Occupational identity and the military to civilian transition of former serving Australian Defence Force members

ABSTRACT

Internationally, there is recognition that the transition from military service to civilian life is challenged by a military identity. The aim of this study was to present the impact of an occupational military identity on the transition to civilian life from the perspective of former serving Australian Defence Force members. A narrative inquiry methodology was employed to explore the transition experience of the participants who each shared the story of their transition, presenting a narrative for data analysis. This analysis utilised Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis (2006, 2020), and the a priori theme of identity. The 12 participant narratives led to the presentation of four themes: 1) Transition and a military identity; 2) Military service and a military identity; 3) Military identity and separation type (voluntary and involuntary); and 4) Enabling transition and the military identity in civilian life. The participants’ narratives highlighted how their occupational participation in military training and culture shaped an identity to challenge transition. Yet, they also highlighted the positive influence of a military identity, offering insights into how best to enable the transition from military service to civilian life.

A nivel internacional, se reconoce que la transición del servicio militar a la vida civil se ve dificultada por la identidad militar. Considerando la perspectiva de antiguos miembros en activo de las Fuerzas de Defensa australianas, el objetivo de este estudio consistió en identificar la incidencia de la identidad militar ocupacional en la transición a la vida civil. Para ello se empleó una metodología de indagación narrativa, cuyo propósito era examinar la experiencia de transición de los participantes. Cada uno de ellos compartió la historia de su transición, presentando una narración que permitió analizar la información recabada. Dicho estudio utilizó el análisis temático de Braun y Clarke (2006, 2020) y el tema de la identidad a priori. Las narraciones de los 12 participantes pusieron en evidencia cuatro temas: 1) transición e identidad militar; 2) servicio militar e identidad militar; 3) identidad militar y tipo de licenciamiento (voluntario e involuntario); y 4) posibilitar la transición y la identidad militar en la vida civil. Los relatos de los participantes destacaron que su participación ocupacional en la formación y la cultura militares configuró una identidad que dificulta dicha transición. A pesar de ello, también resaltaron la influencia positiva de su identidad militar, ofreciendo ideas sobre la mejor manera de posibilitar la transición del servicio militar a la vida civil.

国际上，人们认识到从兵役到平民生活的过渡由于军人身份而备受挑战。 本研究的目的是，从前澳大利亚国防军现役军人的角度，提出生活活动军人身份对向平民生活过渡的影响。 采用叙述性调查方法来探索参与者的转型经历，每个参与者都分享他们的转型故事，并提出用于数据分析的叙述。 该分析利用了布劳恩（Braun）和克拉克（Clarke）的主题分析（2006、2020）以及身份的先验主题。 12 名参与者的叙述引出四个主题：1）过渡和军人身份； 2）服兵役和军人身份； 3）军人身份和离职类型（自愿和非自愿）； 4) 促进转型和平民生活中的军人身份。 参与者的叙述强调了他们在军事训练和军事文化的生活活动参与如何塑造了一种身份来挑战转型。 然而，他们也强调了军人身份的积极影响，为如何最好地实现从兵役到平民生活的过渡提供了见解。

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational science
• Identity
• Military-to-civilian
• Adaptation
• Military
• Transition

Identities are formed as individuals experience and engage in their cultural context (Thompson et al., 2017). They are influenced by people considered family, the opportunities presented within the given context, and individual’s interests, abilities, and life experiences. Identity challenges occur when any of these factors change. A military identity is established by military rank, military experiences, military social groups, and other social, cultural, economic, and symbolic resources utilised in military service (Thompson et al., 2017). Because the military identity is so broadly established, transitioning from the military to civilian life can be challenging. The importance of understanding how identity challenges faced in the military-to-civilian transition can negatively impact both health and well-being of military personnel has been highlighted by Mobbs and Bonanno (2018) and Thompson et al. (2017). Within occupational science, an integrative review by Crider et al. (2015) identified “seven strands” related to transition. They proposed that these strands are: 1) qualities of transition; 2) the experience of transition; 3) roles and transition; 4) environment and transition; 5) occupation and transition; 6) factors that facilitate transition; and 7) factors that make transition difficult. Although Crider et al. (2015) and Scalzo et al. (2016) have explored transitions in healthy populations and transition following an unexpected health-related trauma, neither discuss how transition is shaped by the military identity. This is unsurprising because there has been a paucity of research on how military service impacts on military service members transitioning experiences. Indeed, previous occupational science research has focused on the transitions from early childhood to schooling, schooling to adult life, from the workforce into retirement, life after work, and transition following substance abuse (Jonsson et al., 1997; Nhunzvi et al., 2019; Orentlicher et al., 2015). Studies which have explored the lives of military service members have focused on people with physical and/or psychological injury (Erickson, 2008; Kerr et al., 2020; Rogers et al., 2014), or the transition from the U.S. military into tertiary education (Eakman et al., 2019; Gregg et al., 2016). To date, little has been reported on how transition from military service to civilian life may differ from other life transitions, specifically how an occupational military identity may shape this expereince. This is an important step as Cogan (2016) argued that transitions involving military personnel differ from other transition experiences because unlike other forms of community reintegration (Huot et al., 2013; Suleman & Whiteford, 2013) transition from the military often involves transition into a familiar setting, rather than into a new context.

Cogan’s (2016) study explored this in the context of U.S. military service members’ experiences of community reintegration after a period of deployment. They found unique differences because people are “often expected to take up previous roles rather than take up new ones” (p. 256). This research paper extends the occupational science literature on transition by further exploring the transitioning experiences of those who leave the military. In particular, it explores the nexus between military identity, transition, and community reintegration. In doing so it extends understandings of how a person’s military identity may shape their experiences of transitioning after they leave the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Foundational research reporting identity challenges highlighted the distress experienced by U.S. military personnel following transition, as people feel caught between military and civilian cultures (Demers, 2011). More recent studies have found that an inability to form identities beyond that of a military identity challenges the transition to civilian life (Brewer & Herron, 2022; Bryant et al., 2019; Mobbs & Bonanno, 2018; Thompson et al., 2017), particularly for people who joined the military at a young age, who had not fully developed adult identities at the time of joining (Thompson et al., 2017).

Within an Australian context, only two studies have discussed the impact of military identities (Barnett et al., 2022; Flack & Kite, 2021). Flack and Kite’s (2021) survey indicated that military identities could have a positive or negative influence on the social connections that shape the transition to civilian life of former serving ADF members. In addition, Barnett et al. (2022) found that a strong military identity leads to difficulties engaging with civilian social groups as former serving ADF members transition into civilian life.

In recognition of the need for a greater understanding about the impact of transition from military service to civilian life, beyond life stages, injury, illness, or tertiary education, in this study we explored how a military occupational identity shaped the transition to civilian life. Thus, we examined the occupational construct of occupational identity (Hansson et al., 2022), as reported by former serving ADF members.

Methods

The data for this paper came from a broader study in which we explored the experience of transition from military service to civilian life. In that study we utilised a narrative inquiry methodology (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). In sharing their transition narratives, the former serving ADF community was afforded the involvement in transition research beyond the predominant use of surveys and questionnaires (Bryant et al., 2019; Department of Veterans’ Affairs & Department of Defence, 2018). Using a combination of a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and a priori theme (Alleyne, 2017; Braun & Clarke, 2020) led to the exploration to the impact of a military identity in the experience of transition from the ADF to civilian life.

Ethics

Approval to conduct the study was granted by the Australian Departments of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs Human Ethics Research Committee (HREC; 265-20) and the University of Newcastle HREC (H-2019-0446). All participants gave consent and pseudonyms were applied to all data, affording privacy and confidentiality.

Sampling and recruitment

Purposeful sampling was employed to recruit former serving military members who could story a transition from full time military service to civilian life (Silverman, 2017). Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed to ensure participants could narrate years of military service life. As such, the inclusion criteria were a person who served a minimum of 2 years in the ADF and had separated from full-time service. The exclusion criteria were a person experiencing a psychological condition not stabilised with treatment (e.g., PTSD), who resided outside of Australia, or who served only in Reserve forces.

Recruitment materials were initially distributed by Open Arms, an Ex-Service Organisation which supports veterans and delivers mental health assessment and clinical counselling for Australian veterans in their families (Productivity Commission, 2019). The distribution of materials by Open Arms did not lead to any direct participant recruitment but increased awareness of the research study in the broader ADF community. This led to word-of-mouth, or snowballing recruitment occurring.

Interested former serving ADF members expressed interest via email to the first author. These individuals received the study participant information statement and consent form. On return of a signed consent form, an eligibility phone call was arranged with each person, commencing data collection.

Data collection

First, the first author (NK) conducted eligibility phone calls to collect demographic data, including age, Service (Navy, Army, Air Force), rank, role/s, and years of service. These ranged from 10 to 30 minutes, ending with the arrangement of an interview via a video conferencing platform. Interviews were recorded utilising that platform. During the first interview participants were asked to “please tell me about your transition from the ADF?” Prompt questions were prepared for the first interview to ensure rich data collection and descriptive responses to the transition experience (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). These questions included: “Can you please tell me about any challenges you may have experienced?”, or “Could you tell me what your expectations of transition were?”. These narratives ranged from 55 minutes to 2 hours and 29 minutes, averaging 1 hour and 49 minutes. A total of 21 hours and 54 minutes of initial narratives was collected.

After the initial interviews were complete, NK engaged in thematic analysis, described below, to generate preliminary themes and subthemes. Subsequently follow-up interviews were conducted via phone to clarify initial narratives and fill gaps identified in transcript review. As participants were eager to elaborate on their experiences, reflecting on their initial interviews, follow-up calls were longer than anticipated. Additionally, follow-up calls offered each participant the opportunity to provide feedback on initial theme development and resulted in greater detail being added to their transition experience. As argued by Carpenter and Suto (2008) and Daiute, (2014), this participant feedback promoted relatability to ensure trustworthiness of findings. The second interviews ranged from 55 minutes to 2 hours and 56 mins, averaging 1 hour and 47 minutes, totalling 21 hours and 24 minutes. In total, the two interviews provided 43 hours and 18 minutes of data for analysis. Table 1 presents the participant demographics. Field notes and a reflexive diary also collected data from the interview and were used in the analysis.

Table 1. Participant demographics

Pseudonym	Gender	Service	Rank	Age joined	Years of service	Age separated	Time separated
Carlos	Male	Army	E-4	19	19	37	7 months
Dave	Male	Army	E-4	19	12	31	8 years
Din	Male	Army	E-3	21	6	28	11 years
John	Male	Army	E-4	17	7	25	7 years
Kylie	Female	Navy	O-3	32	15	48	2 months
Maka	Female	Army	E-4	19	6	25	13 years
Marjorie	Female	Army	E-4	19	6	25	7 years
				25	14	39
Mick	Male	Army	E-3	17	5	22	11 years
Naomi	Female	Air Force	O-2	17	13	31	3 months
Rob	Male	Navy	E-3	22	6	28	13 years
Rowan	Male	Air Force	W-5	17	33	50	1 year
				52	5	58
Will	Male	Air Force	E-4	20	8	28	8 months
				33	4	37

Note. Marjorie, Rowan and Will separated from full-time service in the ADF twice

Data analysis

The data analysis and interpretation began immediately after the completion of the first interview with the first participant and continued until the completion of the study. A computer-assisted data analysis package NVivo (QSR International) was used for data storage and data coding to assist with analysis and interpretation.

The analysis method followed the steps developed by Braun and Clarke (2006), which allow for identification of meaning in narratives through the analysis of stories and thematic extraction (Bonsall, 2012). This process enabled a better understanding of issues impacting on transition and deep exploration of the theme of identity challenges narrated in the participants’ experiences.

NK immersed in the data by reading interview transcripts for accuracy against audio recordings and reviewing each participant’s transition narratives. Engaging in this initial step involved searching for broad meaning and patterns of experiences of ADF military to civilian transition. Initial codes and descriptions were generated, and codes were developed into preliminary themes and subthemes. Although there was no direct questioning during the first interview which referred to ‘identity’, the a priori theme was considered at this stage. Throughout this process, NK discussed coding and theme development with the other authors. These preliminary themes were explored in follow-up interviews where participants were asked to consider the various explanations posited by the researchers, providing feedback. Themes were then refined to ensured that they were accurately represented across all 12 participants’ experiences. The impact of a military identity in the participants’ experiences was confirmed as a key experience in their transition from the ADF to civilian life.

Reflexivity

Reflexivity was pivotal to ensuring trustworthiness within the study, as NK had experienced the ADF military-to-civilian transition and could be considered an ‘insider’ (Braun & Clarke, 2020). As an ‘insider’, participants were able to narrate with confidence, aware NK was ‘familiar’ with the transition experience (Kacen & Chaitin, 2006). For the entirety of the study, NK’s personal biases, thoughts, ideas, and feelings were recorded to enable reflexive analysis with the co-authors (Reid et al., 2018). These weekly discussions enabled acknowledgement to his active involvement in study development and potential influence on the participants’ narratives (Korstjens & Moser, 2018). Reflexive analysis was also critical in analysis to monitor possible enmeshment between participant transition narrative and NK’s personal transition narrative.

Results

Summary of demographics

As presented in Table 1, the average age the 12 participants initially joined the ADF was 20 years. The average age of initial separation from the ADF was 31 years. Of the 12 participants, three (Marjorie, Rowan and Will) reported transitioning from the ADF twice, reenlisting after an initial separation. The participants served an average of 13 years in the ADF. Since their separation from the ADF, an average of 6 years had passed.

In the first interview, 10 of the 12 participants either openly used the term ‘identity’ or narrated a story that highlighted how their occupational participation in the ADF established a military identity that challenged their transition. The two remaining participants (Kylie and Maka) reported no identity issues during their initial interview (see Table 2). Table 3 presents the themes related to the military-to-civilian transition, identity, and occupation.

Table 2. Participants’ military identity

Transition and military identity
Identity challenged					No identity challenge
Carlos	Dave	Din	John	Marjorie ^a	Kylie ^b	Maka ^b
Mick ^a	Naomi ^a	Rowan	Rob	Will

^a Not actively engaged with Reserves; ^b Actively engaged in Reserves

Table 3. Identity themes in transition

Themes	Subthemes
Military service and a military identity	The impact of training, roles, and culture
	Joining the ADF in early adulthood
Military identity and separation type (voluntary or involuntary)
We to me: Transition and a military identity
Enabling transition and the military identity in civilian life

Military service and a military identity

The participants indicated that a military identity was established and developed in military service. This included their participation in military training, military roles, and the environment set by military culture. Ten participants (Carlos, Dave, Din, John, Marjorie, Mick, Naomi, Rob, Rowan, Will) highlighted how a lack of a civilian identity as an adult prior to joining the ADF challenged life in civil society.

The impact of training, roles, and culture

Participation in military training, roles, and the occupations set in military culture, established and developed a military identity, which consequently challenged the transition to civilian life. Examples of occupational military training and service included learning marching formations and limiting social participation to military peers from within their military culture. As an example, John noted how his military identity was as a team member, stating “You fit the mould. Five soldiers to a brick, 10 soldiers per section, 30 soldiers per platoon … When I was no longer provided that environment, I lost my identity”. In sharing his transition experience, Dave recalled the impact of learning drill in basic training to establish a “shared” military identity which he felt dissolved his personal individual identity.

Drill is a great example … Five hundred people turn left together. Left, right, left, right. It feels good too. But there is no room for Dave. There is a dissolving of individual identity in training. Dave can’t think about himself and his feelings. He must be in the moment … There is unity. No one cares where you’re from. No one cares about your skin colour. There’s comradery. Shared purpose. Shared identity. Getting out shatters that.

Noting the influence of the environment from military culture and peers, Will reported that he had experienced identity challenges in both his first (age 28) and second (age 37) transitions from the ADF to civilian life. Even though he was better prepared, aware of the identity challenges from his first transition, Will reflected that during his second transition, “I still had an identity crisis and issues”. He explained:

What I mean by identity crisis … there’s all these underlying things that are cultural traits within Defence [ADF] and Defence personnel … you’re also trying to conform to a certain culture in Defence … It was easier to just be like everyone else. So, when you get out, you’re like, all right. Well, am I the 90’s starter-pack skater guy? Am I the R. M. Williams and Dry as Bone investing cattle guy? Am I the musician guy? Am I the artsy guy? Am I the go to the footy and gym all the time guy, like these different identities.

In contrast, Kylie, who did not experience identity challenges, was able to reflect on how her experiences were different to her peers.

I came into an area with a specific skill set. As a professional and career behind me. While I had to learn how Defence [ADF] want it, I didn’t need as much breaking down as a soldier. I brought skills, so there was a level of empowerment there. Sailors, soldiers, etc. don’t come in with a recognised skill set. So, they go through the breakdown. This is what you do, this is what you eat, this is what you wear, etc, etc.

Unlike Kylie, other participants indicated that participation in the occupations of military training, roles, and culture established and developed their military occupational identity, challenging the transition back to civilian life.

Joining the ADF in early adulthood

The participants who joined between the ages of 17 and 22 years described how their military identity was established and developed in early adulthood, and how this complicated their transition to civilian life. These participants described how their lack of civilian-life skills had impacted on transition. As Marjorie explained:

You join at 17, you don’t really know who you are. You are coming off the back of teenage years. Then you move to adulthood. You can drink, you can vote, but you can’t make life changing decisions … someone tells you all your decisions and you don’t have to deal with it all anymore … [then] I got out, and you don’t know your identity. Then transition is even harder.

John, also 17 at the time of joining the ADF, explained, “I never knew who I was before I joined the military [ADF]. I was way too young to even think about that … [I] had no opinion … zero view of myself”. He added:

I came from school. I felt completely [sic] outcast. I didn’t have many friends, other than the two I mentioned. Small town. No girlfriend. Then just a few years later feeling like I absolutely belonged. I understand [sic] my purpose. My character, morals. My compass. Then I leave and have no idea.

For Rob, joining the ADF at 22, the training and skills required in his role led to challenges only apparent in transition. Though he reported time spent in civil society in early adulthood, his military service created a military identity that did not enable his transition to civilian life. He explained:

[It] was hard to just suddenly, be doing nothing and [to be] no one. That was really, I found that weird, because it took a lot for me to be that guy. Because I’m not that guy naturally … Like not trying to be a killer or anything … It was a real change for me to be part of that mentality.

Rob added that what made transition “weird” was the “juxtaposition” of identifying that his military identity and associated mentality challenged the creation of a new civilian identity for civil society. Conversely, Kylie felt that her transition lacked military identity issues because she joined the ADF at 32 years of age, affording her previous civilian life experience as an adult in civil society. She also noted that her role in the military did not require “one of a hard-core officer … that just built their identity around their uniform and who they saw themselves to be in the military”. She explained:

I think because I joined full time, a little bit older and I’ve had a career before the military, I was very aware of what civilian life looked like … I didn’t feel like a part of me ever left civilian life … and because of the role that I did in the military. You know, my role in the military wasn’t one of hard-core leadership, taking people into battle. You know, giving directives. People’s lives weren’t hanging in the balance … So that wasn’t my role … for me, work wasn’t everything.

Military identity and separation type (voluntary or involuntary)

The participants’ stories highlighted the importance of the type of separation (voluntary or involuntary) and the influence this had on their military identity. The unexpected nature of an involuntary separation meant an immediate shift in the identity of the three participants (Dave, John, Rowan) was required, because there was no time to prepare for the military-to-civilian life transition. Dave’s administrative separation and John’s medical separation saw their identity challenges commence while still in the ADF. Whereas, for Rowan, who could anticipate his second separation (reaching retirement age) and the remaining participants who voluntarily separated, their identity challenges reportedly began after separation.

An example is demonstrated by Naomi who voluntarily separated, reporting identity issues in her second interview (11 months after separation), stating “My identity has been challenged more than I thought. I now realise how much the military is part of my identity”. Yet the narratives of Dave and John highlighted that, unlike the other participants, separating unexpectedly diminished their sense of competence associated with the military identity. This decreased their sense of competence to support the transition to civilian life. John explained:

It was the day the doctor told me; we can’t fix this … I lost my compass. My identity was over … My mind still wanted to be a soldier … My body could not … All of a sudden, I couldn’t make a standard, my own standard, and the standards that other people were setting for me … I was no longer provided an environment with a standard; I lost my identity.

As highlighted by John, his specific soldier identity was compromised before separation, losing the sense of competence he associated with the occupations of a soldier, and the competence associated with military peer approval. This resulted in feeling lost to who he was as a soldier before transition began.

Reporting that he anticipated his involuntary transition from the ADF, Rowan still reported identity challenges in his second transition to civilian life. He believed this was related to experiences in military service and military related injuries. Rowan shared:

You’re never not part of it, despite what you do. Whether that’s … because you’re either fighting DVA [Department of Veterans’ Affairs] or you’re fighting Defence [ADF] for something, or you’re always reflecting on something that happened in your service career and you’ve [sic] claims in for DVA.

We to me: Transition and a military identity

The participants who reported having a military identity indicated that this created challenges after their service, as they entered civilian life. These challenges continued into their experiences in civil society. In reversing the effects of military culture, environments, and training on a collective or group military identity, the need to shift from ‘we to me’ was recognised as pivotal in transition. The need to adapt to the loss of this collective identity, establishing or developing an individualised identity, without participation in military occupations or with peers led to a move from ‘we’ to ‘me’. Rob summarised how the shift from a collective identity to becoming an individual had impacted on his transition.

Transition is about being an individual. Your identity as being in a group, and being an individual creates anxiety. It’s very uncomfortable to learn to be an individual. Beyond anxiety though, there is a feeling of am I sweet with myself. That feeling isn’t there when you are within a team. Even in a shit team, you don’t feel like that.

All the 10 participants who had strong military identities mentioned that, while knowing that a shift was required, it led to a questioning of the self-identity post-transition. As stated by Carlos:

[It’s] a massive identity thing. I did it for nearly 20 years. It was who I was, not what I was … it’s not just a job … it is the identity thing that is going to be a big one moving on from … I’ve been in the Army longer than I’ve been alive out of the Army … I don’t know what not being in the Army is … I don’t know about the identity thing, I wouldn’t want to move on from that, that being my identity. That was my identity. Except, that you kind of need too.

The process of adjusting to a new occupational identity was described by Din as a process of continuously figuring out who he was without the ADF, and the ability to reflect positively and negatively on his military identity. Initially, Din had questioned:

Who am I outside of the military and even, like a period there where I didn’t want to admit that I was [sic] in the military and I didn’t tell people, I didn’t talk about it. Because I didn’t want to be linked with that. That’s not me. I’m not a soldier. I’m not that anymore. And then the admission that, like, well, it isn’t me, it isn’t me now. But it is also me. That will always be me, it’s part of my experience … That’s really what it is. Figuring out who I am.

Din then was able to reflect that “this is a thing that I’ve done [being in the ADF]. And that was a thing that I have been. But it is not the whole of me”. Additionally, Marjorie shared that her identity challenges improved once “you start realising what [civilian] life is, and that the Army is here, and that you’re here … [it’s] being able to be separate and hold them as two separate identities”. Once able to identify how her civilian identity was separate to her military identity, Marjorie was able to answer the commonly reported ‘who am I?’ question. She explained, “I had found a sense of self. Where I was my own me and my own person and was quite happy with where I was in life that I felt fully separated”.

The sense of self appeared to be related to changes in daily occupations – most participants had lost their participation in military occupations and were facing changes in work and home environments. In contrast Maka, who did not mention identity issues during the first interview, reflected that serving in the ADF Reserve Forces (after her full-time service), may have mitigated any sense of loss because of regularly continued engagement in ADF work and occupations. Maka shared, “I didn’t feel like a loss of identity or anything like a lot of people do. I didn’t feel that because I guess I was still there [serving in Reserves]”. It appeared that the engagement was a key factor because others who were in the Reserves (i.e., Marjorie or Mick) but not active (see Table 2 note), reported occupational identity issues.

Enabling transition and the military identity in civilian life

This theme is characterised by participants advancing their individuality as a civilian and ability to reflect on the benefits of a military identity, able to identify multiple evolving identities. For John, what enabled his transition to civilian life was the ability to see himself as an individual. He explained, “until you start to have a relationship with yourself, I don’t see how your identity can be anything other than what you do”. He added, “my job isn’t my identity … my employment is not my identity. That’s what I do for work. I bring my identity to work, my identity is not my work”. Similarly, Marjorie’s transition improved once “I had found a sense of self”, offering her the ability to address other transition challenges.

Yet, an individualistic civilian identity was only a part of what enabled the transition for the participants. As noted by Marjorie, the separation of a military identity from a civilian identity was key. Mick explained that his transition improved once able to accept that his military identity offered him characteristics to create and develop a civilian identity:

Transition is an identity changing experience. Actually, it formulates an identity. I share now with those that serve, you may go on to be many things in your life, but you will always have inclinations, mannerisms, behaviours, mindsets, ideologies of a soldier. This will forever change you. Mostly for the better. There will be some negatives of course.

The importance of peers to support the separation of a civilian identity from a military identity was described by Will. He explained:

We are accountable to each other to ease others into a civilian identity. Hold space. In holding space, you are opening the doors to their experience; ‘I’ll give you my ear’. Indirectly, you are like, ‘Come here. I know. I remember’.

This informal peer ability to “hold space”, mediating the benefits of a military identity to enable the creation of a civilian identity, was critical, as participants explained how a military identity will remain a “core” element of their identities. With 11 years’ experience of managing his military identity in civil society, Mick explained:

My very core being is actually, I am a soldier. You describe yourself. What are you? I’d say that I’m a soldier. I’ve done many other things in my life [in the 11 years since the ADF], yet my identity and who I am is still a soldier … It’s not just what I did … it’s actually who I am … I’m not a civilian … I probably never will be.

Mick highlighted that some former serving ADF personnel will never solely identify as a civilian, thus should be supported to “separate and hold them [a civilian and military] as two separate identities” (Marjorie). Noting the beneficial characteristics of a military identity to enable the creation and development of a civilian identity for transition, Mick added, “I don’t think people want to abandon that [military] identity. It’s that go getting, self-starter, resilient self. They are good character traits”. The resiliency identified in a military identity was also highlighted by Dave. Though his involuntary separation challenged his military identity prior to transition, he could identify the resilient traits of soldiers that provided him strength to enable his transition to civilian life. He explained:

Maybe I didn’t consciously think about, this identity. This ‘who am I’ thing, as a soldier or a warrior, but it certainly played a role in that whole get shot, fall down, get up again. Get shot, fall down … if I call myself a soldier, then I’m not being soldierly, and I used my own identity against me [sic].

Discussion

This study further informs the conceptualisation of occupational identity in occupational science. It provides a greater understanding of the relationship between occupational participation in military training, roles, and culture; the development of a military identity; and the impact on the experience of transitioning to civilian life. The experiences of former ADF members improves knowledge of the challenges inherent in military to civilian transition. The findings highlight how transitioning is a continuous process which, for those leaving the military, involves a significant shift in occupational identity. The study builds on previous understandings about why transitioning from the military into civilian life is a unique experience.

In presenting this discussion, it is acknowledged that the ADF members involved in the study were motivated to discuss their military identity, and that their story of transition to civilian life may not be typical of the overall Veteran population. Thus, it is acknowledged that the identity challenges of participants within this study may not represent the overall veteran population.

The military occupational identity and challenges to transition

The study reinforces that the impact of transitioning out of the military involves a shift towards an individualised identity from the collective identity that had been created and reinforced through engagement in training and engagement in occupations integral to military service. These findings support Thompson et al. (2017), who highlighted that as a military identity commences, it evolves into a superordinate identity, which limits engagement in other occupations and challenges the transition to civilian life. In the current study, we identified that a strong military identity increases the challenge of transitioning from the ADF because it requires a person to shift away from this superordinate military identity and develop a new identity for their transition into civil society. The lack of ability to perceive a future self in civil society, past that of the military identity formed and reinforced by military occupations, adds multiple complexities to their military-to-civilian transition. Indeed, participants identified that developing a civilian identity, separate to their evolved former military identity, was pivotal in their transition. While it is recognised that the creation and development of a civilian identity is key to the military-to-civilian transition (Thompson et al., 2017), re-organising the sense of self is challenging (Amiot et al., 2010).

Within the current study, this process of reorganising had been conducted by individuals with no mention of support from the ADF, or veterans’ services. Indeed, participants described how the process had required them to develop skills to reflect on the positive and negative aspects of service. The benefit of identifying both the positive and negative aspects of service to enable life beyond service is not a new concept (Spiro III et al., 2016). This has been highlighted as pivotal for the military-to-civilian transition (Thompson et al., 2017). Previous US research has highlighted that the military can assist in the reorientation or shift in identity by promoting opportunities to construct an alternative positive, future-oriented former serving identity (Rogers et al., 2014). The distress reported by those in the study supports Christiansen’s (1999) proposition that a break in the coherence of an identity often diminishes a person’s ability to cope with stresses and may create a sense of meaningless.

With time, former serving members report developing new occupational identities for civil society, increasing occupations to improve identity and competence for civilian life. To assist with this, our participants advocated for military peer support to help address (“hold space”) the loss and evolution of their military identity. They reported this as military peers offer insider knowledge to appropriate languages and service recognition to enable transition, particularly for military personnel with combat experience. The findings also highlight that it is important for the ADF to adopt the recommendations made by Thompson et al. (2017), who argued that the military-to-civilian transition should be supported with (a) the acknowledgement to some degree of distress to be experienced in relation to identity; (b) deliberate management to the adaptation of a military identity; and (c) education of personnel prior to transition for re/construction and development of a civilian identity.

The military identity and joining the ADF in early adulthood

Our findings support that people who join the ADF in adolescence and early adulthood appear to face additional complexity from military identity challenges. They have a lack of experience and competence in civilian occupations due to a lack of occupational engagement in civil society prior to joining. Consequently, they have reduced competence to establish a civilian identity for civil society. This aligns with Thompson et al.’s (2017) hypothesis, in that adolescent development lost to military service challenges transition. An incomplete civilian adult self-conceptualisation is displaced by a military identity, which challenges those who join in early adulthood (Smith & True, 2014; Sugar, 2004). Sugar (2004) also noted that limited experience in civil society creates challenges. Thus, if transition services and support are limited, they could be targeted at those who require more support to structure and plan for occupational engagement in civil society.

The military identity and an involuntary separation

Involuntary separations are reported to adversely impact the health and well-being of former serving members (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2021), and are associated with a lack of preparedness for the transition to civilian life (Jones et al., 2020). Within the current study, those whose left due to injury experienced the immediacy of disruption to the military identity which created a dissonance between the ways military personnel understand themselves and their associated competence. As such, an involuntary medical separation compromised self-perception and the competence associated with a military identity and appears associated with a sense of betrayal by their injured body (Thompson et al., 2017). As former serving members report, this finding indicates that a disruption in competence associated from an injured military identity further complicates transition for those who separate medically.

A military identity challenged prior to transition was also faced by other involuntarily separated participants in this study as a result of administrative action. This non-medical separation also compromised competence associated with a military identity, challenging transition. The heightened risk of suicide associated with this separation type (Productivity Commission, 2019) supports the call for further research to enable this unpopular separation type, shaping the military-to-civilian transition experience.

Transitioning from a collective identity to a civilian identity: Moving from we to me

The engagement in military occupations and culture creates a collective ‘we’ aspect to the military identity. This creates challenges for transition which require a shift towards an individualistic ‘me’ identity for participation in civil society (Truusa & Castro, 2019). This aligns with Soeters et al. (2006), who highlighted that the shift from the collective military culture to the strongly individualistic civic culture challenges the military identity. Demers (2011) noted that the typically individualistic value of civic culture stands in stark contrast to the ‘we’ identity of the military culture, creating conflict at the time of transition. Moreover, the self-promoting culture in civil society, focused on individual achievements and skills (Truusa & Castro, 2019), challenges the collective achievements associated with the military identity, suggesting the need for support with the move from an occupational military identity and the shift from ‘we to me’. This shift is supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which recommends transition supports should offer a path of reorientation and self-redefinition, moving individuals from the collective community in military service to that of an individualist in society (Robinson et al., 2017). Indeed, to better enable the adjustments required to address a military identity in transition, enhanced understanding of the development of a military identity is necessary (Bergman et al., 2014; Blackburn, 2016).

Future Research

Occupationally focused research into military identities, focusing on the impacts of engagement in military occupations, is recommended. Such studies should include the influence of environmental factors, such as engagement with military peers and the outdoors. The understandings gained would inform provision of opportunities for the military community to establish, maintain, or reclaim the identities (Christiansen, 1999) of civilian life in civil society. Additionally, military-to-civilian transition research should examine occupational competence and identity, to validate identities that have enabled personnel in their past.

Limitations

In the recruitment of former serving ADF members during the COVID-19 pandemic, electronic methods were utilised, limiting the study to members with access to the required technologies. Another limitation is the small sample (n = 4) of female, former ADF participants, who are already unrepresented in military research (Demers, 2013). Yet, while the findings are not generalisable and may not represent the entire community, the depth of the 12 participants’ experiences offered a detailed exploration of the military-to-civilian transition.

Conclusion

The study contributes to understanding how having an occupational military identity challenges the military-to-civilian transition. In doing so, the construct of occupational identity is advanced, exploring the ways occupations intersect with and influence the formation and expression of individual’s identity. Findings demonstrate the need for the ADF to provide additional support to people during their transition with a greater concern for the function of occupations. We have identified that those who leave the military involuntarily are less prepared to suddenly shift their identity. In addition, it appears that those who join the military with little or no previously established civilian occupational engagement or social networks require additional support to transition back into civilian life. This support should include support in reflections on their military experiences (occupational participation) and how to incorporate the positive aspects of military service into a civilian occupational identity.

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge and respect the Pambalong clan of the Awabakal people, traditional custodians of the land on which the University of Newcastle, Australia is located, where this research was conducted.

The authors acknowledge the sacrifice of military service and thank the 12 participants for sharing their transition experiences. We also thank Open Arms for their support to enable recruitment.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).