What's it like going back for reservist every year?

Honestly for me it got easier every year, partly because I stopped fighting it mentally. First few cycles I was resentful, treating it as a pure inconvenience. Then I reframed, it's a forced digital detox and a chance to catch up with the guys, and the attitude shift changed everything. Practically, the demands genuinely lighten as your vocation ages, fewer field days, more admin roles. The hardest cycles are when career and family are both intense in your 30s. Tips, block the dates early once you get the notification, tell your employer well ahead, and prep your spouse. Also the IPPT and the fitness upkeep is the sneaky ongoing part people forget, stay in shape year-round so it's not a scramble. It ends eventually, count down to your MR.

Done 7 reservist cycles now, so I've seen it evolve. Early on when you're single it's honestly not bad, sometimes even a mini reunion with your unit mates, and the pay make-up plus the break from office can feel like a weird holiday. It gets tougher once you have a demanding job and young kids, that's when the two weeks away really bites, your wife holding the fort, work piling up. But logistically it's well-run, your employer must release you and top-up pay is handled. My honest experience, the physical side gets easier as they scale down demands with age and you do fewer high-key ICTs over the years. The mental juggle with family is the real challenge, not the soldiering. Communicate early with your boss and spouse and it's manageable.

Let me give the less cheery angle for balance. For me the reservist years coincided with the most demanding phase of my career and it genuinely held me back a bit, I couldn't take certain overseas roles knowing I'd be recalled. That's a real cost people don't talk about. The camaraderie is nice but I'd trade it for those two weeks with my family honestly. That said, the system is fair, your job is protected by law, income is topped up, and the demands do reduce with age. My coping strategy was pure logistics, mark the dates, brief the team, arrange backup at home, and just grind through it. It's a duty, not a joy for everyone, and that's okay. The good news, there's a finite number of cycles, and then you're free.