A blog from Army&You’s winter 2021 edition by Sophie, @sophiethomas2212

I guess not everyone can say their experience of army life began with no knowledge of the military whatsoever and in the middle of a pandemic.

Having been with my partner for more than five years working in ‘normal’ office jobs, it came as a slight shock when he decided he wanted a career change and joined the army. I had no idea what to expect as I haven’t had any family or friends in the military. From him applying, everything then seemed to happen so quickly.

When he was due to leave for his basic training, it was going to be the longest we had ever been apart from each other. I found it really difficult to come to terms with as just after he left, we went into full lockdown in England. I found myself at home with not a great deal to do after being put on furlough at work.

Fast forward to October last year and we got engaged! We decided we didn’t want to wait to get married so we booked a small wedding with just a witness each in December 2020 and then moved into our army quarter by the end of that month.

A year into my army journey I’ve found that it’s a great community to be a part of. Even moving during the pandemic and not being able to meet people face-to-face for a while didn’t matter as everyone made us feel so welcome through the power of social media.

I’ve also learnt to deal with my husband being away and we just make the most of every second of him being home. Our next chapter of army life is about to become so much more exciting as we are expecting our first baby in January 2022.

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