UK Army Air Corps advice needed...

[Pandalet]

So, I have a slightly unusual (I think) situation, and figured you military folks might be able to offer some advice. This specifically regards the British army, and I'm not in any way from a military background or family, so please structure replies accordingly (words of one syllable or less ;)).

Background:
I've always wanted to fly, but for various reasons, never followed up on it until now. I grew up in South Africa (although I was born in the UK, and thus hold a UK passport), including completing several degrees there (computer science / physics / electronics). I'm currently 26, edging towards 27. I'm about 15 hours into my PPL(H), having passed a few of the ground exams (stop laughing!).

I did look into becoming an RAF or RN pilot, but alas, age is against me. I also looked into AAC, and after speaking to an officer at Middle Wallop, found that they were more interested in good officers than pilots, and thus if I did well at Sandhurst, the age limits became somewhat flexible.

I'd never really considered a military career, so I did some research, to find out what army officers actually do...and, to my surprise, it looked like something I might actually be good at, and, what's more, enjoy. If anyone is desparately bored, I'd be happy to elaborate on specifics. So I filled in the forms and sent them off.

This is where things get a bit sticky. It turns out that the high-school qualifications I hold, when converted to UK equivalents, come out rather the worse for wear - basically (and this is my opinion, having taught here and compared the GCSE / A-level syllabii to what I did in matric), my qualifications are treated as being worth rather less than they actually are, and I got a letter telling me that I wasn't educationally qualified. As I'd also booked a 'suitability interview' with the folks at Blackheath, I phoned them up, explained the situation, and asked what I should do. They said that there may have been some error, there might be some leeway, and that I should come in for the interview anyway.

Fast forward a month or so to last week, when I attended said interview. We started out from "there's nothing we can do, sorry", I argued my case, explaining why I didn't accept the verdict and pointing out what benefits I could bring to the army (also available on request for the very bored), and we had a chat about why I wanted to join the army. Some phone calls were made. The result is that I've been put forward (and accepted) for an RCB briefing towards the end of next month, with a possible special interview with the Educational Advisor.

Advice requirements:
So, I have an RCB briefing in a little less than 2 months. I have a broad idea of what to expect, having discussed the various stages in the interview, and having read the PR material. I realise that for most of the tests, you either have it or you don't, although some bits (such as the current events debate) require prior study. This is one of those "any advice would be useful" situations, really - useful prior reading, mental exercises, etc. I've started digging up practice psychometric tests as well, for what they're worth.

Something I could really use some help with is fitness training. While I did do a fair amount of exercise (gym, diving, etc) while at Uni, I've rather blobbed in recent times. I've restarted weight training, and am about to start running regularly; the officer career info booklet also gives some basic info about what I need to acheive (although not in huge detail). I have reasonable upper body strength, thank heavens, but that's about it. Advice on a postcard, please...

Feel free to PM / email (via the forums) any advice / info / questions if you'd prefer. All constructive criticism gratefully received :ok:

[Tourist]

Pandalet.
From the very favourable impression I get from your post you should absolutely walk through the interview process.
That said, as you know, the aptitudes are pretty much set at birth. You either can or can't, no point in worrying.
Worth getting fit, it shows commitment, plus makes training a lot easier. Running sucks, but it works. ditto pressups/situps/pullups
Read the Times, Guardian, Independant, Telegraph cover to cover every day. You will be a font of current affairs knowledge before you know it.
Best of luck

[airborne_artist]

Indeed, what a good first impression you will make.

Fitness: Sandhurst may be a few months off for you yet, but you will need to be fit to get through it. Gym is good, so long as it's building stamina. I would suggest a good pair of trail running shoes, and get running longer distances off-road; stamina will get you through, not pure speed, so find some hills and put in the miles. If you can work yourself up to 8-10 miles at sub 8 mins/mile over paths/tracks you'll be fit by Sandhurst standards. You'll also find swimming good if you can stand the boredom of 75 x 25m. Push biking also works, and is low impact, unless you crash:E

I'd add The Economist to your weekly reading list.

Ask your FI how much aptitude you have - or yourself. How far have you got in your 15 hours?

If you've got degrees I can't think why they are fussed about your attainments to 18, but I'm sure it will work out.

Best of luck. :ok:

[Pandalet]

Thanks for the wishes and advice so far - it's good to know I've not completely got the bull by wrong udder :ok:


Ask your FI how much aptitude you have - or yourself. How far have you got in your 15 hours?


My FI says I'm "well ahead of the curve", but isn't prepared to be more specific than that (I don't blame him). I've just done advanced autos (in the PPL exercises, Ex 18), and should be soloing in the next few hours - apparently, my instructor feels that "if something should go wrong on the first solo, [I] should be able to have a good stab at putting the craft down and walking away". I've passed the air law and met exams, and should have done the RT paper by the end of the month or so. I started training in Jan, and have (barely) maintained one hour per week of training.

And I'm getting a ride in a Gazelle this weekend :D:D:D

[airborne_artist]

Just bear in mind that the whistling chicken-leg/Gazelle will spoil you for the R22 or similar that you are learning on.

FWIW the RN rotary syllabus in 1979 anticipated a student solo going at 13 hours, but that was with the benefit of 80+ hours FW immediately prior, continuous training, an easier aircraft and no ambulance-chasing lawyers. Seeing that you are doing this very part-time I'd say you are going at a rate very comparable to a good Service student.

[SALAD DODGER]

Just go for it at RCB, be as fit as you can and prove you are robust and confident. You don't have to be the fittest person there if you can show a bit of grit and a basic level of fitness to get the job done. However if you hope to go quickly to Sandhurst I would reccomend doing as much exercise as you can, as it will help a hell of a lot. There is a video out there somewhere about getting fit for Sandhurst.

Act fast, as you are probably pushing it age wise if you want to start a mill flying career. You did not say if the AAC had agreed to sponsor you. I think the AAC has a quota of Officers for each year based on DOB. I doubt if they have any space as a Direct Entrant for someone of your age. However you may be able to cross over from other regiments, and if you really shine at Sandhurst and are considered a 'good egg' you may find some doors opening.

Good luck, and don't get too hung up on the fitness training to the detrement of all the other areas. The publication 'The Week' is a cracking read for current affairs. Also read up on all the latest Army equipment from DROPS to Apache. Try some Speed distance time calculations and basic maths. Be yourself, don't play to the croud and above all enjoy it.

Try the Army for more tips:
RCB HELP (http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/Forums/viewtopic/t=15750/highlight=rcb.html)

[6Z3]

Just be sure you fully grasp the AAC officer career profile. Any aspirations to climb the career ladder will entail abandoning the cockpit early on, especially with age not on your side.

[mingthemerciless]

Indeed

Bone up on all current affairs. The Week" is excellent.

i would read up on politics/policies of why we went to Iraq,Northern Ireland
and I bet some questions will come up at pre-RCB/RCB. Always assume you are being assessed even when talking to cleaners/staff and othr candidates

Prepare physically but remember once at Sandhurst you will trained achieve a certain level. Start slow and get faster.

Be yourself, but the best bits of yourself.

A really good time is to be had in the services. Whether as a short service officer or as a career. Enjoy the experience:ok:

[maccer82]

As has already been mentioned, get as fit as possible for Sandhurst, however your RCB Briefing is easier than that as on the Multi stage fitness test you need to achieve 10.2, all the other services make you continue until you drop, the RCB only asks you to prove you can get to the Sandhurst entry limit, so being super fit for RCB is not completely necessary, it is for Sandhurst. Your local gym will probably have a copy of the well loved 'bleep test' and if you ask nicely will let you have a go at it. The other fitness aspect at the RCB is the individual assault course, maximum aggression, they love aggression.

As for the group discussions, continue learning current affairs and be prepared to put YOUR opinion across, do not say more than you have to, therefore blocking other peoples chance to express their opinions and do not BS, they are also looking for someone who knows when to stop.

The planning excersices are pretty straight forward, however do not spend the whole 45min working out the perfect solution to the problem, it seems they are more interested in why you did not choose other solutions than why you chose the one you did. Make sure you are clued up on speed/distance/times and you should have no major problems.

Interview is standard affair, be prepared to answer the obvious questions, such as 'why do you want to join the Army as an officer' seeing you have limited family connections with the Army, i imagine this will be one of your first questions, they gave me a hard time for all my relative being in the RAF or RM. For specialist knowledge, i doubt the interviewing officer will know much about the AAC, so be prepared to answer questions on the structure of an infantry regiment (number of men in a platoon/division and the ranks of officers in charge of them). If for any reason you do not know the answers, do not guess, be prepared to admit you are at the limit of your knowledge. They love eye contact as well, so keep staring at him until he feels uncomfortable!

The final part is leadership excercises, just make sure you are working with the team, and make sure your voice is heard by the observing officer, the completion of the task is not essential.

I cannot say anything about the psycometeric(sp.)tests, as you said, you either have it or you dont. I guessed most of the answers for the test with the funny pictures, and was asked in my final interview if i had ever considered military intelligence... contridiction in terms or what. Everyone else says im thick...

Also, try and enjoy it!

Good luck, any problems feel free to PM me.

Mac

[Pandalet]

Thanks for all the advice, folks - the link to arrse was especially useful :)

maccer82: fortunately, I can get away with 8.1 on the MFT, 'cos I'm a guuuurrrl.

Which is especially useful, as I went for my first run in 10-odd years yesterday evening, as well as restarting weight training. To say I'm chronically and disgustingly unfit would be an insult to chronically and disgustingly unfit people. I managed a whole 4 press-ups right after, too. 20 sit-ups, tho.

Predictably, the sore muscle gnomes snuck in during the night and beat me with big sticks. :{

So, of course, I'll be doing the whole thing all over again this evening after work :{:yuk:

On a related note, could someone please detail what a 'proper' press-up and sit-up are - having attended a crap all-girl school, they somehow weren't on the curriculum :hmm:

[airborne_artist]

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't have you down as a lass - all the more power to your elbow. Get in there and give them stick. Read up on Margaret Thatcher :ok:

[Pandalet]

Sadly, most people tend to assume I'm male until corrected - must be my lifetime of tomboyishness and exposure to (almost)all-male work environments ;)

...which is not without benefits - as the only woman on my floor, I get my own loo :ok:

[Stitchbitch]

Pandalet...check your PM

[SALAD DODGER]

Don't know about the Army, but think this is a fairly good pressup from the Navy. Sure the high heels will go down well at RCB!
http://www.fashion-heels.de/images/newt_valent_pressup.jpg

[Super 64]

Pandalet,

Although I am not a graduate of RMAS, I am sure the standards for physical fitness tests between RMC Duntroon and RMAS are quite similar. (please correct me if I am wrong).

The requirement for a push up is as follows:

PUSH-UPS

Push-ups are a military push-up, where the toes and hands are in contact with the ground and the back is straight. The shoulders are lowered so that a 90-degree angle forms between the upper and lower arm at the elbow. It is important the back remains straight whilst performing each push-up. The push-up style is the same for both male and female recruits

There are also numerous training programs that can be found by doing a google search, these should see you fit as a Mally bull (or fiddle of you prefer) in not time. I agree with the above posters, the fitter you are the easier things will be.

Cheers

S64

P.S. That's a fine example of a push up SD, I'd certainly like to be assessing those, preferably from underneath.

[Pandalet]

So, progress has been made:

I'm tootling off to Cranwell for testing at the beginning of May. A little research around the web seems to indicate that the aptitude tests are similar to the RCB Briefing ones, in that they involve plenty of time/speed/distance calculations, and the rest you either have or don't - can anyone confirm this or care to comment?

Also, the letter says "aptitude and medical", but nothing about fitness - they're not going to sneak a fitness test in, are they? :ooh:

Also also, Cranwell is an RAF base, right? So not over-burdened with army folks? The reason I ask is that it'd be quite nice to get a chance to chat to some 'real' army people (i.e. not the folks they thought polished enough to let out in recruitment offices), especially about fitness training (no, I'm not obsessed!).

In other news, I managed 4 press-ups last night :{

P'let

[airborne_artist]

Search this forum for loads of OASC threads/info. The medical is checking you out in the aero-medical sense, so you'll need to be a sensible weight for your height/build. Think CAA class 1.

I'd suggest that you pester the AAC to get you a visit to an AAC base/unit. This page (http://www.army.mod.uk/armyaircorps/officer_career.htm) gives details of the Lt Col rtd who looks after officer recruiting, who is at Middle Wallop, near Salisbury. Perhaps you could take in MW on a navex for your PPL(H)? The Lt Col would be impressed :E

[FrogPrince]

Pandalet,

If you have trouble getting off Mon-Fri due to work pressures I can give you a PoC at 7 Regt. We do periodic 'Look at AAC(V) Life' weekends.

Our PSI's are Regulars, the pilots are ex-Regulars.

FP

[Pandalet]

Just a quick update: I went to Cranwell for aptitude and medical recently; aptitude was no problem, although the medical found some minor oopsies. As a result, the AAC has decided I'm medically unfit, due mainly to something that happened some time ago, so it looks like I'll not be flying for the forces. As I was pretty much AAC-or-bust (un-PC though that is), there doesn't really seem much point in carrying on, although I'm considering going to my RCB briefing (since it's in less than a week anyway), just to prove to myself that I could have done this.

While I always considered the military route a long shot, it's still unpleasant to be told that you'll never be able to do something you've committed yourself to; the more I looked into things, the more opportunity there seemed to be. Unfortunately, I definately want to be flying helicopters in my next career, so I guess I'll be calling on the CAA next. On the up-side, I've discovered that I rather enjoy reading The Week, so thanks to whoever suggested that.

Really, the point of this post is to say a really big thank-you to all the folks here who provided much-needed encouragement and advice along the way. You guys are fantastic, and I'm just sorry I won't get the chance to buy you a beer sometime! :ok:

[diginagain]

Try not to be too downhearted, Pandalet, at least you gave it a go. Thanks for coming back and letting us know how you got on, and good luck in whatever you do in the future.

[Colonal Mustard]

Whilst not wanting to discourage you, far from it you sound like you`ll be fine but this is a little story of what happened to a friend of mine.

Mate A of mine is a Staff Sgt in the army, his father is a WO2 also in the army, younger brother of mate A wants to join army also when he reaches 18, he attends army recruitment centre and is told he is well below a decent educational standard, he tries reasoning with the bods but to no avail, he is told go away and study some english and maths before returning.

During this period he enlists with the TA in a trade, a number of months pass and he is coming along nicely, then alas Big Tony sends the guys and girls out to Iraq, guess who is sent call up papers (Mate A`s brother), he dutifully serves 6 months then requests to stay a further 6 months and ends up serving 3 (total 9 months) before being replaced and returns to UK, he receives promotion to corporal in the field prior to his return, his CO welcomes him back along with his pals and guess what,Regulars offer him a Job, he dutifully turns them down muttering i`ve done enough running around for a couple of years.

Moral of the story,there are a load of muppetts who conduct interviews, just read your notes and hope you dont get a muppett interviewing you:ok:

Oh and as a single fella he made a bucket full of money

Good luck

[flyingrupert]

Pandalet if you need any further AAC orientated adivce give me an e-mail. Have you a date for a visit to the AAC yet? If so i will no doubt see you at Middle Wallop when you rock up.

FR

[hihover]

Pandalet, I admire your determination and am sure you would have done well with the British Army. However, it may just be a blessing in disguise as you would have been at a significant disadvantage due to your age. Your training requirements to become an operational pilot would have put you into a squadron just before your 30th birthday which is quite late in life to join a unit as an officer with a very short military background like yours.

I understand from your posts that flying helicopters is what you want rather than being a soldier. If that is the case, don't wait any longer. I would suggest that you make sure that you can get a Class 1 Medical Certificate and if you can, beg steal or borrow whatever funds it takes to get onto a proper pilot training course. There are a few good helicopter schools out there who will train you well but if you leave it much longer you may miss the boat.

You sound like a determined young woman, good luck.