I hadn't been able to find anywhere where this question has been mentioned. I've pasted all my assessments and all is well and I'm soon off to Kapooka. I am just wanting to ask for views on relationships, once enlisted is it very difficult to keep a girlfriend being that you'll spend a lot of time training? Or once everything starts is it something that takes the back seat? Just asking for advice? Thanks.

Well naturally its I have the vocabulary of a bogan who dropped out in year 9 and the word I was looking for was "going to" be hard but its up to you and the missus.

Tonight, you men will sleep with your rifles. You will give your rifle a girl's name because this is the only pussy you people are going to get. Your days of finger-banging ol' Mary J. Rottencrotch through her pertty pink panties are over! You're married to this piece. This weapon of iron and wood. And you will be faithful.

"This is for fighting, this is for fun!"

Mate, relationships are a lot like the webbing/chest rig argument. It all comes down to personal preference. There will be some guys (and girls) who stay faithful to their partner the whole time, and there will be others who will come within milimetres of being charged with something relating to sexual misconduct on a weekly basis. That's life.

However, generally speaking the relationships that last between servicemen/women and civillians are the ones that existed prior to enlistment, because it gives the non serving partner a bit of a walk up to what life will be like. I'm not saying it always works out like that, it's just the statistic.

If you have something that's working, and he/she is special to you, hold onto him/her folks. Nice, loving people can be few and far between.

I have a boyfriend who's a rifleman. When he first went to Kapooka we were only friends, it wasn't until later that we started going out. He started as a chocko and then swapped over to reg a few months after we started going out. At times, it can be extremely difficult on both of us: when he goes out bush and not being able to talk for several weeks, trying to cope with two very different schedules, thoughts of more trips ahead, putting up with some of the army bullshit that happens and the stress associated with it. But for us it's worth it because what we have is worth hanging on to. Like someone said, it's personal really...depends how serious you are, how much you value what you have, whether you're both willing to make sacrifices.

And if you do keep together, remember that for her its the little stuff that will make a difference. Like organise to have flowers sent to her if you're going away (or from Kapooka, I hear it's possible to do that from the post office), understand that it can be hard on her as well, write her a letter when you're at Kapooka cause even if it's only a few sentences, it's something she can hang on to (unlike a phonecall), when you get posted to a base show her around so she can see what it's like and stuff.

I hear alot of ADG relationships turn sour, is this true, I have a wife all is well and she thinks she understands the proceedure but things will be different. is any AJ's out there in similar circumstances give me some light on this just PM me

Thanks everyone for the advice, but it looks like I might just have to find that special someone once I’m in. I have heard people say that Rifleman and ADG are very similar, so we might be in the same basket when it comes to this topic.

An AJ is someone from the Army mate.

You put as much strain on your relationship as you want to.

I know guys that as soon as they're out on course, they're out picking up and banging the local 'ladies', and others that are faithful as, phoning home, etc.

7 years ARA, 3 postings, and a dozen seperations ranging from 2 weeks to 2 months, and I'm still happily married (10 years total now), yet I've seen others that haven't lasted more than a couple of years.

It's mainly because of their marginal personalities, not the trade that they're in...