G’day guys,
So sorry for not replying sooner but I haven’t been perusing the boards of PPRUNE as often lately, and in fact only caught this thread by chance. I decided I would take a day before posting a reply so I could gather my thoughts before blabbering pointlessly. Forgive me if I still do
I’ll try and keep the life story as short and un-complicated as possible. I re-did my tests one year later, having done my Night VFR for some instrument practice, among other things. Got through the aptitudes this time, which felt great. Only had to do the pilot specific tests this time. Then the psych, again, was a really nice person - no grilling, no excessive probes, etc. The Defence Officer asked me vastly the same questions as the psych and seemed to be happy enough. Then came the medical and the doc was also a great bloke, very supportive. But due to a medical issue I was medically “pending” till the specialist examinations. As it worked out, I was accepted for FSP, but was scheduled for specialist medical assessments before that. And shortly after getting the call of acceptance for FSP, I got a letter of rejection based on a specialist report.
Disappointing? Yes. Guts ripped out? Absolutely. But then I got the chance to travel across the world for almost a year, and I truly cherish that experience, along with the rest of my university experience; couldn’t imagine having missed all that. I’m now one semester from completing my degree, having stuck it out after all. And I now realise how unprepared I really was 2 and a half years ago. I have learnt that the good Lord (personal belief) knows time a lot better than I do. And all this time also allowed me to gather a lot of information and come up with a plan of action. I have just recently lodged an appeal as a starting point.
That brings me back to the present. Sorry, no big news yet. But I’m hanging onto the dream. And to the guys in my situation, especially those that have already tried a few times like FTI...yeah it does get hard sometimes. There have been times when everything seems too hard and the dream just seems like too much trouble. But you really need to gain perspective. I’ve been honoured to meet and learn from people from all corners of the globe. But as I’ve listened intently to their stories, one recurring thing that pi**es me off the most is hearing so many people say, “Sure I dreamed of doing that, but I didn’t think I could have made it, so I did this instead.” And to some degree I understand where they’re coming from, but it pi**es me off. Wherever you’re from, whatever the dream, remarkable people seem to give in all too easily, not fully realising that you only get one go at life. And if you’re not pushing for every moment of it to be the very best it can be, then you’re wasting it.
If I get in the RAAF, I’ll give it everything, but if I don’t, at least I’ll know I’ve exhausted every single avenue and fought every battle. Thanks to Cougar and Rivkin and Surditas and Trash and everyone who gave me pearls, and yeah, I’m still working on things.
Cheers and don't hesitate to PM
