Caroline Y. asked a question to Paratrooper R.
We are a level 2 UPS course wanting to know more about service and routine for our topic.
Hi, within the army most soldiers work as part of a team - teamwork is kind of the bread and butter of what we do. Even if you work single handidly on a vehicle or something, you will have a team around you and people to double check. How often you see your friends and family is a really common question - during basic training (14weeks) you won't really see anyone - although there are some long weekends but you can still FaceTime etc as you always have your phones (unless on exercise). After training, it depends on where you are posted to how you see your friends and family. Some people end up being posted back to where they grew up and can live at home or rent a place or whatever! The army and going to work is just like a 'normal' job (obviously unless you're on duty, or exercise etc). It's one of the biggest misconceptions - that you're in the army so you live in an army camp, behind a wire. Lots of people have their own house (owned or rented), play in local bands or sports clubs that have nothing to do with the military! 'Normal' (ie when not on exercise, ops, duty etc) working day is usually a late start on a Monday (to allow people to travel back to work), finish around 5pm, Tues 8-5 with Physical training (usually an hour with time then to get shower and changed), mid morning break too. Weds afternoon is usually sports afternoon, THurs - similar to Tues and Friday sometimes finish after lunch to allow people to travel if they have family miles away. We try to give people that flexibility when we can because sometimes (exercises, tours etc you could be working 24/7!).
The food is great - loads of variety and pretty cheap. For example, lunchtime you can get a main course, pudding and drink for around £2.50. Main course could be a anything from a jacket potato with a couple of fillings, an omelette, chicken fajita etc etc. There's always loads of choice - it's like being in the school dining hall!
Hope this helps.
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