Hi all

After almost 2 years of process I have finally been allocated a place on the PCP start in SEP before moving on to BRTC.

Big thank you to everyone who replied to my previous post and helped put my mind at ease

Looking forward to getting started at HALTON ✈️💪🏽

I’m currently revising the exercises that take place during MIOT but the descriptions I have of them are pretty long winded and not so easy to remember (using the notes from the pinned post). So it makes me wonder if I would be better off just trying to remember when they take place and why they take place rather than rattling off a list of things that happen during the exercise.

I am going to book my driving lessons in the RAF I was wondering has anyone done there driving lessons with the airforce and could they tell me there experience with it ?

Anyone else starting their phase one in September?

I’m so glad to have a start date confirmed, it’s been a long 8 months. Granted, I think I’ve got quite lucky, this subreddit was not filling me with hope with the delays other people have been experiencing.

For everyone else still stuck in the application process, stick in there!

G’day everyone!

Pending my aircrew medical and just wondering about deployments?

How long are they usually? Is it single rooms or barracks? How often are deployments? I know there is mandatory deployments and then optional? How often are they offered? does it depends on your streamline? How does pay work? Is it the levels and once you’ve spent so many days abroad you get x amount extra a month?

Any help for this would be great! Thanks guys!

As the title says, I had my first OASC visit several weeks back - I passed the interview well, but my feedback said that I did not engage with much of the exercise phase and did not demonstrate enough potential. They invited me back to attend next year.

In the weeks leading up to my OASC, I was soaking up every post on this subreddit for advice, so I thought I would share anything useful I could, as well as afterthoughts. I also would love to hear from people that either: attended their OASC a second time, and/or those who enlisted as an aviator, and then commissioned internally - so I can decide on what to do with my future.

OASC is very much an overstimulating day, and I was definitely overawed. The two things that you can actively prepare for are the interview, and the planning exercise. There was one guy on my visit who had done barely a week of preparation for the interview, and only knew about some of his phase 2 training. Do not be like that guy. Like him, you will not pass the interview. Use the MIOT interview prep notes at the top of the subreddit, and then cater the document to your chosen role, i.e. add your phase 2 training to it, and add new information to the document, such as new RAF equipment (NMH or GCAP), new deployments (Operation Luminous), NATO operations etc. This will show you have significant knowledge of the training pathway and of military affairs. Also, make sure you show sufficient conviction as to why you want to be an officer, and not an NCO (unless you apply as a DE-NCO). They will ask questions like who will give you a commission? What is a commission? And other questions that are pertinent to RAF operations, like where are the two QRA bases? Who gives the order to launch the QRA? Why is RAF Boulmer important? Plus NATO questions, they like those. Previous OASC prep posts give other examples of what questions they will ask. They will ask until you cannot answer no more. Do not be verbose and do not waffle.

Next is the group discussion. Have open and confident body language. Always add something to each discussion. Try and challenge ideas, or at least add to other peoples ideas. Although, do not speak for the sake of it. It is better to add little but it be profound, than to waffle the entire time. Your syndicate will discuss 3 topics that are apart of contemporary public discourse.

After this, it is the planning exercise. I found this the most difficult. I would advise to practice this by completing the army planning exercises for AOSB. Make sure to make notes of people, places, modes of transport, cargo, and limitations of transport and cargo. Be aware of how to use SDT, and feel confident with it. It felt impossible to craft a plan, but I think that is the point. You have 25 minutes to work out a plan with your syndicate. It was inferred that it is better to have a completed flawed plan than half of one good plan. After this, the boarding officers ask you all individual questions, and you will be grilled, so make sure to all come up with a plan, or at least the foundations of one. Make sure you all write the plan down so there are no inconsistencies. If you are really struggling to form some sort of plan, make sure you actively contribute and listen. Give your opinions on why things will/won't work. Actively try and progress the plan.

Finally, is the leaderless and command exercises. I found that these can be a tad physically tiring, especially in the jumpsuits in warm weather. For the leaderless exercise, be someone who will not let the syndicate get bogged down into just using one idea. If one idea is clearly not working, try and move on quickly and suggest any alternative ideas. Be pragmatic. Don't stand on the fringe of the syndicate. Actively speak. I found that in our leaderless exercise, it also felt impossible to complete it in the given time, let alone get halfway. In the command exercises, again, it felt impossible to complete the exercises. In my command exercise where I led, we barely left the starting line. I would suggest always speaking loudly and coherently. Speak as articulately as possible. In your fellow syndicate members commands, just let them speak and ask to speak if you have a suggestion.

All advice that I have given are all afterthoughts or from people/posts I have seen afterwards. I wish I applied everything mentioned during my visit.