Why I ditched my city job in Singapore for the Army

After leaving York, John Huntington ditched his high-flying finance job in Singapore to join the Army. 

John, who is a hockey-playing grad, left his city job after he got fed-up with sitting behind a desk all day.

He said: “I basically got bored, and realised that I didn’t enjoy working behind a desk.

“I then worked as an ultra-distance runner for a couple of years, and I loved being outside, doing fitness and having a bit of freedom.

“The Army provided me with everything I want from a job, as well as giving me the moral and ethical satisfaction from work which was lacking when I worked in finance.”

John regrets wasting time in London and Singapore sitting behind a finance desk and wishes he’d fought off his final year doubts about joining the Army.

“I contemplated joining in my final year at uni, but was put off by some of my preconceptions about the Army, so never investigated further, and now I regret not joining sooner.”

The York grad quickly left the city behind and settled into life at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

“Sandhurst was awesome, I can genuinely say it was the best year of my life.

“It’s hard work, regardless of how prepared you are for it. It’s tough, physically and mentally, and instills in you a set of specific values and standards, and also a unified purpose moving forward.

“Uni is about finding out for yourself what you enjoy doing, and what you might want to do in future life. Whereas Sandhurst is about finding out where your limits are and whether you have what it takes to lead soldiers.

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“It’s a combination of physical and mental exertion, which is extremely rewarding once you come out of the other end.

“On a daily basis, you will likely get a combination of physical exercise and learning, either academic subjects such as war studies, or military-specific things such as the combat estimate process.

“Be prepared not to sleep very much.”

John’s been dealing with a long-term injury for the last 18 months which he says the Army has been supporting him with.

“The Army has a fantastic medical service so I’ve been receiving the equivalent of private physio and occupational health, for free.

“After recovering I’ll explore other roles in the Army, but in terms of further ahead, there are opportunities to work overseas on longer-term projects and training teams, which is the sort of work which interests me most.”

Since joining the Army, John has trained at camps in both France and Germany.

“Friends of mine from the same Sandhurst intake have been posted to a variety of locations such as Brunei, Nepal, Mali, Germany and Cyprus, and one of my friends is currently undertaking pre-deployment training before posting to Afghan early next year.”

Since graduating from Sandhurst John has been working in the Educational Training Services (ETS), which educates officers and solidiers both in this country and overseas. John’s regiment is also responsible for training foreign forces, like the Afghan National Army.

As a teacher you wouldn’t expect to see much combat but John recounts times where his friends have been caught up in exchanges with the enemy.

“Our primary role is not a combat role, however as the ETS has had officers deployed to Afghanistan throughout the Herrick operational period, as well as many other deployments, working with and amongst the local populace; members of the branch have been involved in contact.”

When asked whether he thinks the grads coming through are a bit soft, John disagrees.

“The few that I’ve had exposure to seem pretty switched on. I feel due to the wind-down of operations in Afghanistan, and few opportunities for overseas deployment into a kinetic operational environment, graduates who join these days have to be motivated and keen to see the Army as a long-term career choice.”

“If anything, grads are turning up for selection more aware of certain aspects of military life such as physical training, nutrition etc, all of which contribute to make them more conscientious in their approach to their roles.”

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