Flexible Service case study: Corporal Albert MacDonald video transcript
Updated 28 April 2023
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My name is Albert MacDonald, I鈥檓 a corporal and my current role within the
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RAF is to manage and maintain the deployed video conferencing network
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here at PJHQ Northwood. I鈥檓 a single parent so my schedule revolves around
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getting my youngest child Sean to get him ready for school in the
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mornings, he鈥檚 disabled so he needs help with certain things. I applied for the
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Restricted Separation, which limits how long I can be sent away from my family.
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Flexible Service is quite simple and straightforward. Just put your application in on JPA. It was an
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absolute godsend. The situation I was in, I had nobody for support to look
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after my children when I was away for these four to six months at a time, so it
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was a big headache for me and I was contemplating leaving the military, which
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is something I would have only done as a last resort, dreaded the thought of it.
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It suits him down to the ground and knowing that somebody with Albert鈥檚 knowledge and experience
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means that the section itself benefits from him being there rather than knowing
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that at some point he could be taken away from us.
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It鈥檚 a lot of stress trying to find a solution to who鈥檚 going to look after your family for four
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to six months. I don鈥檛 have that worry for the next three years, which is what
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I鈥檝e signed up for, for a Restricted Separation. So I鈥檓 not going to say my
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life is carefree until then, but it鈥檚 given me breathing space. I can relax,
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concentrate on my family, concentrate on work as well and not have the
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distraction of having to find a solution to being away from my family for a long time.