To give a bit of clarity
BFTS is closing up shop. The instructors are moving to Sale to convert to the PC21 and thus the courses are being stripped away from BFTS in 2018. The first Army BFTS course next year is in September, until then it is RAAF/RAN courses mainly consisting of ADFA with a few DEO courses.
HATS is opening at Nowra - the same "train the trainer" issue has seen a limited pipeline for Army pilots to go through and this has reduced the intakes.
So what: If you are in the pool it is facetious to think that the lack of candidates going into the pool means you've got an amazing chance - the courses are thinning out next year as BFTS reduces capacity.
To answer a few questions - the course intakes are panelled months in advance. It is fairly common for Army to be recruiting 6-12 months out, and everyone that went to RAAF from my intake got offers on 3-9 months notice. This gives rise to the "OTS is full" idea.
DEO Army - This links in with the "enormous pilot intake" fallacy. Army is currently having issues with the restructuring of its training pipeline. There is a skill shortfall at the QFI level meaning there is a backlog of pilots awaiting conversion. The recent RMC grad had approx 10 pilots. The next class coming through now only has 3 pilots. The so what is that Army is restructuring the training timeline and therefore there is less intake. Eventually all RMC cadets will have the option to test for Pilot as opposed to entering the College on a cadetship.
Medicals - attestation medical is completed on the day of appointment and is relatively cursory to check for any final changes. Your actual medical only lasts 12 months much like it is in service.
I am about to go on Chrissy leave so if anyone has any questions post here and I'll do my best to answer them.
Best,
flyingsoon