OASC Bulletin 10
Last week John completed the application process prior to attending the OASC. After filing his interest with the CIL, he attended an Officer P2 Presentation, followed by an interview. He subsequently received a call-forward letter from the OASC to attend in 3 months time. This week we will follow John through arriving at RAF Cranwell to the beginning of the Exercise Phase.
John drove to RAF Cranwell on Tuesday afternoon arriving at the Main Guardroom at about 1700hrs. He parked his car behind the Main Guardroom and went in to obtain his passes to gain access to the base. He was given direction to the candidates’ accommodation and the car park, which he duly followed. He went to the Candidates’ Mess Reception to get his room key and, after unloading his car and settling into his room, he walked back to the Candidates’ Mess to see who was around. He met up with a number of other candidates in the Mess where he chatted over a drink until dinner at 1800hrs. At 1830hrs, all of the candidates congregated in the Television Room in the Candidates’ Mess for an arrival briefing delivered by the OASC Duty Officer. The briefing outlined a few mandatory points, general administration information and summarised what to expect during the selection process. The candidates also received a number of forms that had to be filled in and handed to the OASC Reception the following morning. After the briefing, John had another drink and a chat to a few more of the candidates before heading back to his room to carefully fill in his forms, paying particular attention to the legibility, accuracy and coherency of what he was writing, after which he got an early night in preparation for the intensive 1st day of the selection process.
The candidates were awoken by a bell at 0600hrs the following morning and, after a quick shower and change, they all went to breakfast. John made sure that he had all the required documents and his sports kit packed in his bag. He also decided to take his notes that he had made throughout his time researching about the military, his chosen branch and current affairs so that he could use them to revise if he had any spare time. He then made his way across to the OASC building by 0650hrs. On arrival, the candidates weremet by the Aptitude Testing Team and given a brief about the procedure for the aptitude testing phase. Before he knew it, John was concentrating intensely on a range of aptitude tests. The tests took John about 7 hours in total taking into account scheduled breaks. Once he had finished the tests, he went back to the candidates’ waiting area and used his time wisely by reading through the notes that he had decided to bring. Eventually, he was called forward for a review of his aptitude performance. He went into an office with the reviewing officer where he was given the good news that he had scored well on his aptitude tests. John was delighted. The Reviewing Officer then outlined his performance in more detail and gave John a few words of encouragement for the Exercise Phase. Now buzzing, John went back to Reception. After a short wait the candidates were told to get changed in to sports kit and then they were issued with green coveralls ready for the next phase. Now back in Reception the candidates were given numbered bibs to put over their coveralls which identified what candidates were in which syndicate. Next, the candidates had their photos taken and then they were told to sit and wait for a welcome briefing from Group Captain OASC.
At 1450hrs, the Group Captain entered the waiting room and welcomed the candidates to the OASC. He explained that the candidates were joining the RAF at a very demanding and challenging time therefore standards were high. He went on to encourage everyone to give the Selection Process their all and contribute fully to all aspects of the next phase. The briefing really fired everyone up. The atmosphere was filled with nervous energy as the candidates waited for the Board Members to come and collect them to commence the Exercise Phase.
Next week, we will continue John’s journey through Day One of the Exercise Phase.
For more information regarding any of these areas highlighted, please contact your AFCO and they will be able to give you more detailed information regarding specific cases.
Please note that, although OASC will endeavour to answer generic questions that arise, we will not be engaging or commenting on individual cases. In those cases, the individual is advised to contact their nearest AFCO who will be able to deal with any queries. All information published is for information only. Information regarding a career in the RAF can be found at http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers
Last edited by OASC; 8th Jun 2011 at 09:02.