chopper2004
21st Oct 2011, 13:39
Dear all,
I am interested in how the system works across the other side of the Atlantic for officers and aircrew selection.
When I was in the University Officer Training Corps, quite a few of the guys and girls went for their TCB (Territorial Commissiong Board) and after 3 day selection (individual interviews, group planning exercises, leadership and leaderless tasks with rop and drums and ladders plus PC based aptitude test and PT and gym fitness tasks etc etc and with the green light to go for 3 week commissioning course at RMA Sandhurst (as one described it as' pushed from pillar to post' or 'a sadists dream' :) )
I had the pleasure of looking after a syndicate of potential TCB candidates back in autumn of 1999 up at Chilwell Barracks who came from all walks of life and that was interesting to see what they had to go through! One of them was a girl in her 20s who was previously a sub Lt in the RN who left and decided to join up again as a Territorial Army (TA) 2nd Lt
One candidate in my syndicate told me about a guy who was in the UOTC then got his TCB and his commission was assigned to a unit that got mobilised for NI and he was given a call to say how did he fancy being put on full time for the next few years and jumped at the chance. Needless to say I suspect after the unit's time in NI was done he returned back to civilian and back to be a weekend warrior.
There was another guy who got his commission via the TCB and was in the Royal Engineers but after uni he wanted a regular commission so thereby he'd lose his rank and it was back to RMA Sandhurst for the commissioning course and another year of fun :)
Its my understanding that over in the USA, most of the officer corps go through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) route, with a good number for either Colorado Springs, Annapolis,or West Point or the various Officer Candidate Schools (OCS). If I am correct, in the ROTC, than the officer cadet does every weekend, all available courses plus the summer camps so when they graduate from the university they receive their commission as a reserve Lt then they transfer into the regular commission easily?
What process apart from interviews and a written recommendation by a senator does the applicant do to get into US Military Academy (USMA), US Naval Academy (USNA) and US Air Force Academy (USAFA) such as a 3 day selection that involves leadership tasks and fitness and aptitude testing before being selected such as the Admiralty Interview Board, Army Officer Board (combined from the Regular Commissions Board and Territorial Commissions Board) or Aircrew & Officer Selection
Likewise for aircrew candidates over in the USA, do they take the same PC based aptitude tests regardless of whether they do ROTC or OCS or the academies and is it around the time when they do their selection process?
IIRC, the USMC officer corps either do their 4 years at university with the Navy ROTC or USNA then do the OCS at Quantico then The Basic School. At one point the Annapolis graduate could just to the TBS than the OCS however I was told by an EA-6B Prowler pilot from one of the VMAQ squadrons over at Mildenhall Air Fete in the 90s, that the rules changed. This meant that the Corps decided, regardless of the 2nd Lt earnt from Annapolis, they would have to do the OCS before attending TBS.
And if I am correct at the end of the 3rd year of academy life, the officer cadet can transfer to the other services academies and graduate as a 2nd lt in the other service? Not like here when someone halfway through Sandhurst decides to join the RAF and the 6 months of Initial Officer Training (IOT) is over or the IOT cadet decides to have sea legs and join halfway through BRNC Dartmouth.
Cheers
I am interested in how the system works across the other side of the Atlantic for officers and aircrew selection.
When I was in the University Officer Training Corps, quite a few of the guys and girls went for their TCB (Territorial Commissiong Board) and after 3 day selection (individual interviews, group planning exercises, leadership and leaderless tasks with rop and drums and ladders plus PC based aptitude test and PT and gym fitness tasks etc etc and with the green light to go for 3 week commissioning course at RMA Sandhurst (as one described it as' pushed from pillar to post' or 'a sadists dream' :) )
I had the pleasure of looking after a syndicate of potential TCB candidates back in autumn of 1999 up at Chilwell Barracks who came from all walks of life and that was interesting to see what they had to go through! One of them was a girl in her 20s who was previously a sub Lt in the RN who left and decided to join up again as a Territorial Army (TA) 2nd Lt
One candidate in my syndicate told me about a guy who was in the UOTC then got his TCB and his commission was assigned to a unit that got mobilised for NI and he was given a call to say how did he fancy being put on full time for the next few years and jumped at the chance. Needless to say I suspect after the unit's time in NI was done he returned back to civilian and back to be a weekend warrior.
There was another guy who got his commission via the TCB and was in the Royal Engineers but after uni he wanted a regular commission so thereby he'd lose his rank and it was back to RMA Sandhurst for the commissioning course and another year of fun :)
Its my understanding that over in the USA, most of the officer corps go through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) route, with a good number for either Colorado Springs, Annapolis,or West Point or the various Officer Candidate Schools (OCS). If I am correct, in the ROTC, than the officer cadet does every weekend, all available courses plus the summer camps so when they graduate from the university they receive their commission as a reserve Lt then they transfer into the regular commission easily?
What process apart from interviews and a written recommendation by a senator does the applicant do to get into US Military Academy (USMA), US Naval Academy (USNA) and US Air Force Academy (USAFA) such as a 3 day selection that involves leadership tasks and fitness and aptitude testing before being selected such as the Admiralty Interview Board, Army Officer Board (combined from the Regular Commissions Board and Territorial Commissions Board) or Aircrew & Officer Selection
Likewise for aircrew candidates over in the USA, do they take the same PC based aptitude tests regardless of whether they do ROTC or OCS or the academies and is it around the time when they do their selection process?
IIRC, the USMC officer corps either do their 4 years at university with the Navy ROTC or USNA then do the OCS at Quantico then The Basic School. At one point the Annapolis graduate could just to the TBS than the OCS however I was told by an EA-6B Prowler pilot from one of the VMAQ squadrons over at Mildenhall Air Fete in the 90s, that the rules changed. This meant that the Corps decided, regardless of the 2nd Lt earnt from Annapolis, they would have to do the OCS before attending TBS.
And if I am correct at the end of the 3rd year of academy life, the officer cadet can transfer to the other services academies and graduate as a 2nd lt in the other service? Not like here when someone halfway through Sandhurst decides to join the RAF and the 6 months of Initial Officer Training (IOT) is over or the IOT cadet decides to have sea legs and join halfway through BRNC Dartmouth.
Cheers