Open question · Leaving the forces

Who left the Army and went back in — and what made them?

Nobody has answered this yet. It is kept here because the question itself is rarely written down, and a question that is written down can at least be found.

Why nothing on the web answers it

The resettlement statistics count people in work at six months. They do not count the people who rejoined at eighteen months, and nothing describes what made them. Yet every service leaver knows someone who did, and it is one of the first things they want to ask.

Who could

Someone who left, spent a year or more outside, and went back in — on a different contract, in the reserves, or in the same job. Also the ones who nearly did and didn't.

What they would be asked

• What was the moment you decided to go back?
• Was it the work, the people, the money, or something harder to name?
• What would have kept you out?
• What would you say to someone leaving now?

There is no form on this page and no one to write to. If you are one of the people who could answer, the situation page says where people like you already gather. About this site.