There are some non-combatant military jobs that do exist. Most of these jobs are found in very remote or domestic areas and deal with personnel assistance or administrative duties. The availability of these jobs will vary from one branch to another.
Often, military jobs that don’t require combat will be found in the branch of the military with very little or no interaction with warfare. Even though these jobs may be labeled at non-combatant, the location you’re stationed in has more to do with whether you’ll see combat than the actual job.
When you start looking into military jobs that don’t require combat, you want to find a job that takes place on a domestic base. If the job takes place on a base overseas, you could end up in a war zone. Here’s a look at some of the military jobs that don’t require combat.
Training Instructor (Post-secondary Teacher)
As a training instructor, you will be responsible for creating a curriculum and teaching it in aid to the development of the military. You will have to test your students to ensure the knowledge is being retained. Most instructors will teach domestically on a military base, which makes the position non-combative.
If you want to become a training instructor, you will need to achieve a master’s degree or a Ph. D. In some cases, your experience will be enough, but this is rare.
The median salary for a training instructor is $75,430. This field is expected to grow by 13% by 2024.
Healthcare Personnel
Also known as medical assistants, healthcare personnel is responsible for the paperwork of the facility, along with assisting in obtaining patient vitals, blood draws, appointment scheduling and other tasks. Within most branches of the military, these positions are found on domestic or remote bases making them non-combative.
However, it’s possible to work as a medical assistant and get deployed into a war zone. You will need a high school diploma and a certificate to become a medical assistant in the military
The average salary for healthcare personnel can vary quite a bit depending on the field. The healthcare field is one of the fastest growing in the country right now.
Civil Engineer
As a civil engineer, you will be in charge of creating new technology to help improve the infrastructure of an area. This could include flood prevention, sewage, road building and even creating new buildings. It all depends on where you’re stationed and the needs of the area.
Most of the time, civil engineers will be working with preventative construction, which will help prevent natural disasters or attacks. They are not in war zones while they work. This job will require a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a licensure, along with experience, depending on the branch of the military.
As a civil engineer, the median salary is $83,540. This field is expected to grow by about 8% by 2024.
Surface Maintenance Mechanic (Heavy Vehicle Technician)
As a surface maintenance mechanic, you will be in charge of maintaining and repairing vehicles and equipment used commercially or in battle. You won’t have to travel for your work and this is generally a non-combative field in the military. However, there are times when you could be deployed to a war zone, which depends on where you are stationed.
If you want to become a surface maintenance mechanic, you will need a high school diploma, along with the right training and experience.
You’ll earn about $47,690 as a surface maintenance mechanic, as this is the median salary. This position is expected to see about 5% growth by 2024.
Computer Programmer
As a computer programmer, you will be responsible for creating and testing codes for existing software. You may also be tasked with creating new software, updating applications, applying computer languages to the programming process and troubleshooting errors.
Most programmers in the military have the ability to cover many types of program data from communications to weather. You could be stationed in a conflict area, but this is generally a non-combative position. Even in a combat zone, the work done by a computer programmer is non-combative. You will need a bachelor?s degree to enter this field of work.
A computer programmer will make about $79,840 as this is the median salary. The field isn’t expected to grow over the next decade, however.
There isn’t such a thing as a military job that doesn’t require combat. All military jobs could require combat. However, these are some of the safest military jobs you can find and if you’re stationed in the right location, you won’t have to worry about seeing combat.
If you want to join the military, but you don’t really want to go to combat, consider one of these positions. While there’s never a guarantee, you can choose a career path that is less likely to put you in harm?s way.
Don’t forget Chaplains.