What will service life be like

While working in camp in New Zealand, you can expect to always work in safe and healthy conditions. While you will spend most of your time living in a military camp, at times you will deploy into the field on exercise. This may require you to sleep under the stars in various training areas within NZ or overseas with only the clothes, equipment and amenities that you can carry on your back or in your vehicle — dependant on your trade.

Even if you are overseas you will still have opportunities to stay fit and relax when you are off-duty. Success relies upon you forming close ties with your mates, which means enjoying yourself in and out of work. Gyms and swimming pools can be used by both you and your family. There are bars to relax in with your pals and shoot some pool. There are shops and hobby huts, plus many clubs for you to share your passion with like-minded people.

This could be anything from motor biking to snowboarding. The Army also has holiday homes available around New Zealand that you can book for some time off. Just like the aircraft that we fly and maintain, our daily lives in the Air Force are fast-paced, exciting and packed with technology. When you are back on base the hours are the same as any civilian job, meaning you get time off to relax, enjoy yourself and follow your passions.

Our bases are all homes away from home. Whether your idea of relaxing is feet up with a cup of coffee, or hurling yourself out of an airplane with a canvas chute on your back, we will indulge you either way. There are loads of sports and clubs to get involved in, from all your favourite team sports to classic Air Force activities like flying and gliding. The Air Force also has some holiday homes around New Zealand that you can book for some time off.

Life in uniform. No two days the same Whether you're waking up on an Army base in New Zealand, on a Navy warship somewhere near Antarctica, or in South Korea as part of an Air Force deployment, each day in the Defence Force has the potential to bring something new and exciting. Your life on and off duty Working hours and work-life balance We know that achieving a balance between your career and your personal life is very important.

Getting the balance right We recognise that because you'll be required to sometimes operate in difficult circumstances, it's crucial we support you in maintaining good physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

Downtime Downtime can be spent however you wish. Time off and family life Holidays and annual leave We encourage our people to enjoy their holiday time however they like. Family life The Defence Force is very family friendly.

Have you ever woken up to find that your home has moved miles overnight? The program includes 25 different sports categories open to all active-duty personnel and features nine national championships and 16 international championships. The Military also offers discounted vacation opportunities to service members and their families. Each Service branch has a Morale, Welfare and Recreation MWR department dedicated to helping personnel with travel, recreation and social activities.

You can learn more by visiting each program's site:. Coast Guard MWR. There are many opportunities to travel the world in the Military. While there's no guarantee of placement, you can volunteer for overseas duty if you want to see more of the world. And no matter where they are based, depending on their current assignment, service members have opportunities to travel the world through deployment and recreation. If you're looking to travel on your own, many commercial airlines offer discounted fares for service members.

In addition, you can often take a free "hop" on a government airplane when extra seats are available through the Military's Space-Available Space-A program. The Military also operates low-cost rest and relaxation lodges and hotels in Korea, Hawaii, Germany and other popular destinations—even Disney World. World Travel Today's Military. Generally speaking, deployment is the moving of military personnel and materials from a home station to a specified destination.

It's never guaranteed that a service member will be deployed, and it depends on an individual's Military Occupational Specialty MOS and unit of assignment the group of service members you work with. Keep in mind that deployment doesn't automatically mean going to war.

Service members can be deployed for support in noncombat areas or foreign humanitarian missions, or they may even be deployed domestically to help with disaster relief. The U. Military has bases in multiple countries besides the United States. During deployments, service members may have some time for recreation and exploration. With that said, deployment can present legitimate concerns.

Proper preparation, especially for service members with families, can help minimize stress and anxiety. Online communities are available that offer guidance and support to service members and their families.

It's also important to note that during deployment, service members usually have access to postal mail, email, instant messaging and phone service even at sea. While communication may be restricted during certain missions, modern technology makes it relatively easy for service members to keep in touch.

Deployment Military OneSource. The Military understands that family is an important part of service members' lives. More than half of the active-duty force, approximately As a result, the Military makes family support a top priority. The Military has established exclusive programs addressing every aspect of family life to help service members and their loved ones. Some examples include affordable family housing, military spouse education, child care, affordable shopping, youth education and development, family health care, family advocacy, services for families with special needs, family citizenship, family recreation, financial stability, family relocation and family counseling.

The Military is constantly developing and expanding programs to maximize service member families' stability and quality of life.

Army Medical Laboratory Specialists are the backbone of their units and take responsibility for a variety of integral, complex tasks that keep lab operations running smoothly. Medical laboratory specialists play a crucial role as part of the army medical team by collecting, processing and testing tissue blood and the body fluids of patients. This career field requires individuals who have met minimal education requirements in the areas of biology, chemistry and algebra.

You must have manual dexterity and no aversion to the sight of blood or needles and an ability to precisely follow detailed procedures. Testimonial: Laboratorians require a couple of different characteristics, one of those being patients you have to be able to work through the problems that are presented by the patient because you have a lot of unknowns.

I would also say due diligence you have to be willing to sit down and really work throughout all the problems but most importantly I think you have to work a autonomously. A lot of times you're unsupervised there on the bench and you require the skillset that you learn in school and you have to apply that skill set to make sure that you're making the right calls or the right diagnosis for the doctors could then treat those patients.

Narrator: After successfully completing army basic combat training you will attend 52 weeks of advanced individual training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas to include a residency at a major military hospital laboratory.

You will perform elementary blood banking and clinical laboratory procedures in hematology, immuno-hematology, clinical chemistry, serology, bacteriology, parasitology and urinalysis. You will be responsible for collecting blood specimens by venipuncture and capillary puncture along with packing, unpacking, inspecting, storing and distributing blood and blood products and assembling disassembling and maintaining laboratory equipment.

Following successful completion of all required training you will be eligible for assignments at military hospitals located around the world or a military research laboratory. Testimonial: I appreciated that I was able to get paid to go to school while learning a very valuable career path that, whether I wanted to stay in or get out of I was going to be able to continue to have a good life after the fact.

Testimonial: I chose the medical laboratory specialist field because I had just come out of college and I thought that I wanted to become a doctor and all the information that I got when I did my research pointed to medical laboratory specialist as a really really good foundation. Narrator: As a soldier you will also have the opportunity to further your military and civilian education with additional specialized training or through college courses. Your military experience can help you in your transition from the military to the civilian workforce where you may pursue a career with privately owned laboratories, hospitals, clinics or research institutions.

Aiding in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease are the Army's medical laboratory specialists. Navigating military benefits after separating from service can be a challenge, but service members are never alone. The U. Services include financial and legal information, access to transition counselors and assistance for job seekers.