Marie Claire spends a day in the British Army

Marie Claire has been training with the Army and learning there’s more to being a soldier than press-ups and rifles. An equal opportunities employer, the Army offers salaries according to rank, not gender, and is always recruiting for more than 200 diverse roles (with all but a few front-line jobs open to women). There’s also a pension, 38 days annual holiday, maternity packages and subsidised learning.

Sounds enticing, but what's Army life really like? We sent Commercial art editor Michelle Kortekaas to the barracks in Deepcut, Surrey, to find out.

'I was excited to see what it was like, as I guess everyone has an idea in their head,' explains Michelle. 'And it was better than I expected.'

'In between drills, I talked to a couple of female Sergeants who were chatting about their after-work plans – ordering pizza and a bottle of wine,' she adds. 'They were just like me, but maybe more fit!'

Here's what else Michelle took part in at Deepcut...

9.00 hrs: Crew transport 'We wore full Army gear and got strapped in like a rollercoaster.'

10.00 hrs: Mini drill 'I was excited about the physical challenge – this was just the warm-up...'

11.00 hrs: Distribution 'The Royal Logistic Corps get equipment from A to B – as fast as possible.'

12.30 hrs: Lunch 'A field kitchen is literally just that, catering for 100 to 200 soldiers.'

14.00 hrs: Distribution 'These trucks can take anything, anywhere.'

16.00 hrs: Ammunitions air lift 'It takes teamwork to prep a crate, load it on to a plane and push it in an air drop.'

To find out more about life in the army, go to www.army.mod.uk/join/