A model of military to civilian transition: Bourdieu in action Linda Cooper, a Nick Caddick, a Lauren Godier, a Alex Cooper, a Matt Fossey, a and Hilary Engward a ABSTRACT Building on recent work that used the ideas of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu to construct a theoretical framework for considering military to civilian transition (MCT), this article introduces a practical approach to develop the use of this theory into an adaptable framework to explore factors that affect MCT. We have devised a model of MCT called the Model of Transition in Veterans (MoTiVe) to explore why an enduring attachment to the military exists for Veterans and to develop an understanding of how ‘‘looking back’’ on life events experienced in the military may cause difficulty for some in transition. We use Bourdieusian theory to consider the adjustment of military personnel back into civilian life, taking into account the importance of individual variances in socio-economic trajectories, life stories, and subsequent discrepancies between the norms of the military and civilian environments. We suggest that MoTiVe is a useful tool to reflect on how life experiences, both within and outside of the Armed Forces, affect the transition process, which can also be adapted to consider periods of transition in all walks of life. Key words: Bourdieu, civilian, identity, military, transition, Veterans RE ´ SUME ´ Dans un article re´cent, les auteurs ont eu recours aux travaux du sociologue Pierre Bourdieu afin de mettre sur pied un mode`le the´orique avec lequel approcher la transition de la vie militaire a` la vie civile (TMC). Construisant sur nos travaux pre´ce´dents, cet article introduit une approche pratique afin de de´velopper l’utilisation de cette the´orie en un mode`le explorant les facteurs affectant la TMC. Nous avons cre´e ´ un Mode `le de la transition de la vie militaire a` la vie civile (TMC), dans le but d’explorer les raisons expliquant l’attachement continu des ve´te´rans au monde militaire et de de ´velopper une compre ´hension de comment le « regard en arrie`re » sur certains e ´ve´nements ve´cus dans les militaires peut causer des proble`mes chez certains ve´te ´rans vivant la transition. Nous avons recours a ` la the´orie bourdieusienne afin de conside´rer l’ajustement du personnel militaire revenant a` la vie civile, prenant en compte au passage l’importance des e´carts individuels au niveau des parcours socio-e´conomiques, des re ´cits de vie et des diffe´rentes subse´quentes entre les normes militaires et les environnements civils. Nous proposons que le mode`le de TMC est un outil utile afin de re ´fle´chir sur comment les expe´riences de vie, tant au sein que hors des Forces arme´es, affectent le processus transitoire, ce qui le rend adaptable a` l’e´valuation des pe´riodes transitoires dans toutes les sphe`res de vie. Mots cle´s : Militaire, civil, transition, Bourdieu, identite´, ve ´te´rans INTRODUCTION There is widespread interest in military–civilian transi- tion (MCT) within both academic and military com- munities, yet little theoretical or empirical research exists to consider what difficulties may arise for some Veterans in the process of reintegration to civilian life. In the United Kingdom, the Armed Forces Covenant 1 informs quasi policy through the collaborative efforts of corpo- rate covenants, community covenants, charitable organi- zations, and individuals. The Armed Forces Covenant 1 suggests that the nation has ‘‘an obligation for life’’ to support former members of the Armed Forces and their families, and that they should face no disadvantage in society based on their military service. However, ARTS AND HUMANITIES * u a Veterans and Families Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK Correspondence should be addressed to Linda Cooper at linda.cooper@anglia.ac.uk. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health 3(2) 2017 doi:10.3138/jmvfh.4301 53 Correspondence should be addressed to Linda Cooper, Veterans and Families Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Bishop Hall Ln, Chelmsford CM1 1SQ, UK. Email: linda.cooper@anglia.ac.uk. https://jmvfh.utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jmvfh.4301 - Thursday, July 07, 2022 10:55:56 PM - IP Address:34.207.169.152