Transitioning from Military to Civilian Society: Trials and Tribulations of Integration Process

The Armed Forces require young and physically strong soldiers to win wars. Therefore, about 60000 soldiers from the Indian Armed Forces retire every year, called Ex-Servicemen (ESM) or Veterans. The government has initiated measures including training courses, reservations in government jobs and self-employment schemes for resettlement of ESM. The objectives of the study were to: Investigate the resettlement and integration problems of the ESM, identify and examine ‘Enablers’ and ‘Barriers’ in the process and study and explore the ‘Quality of Life’ as perceived by ESM. The research was confined to the ESM comprising personnel below officer rank belonging to all three wings of the Indian Armed Forces. The survey was conducted online. An online survey software was used to design and share the and record responses. We found that a majority of Ex-Servicemen retire before they turn forty, and a significant minority could not get jobs and resettle. Employment emerged as crucial for resettlement and integration. Higher education, merit and networking, and job reservation helped in obtaining employment. However, government departments did not implement job reservation rules faithfully. Ex-servicemen lacked civilian job skills, and employers did not recognise their military skills. ESM considered government resettling agencies as powerless, ineffective and of little use.