A Tale of Two Soldiers: Andy Reid MBE and Dan McGuigan on life and work after the armed forces
This Remembrance Day, we’re joining the world in paying respect and tribute to those who have lost their lives in conflict.
But in addition to that, we’re also looking at how we support those who have spent a portion of their lives in the armed forces and then face the often-difficult transition into civilian life and employment.
For a special edition of our PathFinders series, we spoke to two British Army veterans who both had very different transitions out of the armed forces.
Andy Reid MBE, Morson’s ex-forces ambassador, lost both of his legs and his right arm after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan in 2009. Following a long road to recovery, Andy spends his time inspiring others and working with his charity, the Standing Tall Foundation, to offer free support to people who are struggling with mental health issues, addiction and more.
Dan McGuigan left the armed forces after serving 13 years and now works as a specialist ex-forces recruiter within Morson Forces, helping veterans transition into civilian roles with our major clients.
They talk about their experiences in the armed forces, their transitions into civilian life and much more.
Andy:
I know the initial process having been in the forces, you get your half pension at the 12 year point or you do your full time and you get your full pension. I know you sign off and then a year later you’re out of the forces. So how did that process go through what happened after you get signed off?
Dan:
Yeah, I think when I was leaving, for me, like you said, I left during the Covid times so resettlement for me was a little bit disjointed. There was a lot of online stuff as you would expect. Options were fairly limited but it would have been much better than veterans leaving service ten years prior to this.
So there were a lot of online courses and online workshops. A lot of the career transition events were run online, so it was a lot of sitting in a virtual room of 100+ people for CTP events and a lot of big firms attending, basically trying to recruit online. I think everyone was adapting to the timeline that we were in. But equally it probably made it more difficult. For me it was just by ensuring I was working through all the right courses that were available at the time, marking off what was going on transition wise for me and my family and equally the courses available. It was making sure I was setting myself up right for leaving with the support of things like the CTP. I think it’s quite easy to fall into the trap of trying to do every course under the sun.
A year seems like a lot of time and there was a lot of people who are getting extensions due to Covid. But I think once you’ve got a year to plan and you try to do all the courses, you can quite quickly run out of time. I’m quite passionate about being the position I’m in now where I can advise veterans on the courses that are best suited to the roles they’re looking for. I didn’t have the time, so you kind of just wanted to tick every box.
I’ve used all the weaknesses in my resettlement process to benefit those that we’re talking with now in terms of how we can direct and give guidance moving forward.
It’s good to see a company like Morson be on hand to support service leavers in search for those snippets of advice, guidance on CV’s, interview prep, opportunities, workshops, virtual events, face to face events.
Watch the video above for the full conversation between Andy and Dan.
A proud holder of the prestigious Ministry of Defence Gold Award, Morson Forces is our dedicated recruitment arm focused on securing skilled employment for ex-forces personnel, their spouses and partners, supporting their transition into civilian life.
Click here to register your CV with Morson Forces
