is as I'm starting first year of university I plan to use the first 6 months to get more army fit, then start the application after 6 months.

My immediate family are all leftists when it comes to politics, which I don't mind, they have a problem though with me being a conservative. My family have made it clear they are anti-armed forces and anti-monarchy.

Due to their views, I'm not sure how I should tell my family that I am joining the British army. Part of me feels that joining the British army may ruin/destroy my relationship with my family which I don't want. The only way I can currently think of telling them if my army application is successful is by telling them a week before I am due to leave for basic training.

Any advice is appreciated, I'm finding this hard although I'm not starting it yet, I just want to prepare myself.

Reply 1

greg tony

16

Original post by Spencer26

I've been doing a lot of research into the British army and done a lot of documentary watching about the army, I've finally decided that I want to join the army.

I'm not quite sure on when I will join the army as an officer, my current plan is as I'm starting first year of university I plan to use the first 6 months to get more army fit, then start the application after 6 months.

My immediate family are all leftists when it comes to politics, which I don't mind, they have a problem though with me being a conservative. My family have made it clear they are anti-armed forces and anti-monarchy.

Due to their views, I'm not sure how I should tell my family that I am joining the British army. Part of me feels that joining the British army may ruin/destroy my relationship with my family which I don't want. The only way I can currently think of telling them if my army application is successful is by telling them a week before I am due to leave for basic training.

Any advice is appreciated, I'm finding this hard although I'm not starting it yet, I just want to prepare myself.

Might be better pausing university if i were you, you might be able to get it for free with the military as an officer, providing you pass course/selection. Also, seems a waste of your time doing a course if you really want to join the military.

Reference telling your family, i would start the conversation earlier if i were you. I was in the military for a good few years and come from a family who werent exactly pro forces. I think telling them over time helped eased things through, as they learnt about it as i did. You of course need to be ready for a good debate, but if it is what you truly want then they cant or wont stop you. I would highly recommend really getting to know the military as much as possible (speak to anyone you know is military etc, going to AFCO just to get info) will help make your mind clearer and will aid you having a good pool of knowledge if and when your parents push back. It shows them that you are are serious, and also how little they may actually know about it outside of the headlines. The military is not just a warfighting organisation, a lot of work involves keeping average people safe and ensuring international law is abided by (it gets a lot right and wrong of course, but the good rarely makes the news).

Good luck exploring the military,

Greg

(edited 9 months ago)

Original post by Spencer26

I've been doing a lot of research into the British army and done a lot of documentary watching about the army, I've finally decided that I want to join the army.

I'm not quite sure on when I will join the army as an officer, my current plan is as I'm starting first year of university I plan to use the first 6 months to get more army fit, then start the application after 6 months.

My immediate family are all leftists when it comes to politics, which I don't mind, they have a problem though with me being a conservative. My family have made it clear they are anti-armed forces and anti-monarchy.

Due to their views, I'm not sure how I should tell my family that I am joining the British army. Part of me feels that joining the British army may ruin/destroy my relationship with my family which I don't want. The only way I can currently think of telling them if my army application is successful is by telling them a week before I am due to leave for basic training.

Any advice is appreciated, I'm finding this hard although I'm not starting it yet, I just want to prepare myself.

Consider joining the OTC at university which will give you a better idea of what the career entails and will give your family time to become accustomed to the idea.

Joining the British army - How do I tell my family I will be joining?

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