Hi guys,
Long time reader of the forums though never posted. Just wanted to bring a few things up I've noticed and I don't want anyone to take offence or otherwise to them.
First up, from what I can make out, DFR is a joke. Some of you have been lucky to get into flight selection rather rapidly but spare a though for those of us who were cleared and have spent over 7 months waiting (and still waiting) to go down to Tamworth due to incompetence. My case manager basically kept putting off her applicants processing for several months so that someone else could pick up the slack when she went on mpaid maternity leave. I personally chased up my paperwork every week for 2 months with the same response. "It's on my desk, sorry I haven't sent it, I'll do it now." I heard that phrase parroted back to me every week for over 2 months. Then she went on maternity leave and my paperwork was still not sent.
Anyways, another point I wanted to raise, and please don't take offence to this Wag, but, how is it that a 40 year old man with high cholesterol and as such is a high risk for heart disease and stroke, and by inference, leads a more or less unhealthy lifestyle, been cleared for PSA. Now I realise 43 is the cut off age, but, 40 is really pushing it. Assuming he gets a clearance to be a pilot, by the time he's finished training he's extremely close to 50 years of age.
Has anyone else noticed the recruitment drives recently, as well as pilot becoming a priority job again? I personally have several contacts and have been talking to several MPs about this and all have said the same thing. Defence is trying to force people out, not get them in, though you wouldn't know it with all the money being spent on recruitment drives. If A Current Affairs is anything to go by, there are over 400 different types of jobs in the Defence force that need filling which from my understanding is BS. Defence does not have the money nor the resources to keep up with the amount of people wanting to join due to GFC.
Sorry this is a little jumbled guys, I needed a place to rant on my disatisfaction as to the recruiting process. 18 months in the recruitment process, despite my qualifications, life experience, multi-lingual abilities and professional athletic achievements leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth when kids straight out of school and old men are taking less than 4 months to go from You session to flight selection.
There is a lot of other stuff I'd like to bring up but right now I just can't be bothered. I'm extremely disappointed in the state of our defence force recruitment process and it is starting to make me second guess my wishes to join the Australian defence force.