THROUGH THEIR OWN WORDS: UNLOCKING THE MILITARY CAREER THROUGH METAPHORS

Since the ways we think, act and interpret our experience are profoundly metaphorical (Lakoff & Johnson 1980, Ortony 1993, Kövecses 2010), it is expected that any professional practice should be shaped by underlying metaphors. The major aim of the present paper is to identify how Romanian high-school students in military colleges conceptualize their military educational environment and their career. At the same time we propose that some of these metaphors generate fresh insights into the concept of (military) career and consequently become a breath of fresh air for military recruiting advertisements and other college promotional materials.

Having conducted our investigation at the Ștefan cel Mare Military College in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, one of the three military colleges in Romania, we argue that the set of metaphorical expressions collected through unstructured interviews and questionnaires are determined by a complex interplay of personal, situational and cultural factors. The metaphors have shown us how Romanian young people make sense of and construct (military) career and are themselves constructed and constrained by its pursuit. We also suggest that the educators in our military colleges need to be aware of the enabling and the restrictive powers of these metaphors.