Many non-serving spouses/partners now feel the sacrifices they have made with their careers in order to support their partners may have been in vain. Comments received include:


“I have not been able to pursue a career


because of my husband’s RAF career - I accepted this because of the benefits that his career could provide our family (CEA, good pension, earlier retirement) however these are being systematically removed, leaving us feeling let-down and wondering if it is worth staying in the military.”


“My wife has moved six times in the past nine


years with me. She holds a degree and although she had a well-paid job on leaving university, she has since been reduced to accepting poorly paid jobs to fill a year or two before we move on. She begrudges the military for preventing her from having a career for which she was trained and feels she has been reduced to a ‘wife-of’ and second class citizen in the eyes of the military.


“Her CV has multiple short term jobs listed,


which employers see as a commitment issue and prevent them from training or employing my wife in the knowledge that she will quickly move on again.


“Our unit is particularly remote and makes


job-seeking incredibly difficult. I left my previous role because we moved from our previous station. I had a senior position earning nearly £10k more than I am earning now. The childcare arrangements were difficult, I can’t rely on my serving spouse being able to collect my son or drop him off as his working hours vary so much, so it all falls to me to find a job that is flexible enough to allow me to fit around childcare arrangements.


“Being away from our families means we have


no regular support network to call on at short notice should our son be ill or need to stay home for some reason. Thankfully I have found a fantastic employer who is extremely accommodating of my needs in this respect; however I think that I am the exception to the rule in this regard. It is incredibly difficult for wives to find work for so many reasons, childcare and the constant relocation being the main ones”


This has prevented her from fulfilling the career prospects that she thought she once had, and accepts that she is now a Forces wife with all the issues that this creates.”


26 www.raf-ff.org.uk


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