Defence Force cadets’ withdrawal symptoms over phones
A top-level report said cadets and officer recruits found the lack of sleep and early starts as well as diet and fitness regimes to be demanding.
Dr Eileen Doyle, chair of the Independent Monitoring Group, said young trainees to the Army, Navy and Air Corps were having “great withdrawal symptoms” being without their mobile phones. But she said the young adults she spoke to took the restrictions with “good humour”.
The IMG 2014 report said cadets and recruits highlighted a number of other issues they were facing in training:
- Being away from home for the first time;
- Being continually “on the go”, suffering lack of sleep and early mornings;
- Missing family and friends, including not being there for events, such as birthdays;
- Having so little time off;
- Being on time, with trainees saying military punctuality was “somewhat different” to workplace and study punctuality.
The IMG accepted there were “challenges” to new personnel socialising into the Defence Forces.
It said this was particularly in relation to “confinement” with very little access to family, friends, home, transport, and personal space, which, in some cases, could be “quite intensive”.
Other challenges listed by the IMG include: uniform — having no choice on footwear, hairstyle, makeup or jewellery; daily schedule — no choice in rising time, meals, relaxation; diet and exercise regimes; and kit inspections.
Dr Doyle said she was impressed by the education levels and focus of trainees. She said they saw their military career as “long term”.
“They all seem to want to stay and they all seem to want to go overseas.”
Dr Doyle thought their morale was “very high”. She said the “ease with which they spoke” was a big change since 2001.
“They are more vocal, young people today. They’re prepared to talk, prepared to say what they like, what they don’t like, what they find difficult and why.”
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