Hi,

The Army does not offer the opportunity to join for 'a year or two' as we have strict terms and conditions of service. When a recruit joins the Army, they have a statutory right to leave within a certain window. This is called Discharge as of right (DAOR). For over 18s, they must give their Commanding Officer 14 days’ notice of their intention to leave once they have completed 28 working days. Their window to submit their notice closes at the three month point. For under 18s, the soldier can effectively give notice to leave at any point up until their 18th birthday having gone through the appropriate discharge procedure however, unless approved by the Commanding Officer, discharge would not normally occur before the 42 day window detailed above. The right to DAOR is separate to other administrative discharges such as those required for compassionate, medical or disciplinary reasons. Once the DAOR window has closed, the minimum Commitment Period / Termination from the Regular Army which a soldier is committed to serve is a minimum of four years’ service from their date of enlistment or their 18th birthday if later. A soldier must give 12 months’ notice to end their engagement early and the earliest they can do this is after three years’ service. This is known as Notice to Terminate (NTT). If they do not submit their NTT or are discharged for some other matter (e.g. for medical or discipline reasons), the soldier will leave at the end of their engagement, unless they convert to the next career stage.

Hope this helps.

SSgt Rob Needham

28 May, 2024 08:49

Hi Melissa, great question and as Rob said above unfortunately you can't just join for 2 years. However, the army has many, many routes for education (we are the largest apprenticeship provider in the UK). Regardless of what trade (job role) you choose to join you will be on an apprenticeship route (and gain nationally recognised quals). The army has routes for degrees and some of our soldiers have even completed PhDs at minimal / no cost to that individual. The army prides itself in the skill set and quals it offers all those serving so there is no reason at all you couldn't do a degree (usually via distance learning) whilst serving (with the added bonus of getting a salary!). There are other options - If you were looking at joining as a nurse for example, the Army will fully fund your time at Birmingham Uni whilst you do your nursing degree however you do have to be 18. I hope this helps.

28 May, 2024 09:16