Still serving? Prepare for more than the next job.
Six weeks, starting with where you are now
This programme is for serving personnel preparing to leave. Week 0 captures your starting point. Weeks 1–5 then work through the five AURIS pillars: Awareness, Understanding, Regulation, Identity and Stability. It is preparation and education, not therapy, diagnosis or a prediction that you will struggle.
- Week 0: My Starting Point
- Week 1: Awareness
- Week 2: Understanding
- Week 3: Regulation
- Week 4: Identity
- Week 5: Stability
AURIS is testing this structured sequence. It is not claimed to be the only, necessary or best way to prepare for transition.
Five things worth noticing before you leave
- 1. Routine. Notice how much of your day is currently decided for you. Civilian freedom can be welcome and still require a new structure.
- 2. Belonging. Your unit, team and shared language provide connection as well as work. Think about what will replace regular contact rather than assuming it will happen automatically.
- 3. Rank and recognised competence. You may move from being known for what you can do to having to explain it again. That change in recognition can matter even when the new job is good.
- 4. Purpose. A job title and a reason for getting up are not always the same thing. Notice what service gives you beyond pay.
- 5. Your family. Leaving changes routines, expectations and communities for the people around you too. Include them in the preparation rather than treating transition as an individual event.
A simple baseline before you go
Ask yourself: What parts of me belong to the military role? What parts are mine wherever I go? What will I miss? What am I looking forward to? What needs replacing deliberately rather than by chance?
There is no correct score and no assumption that you will struggle. The point is awareness: seeing the change before you have to react to it.
What the evidence does and does not say
Published research supports taking occupational and military identity seriously during role exit. AURIS is also studying these questions through its ongoing Identity After the Uniform programme. The AURIS five-pillar sequence is a structured, evidence-informed design being tested; it is not proven to be the only or best sequence, and this learning is not therapy or clinical treatment.
Questions people ask before leaving
Is it too early to think about identity before I leave?
No. Practical resettlement and identity preparation can happen alongside each other. You do not need to wait until your last day to notice what the role, routine, rank and unit currently provide.
Does this replace resettlement or career support?
No. Employment, housing, finance and resettlement matter. This page covers a different question: what changes in your sense of self when a role that has structured daily life comes to an end.
What if I already have a civilian job lined up?
A new job can solve an employment problem without answering every identity question. Preparing for both is not a prediction that transition will be difficult; it is simply making the invisible parts of change easier to recognise.
Want to prepare before you leave?
The six-week serving-personnel programme is available in the AURIS Academy. Start with Week 0 and the before-course measure, then work through Awareness, Understanding, Regulation, Identity and Stability.