# Military Soldier Workers

## Typical Military Service Cycle&#x20;

All Soldiers within the National Military will serve in active military service for 6 month periods at a time, which would then be followed by 3 months of leave. The exception to this are Generals who are effectively on call at all times and have no official leave periods. This period of active military service for Soldiers is, however, sometimes extended if required by the National Military.&#x20;

An example of this would be if a Squad were on a distant mission that required them to stay longer due to unforeseen circumstances. These situations are, however, rare and upon return from such a mission, the Squad would simply take extra leave in order to align them once again with the typical 6 on and 3 off cycle that their Squad was supposed to be in. The exception to this are Special Forces Squadrons who are frequently required to extend their active military service time and/or cut their 3 month leave period short.

If a squad has been on active duty for the typical 6 months then this is always followed by 3 months of mandatory leave from active military duty. The entire squad will be stood down from active duty during this 3 month leave period.

## Accrued Free Time for Soldiers&#x20;

Just like Civilians who work more than then minimum working hours, Soldiers also accrue Free Time during active service. For every day in active service, a soldier is logged as working 10 hours and because they have no days of Free Time for the entire 6 months of active military duty, they therefore log a total of 1,260 hours (8 hours x 126 days) of active military service. That being said, a regular Soldier is not able to access this accrued Free Time within their first Military Service Cycle, which is to say for the first 10 years of Military Service.

## Veteran Soldiers&#x20;

Once the first Military Service Cycle has been served, a Soldier becomes a Veteran Soldier, and they will be eligible to access all their accrued Free Time. In the event that a Soldier retires or is discharged from the Military prior to completing the minimum 1 Military Service Cycle, then they will receive all of their accrued excess work hours, however, they will not be able to rejoin the Military for a period of 10 years. After serving at least 1 Military Service Cycle, some Veteran Soldiers elect to take a few years of Free-Time and will often explore other interests. A few will retire, however, the vast majority remain in the Military and simply take periods of extended leave from duty.&#x20;

Once the first Military Service Cycle has been served, a Veteran Soldier can apply for leave from duty for up to a maximum of 80 months (5 years) within any given 10 year Military Service Cycle. Such a Veteran Soldier would need to negotiate with their Squadron leader regarding when (and if) this leave could be taken. If a Veteran Soldier exceeds this maximum leave period and fails to return to active military service despite being called upon to do so, then they will be discharged from the Military via forced retirement and will not be allowed to rejoin the Military for a period of 10 years from the date of retirement.

## Retirement&#x20;

Once a soldier elects (or is forced) to retire from Military Service, they cannot rejoin the Military for a period of 10 years from the date of retirement. This is to discourage soldiers leaving the Military.

## Choosing their Work Hours&#x20;

Military soldiers are not permitted to choose their work hours, however, Veteran Soldiers can negotiate with their Squadron leaders periods of leave but they need to be flexible and adapt to the needs of the Squadron.

## Changing Work Roles&#x20;

### Changing to a different Military Work Role&#x20;

Military soldiers are permitted to apply to change their work role within the military whenever they want; however, a minimum of three months' notice is required, and furthermore, it is subject to approval by their immediate commanding officer. If a soldier decides to change to a different Work Role within the military, they will retain the highest rank achieved to date. However, if they have never worked in this role, they will be required to complete full training for that specific role. Where they have previously worked in the new Work Role, but the period of time when they worked was greater than one year ago, they will need to complete refresher training. Where they have worked in that Work Role within the past year, they will not need to complete any training and can immediately begin working in that role. If their commanding officer rejects their application to change Work Role, they must either choose to remain in the current role, appeal the decision at a military court, or leave the military service.

### Changing to a full-time non-Military Work Role = Retirement

If a soldier applies to change to a full-time non-Military Work role, then they are effectively retiring. They are expected to provide at least one month's notice. This is not subject to their immediate commanding officer's approval. In the instance that they do change from a Military Work Role to a full-time Civilian Work Role, then they will be subject to the normal requirements applicable when changing Civilian Work Roles. Of note, once a soldier leaves the Military force, whilst they will forever retain their highest achieved rank (unless they were dishonourably discharged and stripped of their rank), they will not be able to rejoin the National Military for a period of 10 years from the date of retirement. This is to discourage soldiers leaving the Military.

## Changing Work Locations&#x20;

Soldiers are not permitted to choose their work locations.

## Typical Working Day&#x20;

There is no typical working day for a soldier. Some days will require being awake for 24 hours or more at a time whilst performing a mission. Some days are filled with polishing weapons, working out and playing cards whilst they wait for orders. But soldiers must be ready at any time to leap into action and therefore for the two years of active service they are considered to be at all times on active duty.

## Typical Working Month&#x20;

There are no typical working months. Some months will find them on a distant planet whilst other months will find them working the space above their home planet.

## Typical Working Year&#x20;

There are no typical working years for a soldier.

## Soldiers and National Holidays&#x20;

Of note, all Work Roles within the National Military are considered Critical Work roles therefore no actively serving soldiers are permitted to participate in National Holiday celebrations or festivals. This is balanced in part by the large amount of accrued Free Time they generate during active duty, which can be accessed after they have served their first Military Service Cycle.
