Why I Joined the Reserves
by Chris - March 2025
I spent 11 years in the military (I’m sure at least one person reading this is saying “get some time in”). In just over a decade, I got to experience a diverse range of roles from repairing and operating anti-aircraft radars through to helping defend key computer networks, all whilst getting to travel to some unusual places and do some cool activities. However, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, due to a mix of reasons I did the seven clicks to freedom and was out.
Largely I have no regrets about my decision, when I left, I was worried about how I was going to fit in and how I would miss the feeling of being part of a team and the camaraderie, however I still get that with CND.
During my exit process someone mentioned to me about joining the cyber reserves, it wasn’t something I had previously considered, thinking I wanted to make a clean break from the military, but also not really knowing much about it and assuming that my technical skills wouldn’t be good enough (imposter syndrome strikes again).
I did some research, and the more I thought about it the more appealing it looked. For anyone considering it or wanting to find out more see here Joint Cyber Reserve Force - GOV.UK. I won’t go into the joining process in detail, but I would say if you are interested give it a go.
So if you have made it this far you are probably wondering why I chose to join the reserves, especially after leaving regular service. Although the work I do here at CND is interesting, I missed some of the work I was doing with the MOD including being able to work on niche projects and having an impact on Operations. The reserves offer all the benefits of that with less of the disadvantages of regular service life. Another added benefit is that it’s a great way to network with professionals from all across the industry which means getting a load of experience I wouldn’t be getting otherwise.
CND make life easier by giving me 10 paid reserve days a year which means I can fit my commitments in around work time, this really is a help as without it I probably wouldn’t be able to commit.