British Army Veterans Experiences of the Transition into Civilian Life: An Ultra-Realist Perspective

British Army Veterans Experiences of the Transition into Civilian Life offers an ultra-realist explanation of Army veterans experiences of the transition into civilian life. It argues that the Army contains its own Symbolic Order, a model of meaning making, which is distinct from the civilian method of making sense of the world.

By combining qualitative data from interviews with veterans, their spouses, and charity workers, with the tenets of ultra-realism, this book provides a new theoretical framework for considering how veterans move from an occupation inherently imbued with subjective violence into an objectively violent job market. As most scholarly and political attention has concentrated on the few veterans who encounter immense difficulty in their transition, this books sheds light on the vast majority who are deemed to have an 'unproblematic' transition on account of their employment status and lack of serious social or health issue.

This work is particularly relevant for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, and policy makers interested in exploring military-to-civilian transitions alongside broader discussions in criminological and social theory.