Negotiating post-military identities: identity verification and wellbeing across the military to civilian transition

Despite growing academic interest in the military to civilian transition, sociological exploration is limited. While it is recognised that adjusting to civilian life is not a simple shift from one fixed identity to another, the underpinning mechanisms and wellbeing implications remain underexplored. Drawing on in-depth narrative interviews with 10 military veterans, conducted as part of an 18-month ethnography, this paper advances sociological understanding of the military to civilian transition by examining the multiple identities beyond the military/civilian dichotomy. We identify four strategies employed by veterans to navigate identity disruption, focusing on identity verification and subsequent implications for wellbeing. Underpinned by a symbolic interactionist theory frame, our analysis suggests that these strategies prolong the emotional distress associated with enacting the military identity in civilian life. This highlights the complex nature of identity negotiation across the transition and offers important implications for supporting veterans in developing post-service identities that facilitate positive wellbeing.