• military
• medicine
• psychology

Sir,

This special issue on military psychology offers an outstanding opportunity to communicate the breadth and depth of the discipline to anyone with an interest in military healthcare. It is with this in mind that I wish to offer some observations on my journey towards qualifying as a uniformed clinical psychologist in the British Army.

I have always had great respect for the British Army and admired the heritage of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS). My personal connection to the military began when my brother, Sergeant Thomas Collins, joined the British Army in 2009. Learning about his experiences and researching the area, I developed an understanding of the sense of belonging that military life can engender and the wonderful opportunities that it can provide, such as international travel.

Unfortunately, my undergraduate and master’s degrees did not include teaching on military psychology, and I knew little of the potential roles of a clinical psychologist within the UK’s Armed Forces (AF). In 2014, my mother encouraged me, at a Royal Air Force show in Bournemouth, to approach a recruitment stall and ask whether they employed clinical psychologists. My question was met …