OASC Bulletin 15
In the last bulletin, John had just completed all of the aspects of the Exercise Phase of the OASC Selection Process. He had been told to go to the Candidates’ Mess for lunch and then to return to OASC changed into a suit. We now join John as he finds out whether his performance in the Exercise Phase demonstrated enough potential for him to continue to the formal interview, medical and fitness testing parts of the Selection Process, which would commence that afternoon.
John arrived back at the OASC Reception in good time. He talked to his colleagues about the exercises that they had undertaken that morning as they waited anxiously to be told whether or not they had succeeded. The candidates were then told to move to the briefing area and wait. Shortly afterwards, one of the members of the OASC Control Staff announced the names of those candidates who needed to collect their belongings and follow him. John’s name eventually was called but Candidate 5’s was not. John gathered up his belongings and made his way to the Medical Reception to wait for his medical examination and interview. He (and 'Unchecked') were very relieved to have made it through the Exercise Phase this time but felt sorry for Candidate 5. John knew how he must be feeling, after all he had been in that position just 2 years previously. John knew that the people left in the OASC Reception had not made the cut and would be briefed accordingly by one of the boarding officers.
Once in the Medical Reception, the candidates received a briefing from the medical staff outlining what would take place over the next few hours and when their interviews would be. John’s interview was due to take place the following morning. He felt quite relieved about this as it gave him another night to prepare. Immediately after the briefing, John’s name was called out for his hearing test, to be followed straight away by his eye test. He then was anthropometrically measured in detail to determine whether he would fit into all of the cockpits and flight decks of the aircraft in the RAF. After a short break, he had a urine test, an electrocardiogram and finally a spirometry test. Then he was then told that he was not to eat anything after 2000hrs that evening so that a fasting blood test could be taken the following morning. That concluded the medical examinations for the day and the candidates made their back to the Candidates’ Mess.
In the Mess that evening, John bumped into Candidate 5. When he asked how he had got on, Candidate 5 stated that the Review Officer had said that he had not projected himself adequately enough and generally lacked confidence within the group. As a consequence, he could not effectively influence the group’s activities or put his ideas forward in a forceful manner. He was also told that he struggled with problem solving skills. The Review Officer gave Candidate 5 some sound advice on how to improve on his shortfalls and advised him to come back in a year’s time for another attempt. John smiled as that was exactly what let him down on his previous visit to OASC. John gave Candidate 5 a few words of support and advice before going in to dinner.
The following morning, John made his way over to the OASC Medical Reception feeling rather hungry. He was taken immediately into a treatment room to have his blood taken, after which he returned to the Candidates’ Mess for a late breakfast to replenish his energy. Then, having returned to Medical Reception, John was led to a treatment room for a thorough medical examination by one of the doctors before being taken for his medical review. In the review, John was given a clean bill of health and declared medically fit (at this stage only) to serve as a pilot; however, he was told that the results of his electrocardiogram and blood tests would remain outstanding and could impact his medical fitness for selection to FB(P). Nevertheless, John was delighted to have passed the medical at this stage; now he had the challenges of the interview and fitness test to deal with.
Next week, we will follow John through his interview.
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; 11th Jun 2010 at 09:42.