Soldier first to get job (3)
I believe the answer is:
gig
'job' is the definition.
(gig is a kind of job)
'soldier first to get' is the wordplay.
'soldier' becomes 'gi' (government issue or general issue**).
'first to' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'get' is 'g'.
'gi'+'g'='GIG'
(Other definitions for gig that I've seen before include "One-horse carriage" , "Band performance" , "A one-night musical engagement" , "Palindromic one-night engagement" , "Live performance; light two-wheeled carriage" .)