Thousands of people serve in the forces on a part-time basis while holding down a civilian job. Three Army reservists share their motivations for signing up.
Michael Goode, 24, is an officer cadet in the reserves. Outside of the Army, he’s a customer manager at Associated British Foods
Looking back, I think joining the Army was an itch I’d wanted to scratch for a long time, but it wasn’t until some university friends joined the regular Army and the reserves that I felt inspired to join. I was blown away by how much it changed them for the better. It made them more confident, capable and definitely fitter than before. The way they talked about it made me realise that it was something I’d really love to do. That’s what really inspired me to join, but I think the seed might have planted with my grandfather, as he fought in the second world war. I remember as a five-year-old boy him telling me stories about fighting through Europe; maybe something was buried then. That probably spurred me on to study history at university.
I was also motivated to join because I wanted more out of life [than just a civilian job]. While I really love my current job – I knew this wasn’t where I wanted to draw the line. The beauty of the reserves is that you can lead two lives: you have your day job, and then you put on your uniform and do something completely different. That’s so appealing.
When I joined the Army reserves as an officer cadet in February 2016, I could only do 12 sit-ups – I was never one of the strong guys. But in my last test I did 52 press-ups and man, I’m happy. I’ve never been that physical so it was so rewarding to achieve that. Being in the reserves has given me an immense sense of pride. It’s challenging, but it’s only the first chapter.
Taylor-Jayne Fox, 43, is a reserve major and commands 209th (The Manchester) Battery of the Royal Artillery. In her civilian role, she’s operations manager at James Fisher Nuclear
I was one of those people who never knew what they wanted to do when they were growing up. But fortunately the penny dropped when a female Army captain visited our college as part of a “women as managers” day and described what her job entailed. While the other speakers talked about their desk jobs, she came in and talked about everything she’d done – like skiing, travelling to countries like America and Germany, and I thought: do I want the desk job or the other one?
I made a beeline for her afterwards and she told me about how the Army offered a Short Service limited Commission (SSC) – now known as the Army’s Gap Year Commission – and I thought: I’d like to do that. I was attracted to the challenge, the travel, the adventure.
I deferred uni for a year and did my year with the Army, which involved going to Cyprus for the year, where I was posted to a Royal Logistic Corp unit and was responsible for the movement of personnel and equipment through the RAF station. Afterwards, I studied business studies at the University of the West of England. I made the decision not to join the regular Army when I did the SSC because I was like, I’ve done it now, I’ve had good training, been to Cyprus and had a laugh, and I wanted to do something else – and university was pushing me towards civilian life. I knew I’d be happy to be a reservist.
Being in the reserves has given me the opportunity to go sailing, kayaking, hang-gliding, parachuting. I’ve worked in Cyprus, Belgium, Canada and the Falklands and I’ve flown with the Red Arrows. I do get to do a lot of great things. I’ve had training at the best leadership training college in the country. It’s been brilliant for my CV. It’s definitely helped my career, it’s made me more confident. I’m now a major, which involves recruiting and training soldiers.
Daniel von Barloewen, 31, is a captain in the Royal Yeomanry. He’s currently posted out to the University of London Officers’ Training Corps as the second-in-command of B Company. Outside of the Army, he’s head of international development consultancy at estate agent group Savills
I grew up surrounded by the Army. Going back to the 11th century, every generation in my family apart from the last was in the Army. Over the years my family has served in the British Armed Forces, the American Armed Forces and the French and Russian. The Army has always been part of my upbringing – at home we’ve got ancestral military portraits and I read a lot of historical military books. There’s always been a sense that it’s your responsibility and duty to serve. I was always keen to join the forces; initially I wanted to go into the regular Army and I passed the Army selection board but after university I joined Savills and I loved my job. I always intended to do both and so I joined the reserves aged 22. But I always put myself forward for an operational tour. I went to Afghanistan for six months on a tour through the reserves.
The military has definitely helped my career. In the Army you have to think on your feet, you can’t snap and don’t get phased by pressure. You’ve got to get into your enemy’s mind and think about what’s driving them. In business, you look at your client and think why are they saying this and analyse instead of purely thinking about what you want.
I’m hugely grateful for the training and the sports I’ve participated in. I regularly play polo and ski with the Army. Now I manage 125 officer cadets, who are university students, and I’m responsible for organising and developing their training, teaching them the Army way of thinking and analysing and solving problems. I get the best of both words – I get fantastic opportunities [in the Army], but then come back to a great civilian career.
