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OASC Experiences
Hi guys, since OASC and IOT are the two main subjects that interviewers like you to know, I have created two stickies called IOT - Initial Officer Training and this one is called OASC - Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre.
Basically, it will save people needing to look up information quickly from having to trawl through the officer/pilot thread. Also for further reading and material please visit the Officer FAQ's thread in the Armed forces forum created by BlackHawk. It is a fantastic thread and much more than I could hope to achieve.
So here is a more specific breakdown of OASC, for information on IOT please visit the IOT thread in the Armed forces forum.
Cal
If anyone has any questions I will be glad to help, just Private Message me.
Basically, it will save people needing to look up information quickly from having to trawl through the officer/pilot thread. Also for further reading and material please visit the Officer FAQ's thread in the Armed forces forum created by BlackHawk. It is a fantastic thread and much more than I could hope to achieve.
So here is a more specific breakdown of OASC, for information on IOT please visit the IOT thread in the Armed forces forum.
Cal
If anyone has any questions I will be glad to help, just Private Message me.
Scroll to see replies
Day 1
Arrive on the train, travel to Royal Air Force College Cranwell in a minibus.
Sign in, collect room keys and relax for the rest of the night.
Day 2
Aptitude Testing - A unique set of tests designed to test the candidates inate abilities and skills, to see if they have the necessary requirements for their chosen branch. You are tested on things like instrument comprehension, hand/foot/eye co-ordination, memory skills, multi-tasking abilities and mental arithmetic. These tests are very greuling and mentally challenging and so it would be best to take with you a bottle of water or energy drink to stay alert and hydrated.
These tests can take up the whole morning, from 7am until lunchtime, and so are very tiresome.
Medical Testing - Candidates are called individually for medical tests including, eyesight tests, hearing tests, lung capacity tests, urine tests, height measurements, leg measurements and weight measurements.
After these, candidates are free to relax in the candidates mess for the duration of the night.
Day 3
Interview - Each candidate is given an individual interview, along the same lines and perhaps a little more in depth than the filter interview that all candidates must have passed at their AFCO (Armed Forces Careers Office) prior to going to OASC. Questions such as family background, qualifications, past experiences, Duke of Edinburgh Awards recieved, sporting activities, why you want a career in the RAF, what experience have you had with ATC (Air Training Corps), what rank did you achieve...for a full and more complete list of potential questions see BlackHawks Officer FAQ's thread.
Part one is now complete and the candidate will undergo a review, and will be subject to 'the cull' if he/she has not met the requirements of the RAF, and successful applicants will move onto part two.
Part Two - The candidates now come together and form a syndicate, unlike in part one where all the exercises were individual.
Group Discussion - The syndicate will then get involved in a debate about a subject. Candidates are marked on their willingness to get involved, their communication techniques, their ability to take on other peoples ideas, and possibly the most important, their confidence in the points that they make within the group and ability to hold onto their beliefs.
Planning Exercise - The group then partakes in a scenario type situation whereby they have to plan and work together to solve a problem. The main abilities that selection officers are looking for here is co-operation, ability to perform Speed, Distance, Time equations and know their times tables for quick answers. This task is against the clock so get stuck straight in and don't be afraid to ask a team member for the answer to an equation or ideas.
Fitness Testing - The group then puts on their shorts and tee-shirt and heads to the gym hall. The candidates will then be required to take part in a bleep test (for which the pass requirements are posted in the Officer FAQ's), a maximal sit-up test, and a maximal press-up test. The time limit to do as many sit-ups and press-ups as you can is one minute (again the requirements to pass are posted in the Officer FAQ's thread).
Day 4
This morning sees the candidates in the hanger exercises.
The first assignment is a practical test in a team, with no leader - the key to this test is to be able to communicate well, suggest ideas, plan a strategy, listen to other peoples ideas and hopefully complete the task assigned. But I wouldn't worry about this last point, they are looking to see how you re-act in a team exercise, you do not really need to complete the task.
The second assignment is a situation exercise, whereby each person in the group is individually chosen to be leader, who then has to formulate a plan, assign people to certain tasks and take on board ideas from his/her team to try to complete the exercise. Again this exercise is against the clock so try and get as far as you can through the exercise but it isn't all about completing it, it is more about your ability to lead people and manage a situation.
Then their is a tie-up review and the candidates can go home, but they will not know at that stage if they have been successful or not. That they will find out in a couple of weeks when they are sent a letter through the post.
END
Any edits/additions to be made just let me know, and I will change ASAP.
I am aware that OASC has undergone some changes of which I would like to thank MedicBex for keeping us updated. These changes are listed in the post below, bear in mind that the OASC that all of us new candidates will go to is the updated one and not the one above, but hopefully, you will be able to use some of the information from my notes given above to familiarize yourself with the procedure.
Cal
Arrive on the train, travel to Royal Air Force College Cranwell in a minibus.
Sign in, collect room keys and relax for the rest of the night.
Day 2
Aptitude Testing - A unique set of tests designed to test the candidates inate abilities and skills, to see if they have the necessary requirements for their chosen branch. You are tested on things like instrument comprehension, hand/foot/eye co-ordination, memory skills, multi-tasking abilities and mental arithmetic. These tests are very greuling and mentally challenging and so it would be best to take with you a bottle of water or energy drink to stay alert and hydrated.
These tests can take up the whole morning, from 7am until lunchtime, and so are very tiresome.
Medical Testing - Candidates are called individually for medical tests including, eyesight tests, hearing tests, lung capacity tests, urine tests, height measurements, leg measurements and weight measurements.
After these, candidates are free to relax in the candidates mess for the duration of the night.
Day 3
Interview - Each candidate is given an individual interview, along the same lines and perhaps a little more in depth than the filter interview that all candidates must have passed at their AFCO (Armed Forces Careers Office) prior to going to OASC. Questions such as family background, qualifications, past experiences, Duke of Edinburgh Awards recieved, sporting activities, why you want a career in the RAF, what experience have you had with ATC (Air Training Corps), what rank did you achieve...for a full and more complete list of potential questions see BlackHawks Officer FAQ's thread.
Part one is now complete and the candidate will undergo a review, and will be subject to 'the cull' if he/she has not met the requirements of the RAF, and successful applicants will move onto part two.
Part Two - The candidates now come together and form a syndicate, unlike in part one where all the exercises were individual.
Group Discussion - The syndicate will then get involved in a debate about a subject. Candidates are marked on their willingness to get involved, their communication techniques, their ability to take on other peoples ideas, and possibly the most important, their confidence in the points that they make within the group and ability to hold onto their beliefs.
Planning Exercise - The group then partakes in a scenario type situation whereby they have to plan and work together to solve a problem. The main abilities that selection officers are looking for here is co-operation, ability to perform Speed, Distance, Time equations and know their times tables for quick answers. This task is against the clock so get stuck straight in and don't be afraid to ask a team member for the answer to an equation or ideas.
Fitness Testing - The group then puts on their shorts and tee-shirt and heads to the gym hall. The candidates will then be required to take part in a bleep test (for which the pass requirements are posted in the Officer FAQ's), a maximal sit-up test, and a maximal press-up test. The time limit to do as many sit-ups and press-ups as you can is one minute (again the requirements to pass are posted in the Officer FAQ's thread).
Day 4
This morning sees the candidates in the hanger exercises.
The first assignment is a practical test in a team, with no leader - the key to this test is to be able to communicate well, suggest ideas, plan a strategy, listen to other peoples ideas and hopefully complete the task assigned. But I wouldn't worry about this last point, they are looking to see how you re-act in a team exercise, you do not really need to complete the task.
The second assignment is a situation exercise, whereby each person in the group is individually chosen to be leader, who then has to formulate a plan, assign people to certain tasks and take on board ideas from his/her team to try to complete the exercise. Again this exercise is against the clock so try and get as far as you can through the exercise but it isn't all about completing it, it is more about your ability to lead people and manage a situation.
Then their is a tie-up review and the candidates can go home, but they will not know at that stage if they have been successful or not. That they will find out in a couple of weeks when they are sent a letter through the post.
END
Any edits/additions to be made just let me know, and I will change ASAP.
I am aware that OASC has undergone some changes of which I would like to thank MedicBex for keeping us updated. These changes are listed in the post below, bear in mind that the OASC that all of us new candidates will go to is the updated one and not the one above, but hopefully, you will be able to use some of the information from my notes given above to familiarize yourself with the procedure.
Cal
I would like to thank MedicBex for supplying the following information about the updated OASC. This post is all her work, nothing to do with me, so thanks. Cal
ok, so some of you will have got the letters telling you about the changes to oasc that took place in april-ish. they weren't incredibly clear, so rather than giving you a blow by blow account of my week, i'll mention the bits that are new...
the itinerary is roughly as follows:
day 1: arrive in the afternoon, get an initial briefing and room keys, then chill out and get an early night
day 2: aptitudes from 0710 till approx lunchtime (take a water bottle with you so you can keep hydrated and alert).
after lunch, expect the measurments part of the medical, plus the hearing test, and also some eye exams (and for people chasing sponsorship, the academic interviews)
around 1630, get your PT kit on and head for the gym... this is different, the fitness test has been moved to part I instead of part II. you have your MSFT, then a 5 minute break before the maximal push ups in one min, then 5 mins before max sit ups in one min... be careful, i really pushed myself on the msft, then had to throw up before i did my push ups because my body had re-distributed my blood . another point to noe with the push ups, is that your arms must be shoulder width apart, which is a damn sight more difficult than spreading them further. girls do the same push up but against a bench instead of on the floor.
as you can see, this is a LONG day, so eat a good breakfast, drink loads of water and have an early night the night before.
day 3: this morning, you will have your formal interviews, your physical exam from the doctor and any academic interviews, eye tests and urine tests that weren't completed on day two. this is a long, boring morning that seems to go on forever, so take a book, a magazine, anything... also, a packet of fruit pastilles or something wouldn't go amiss, you'll get really hungry, and a lot of people had to do repeat urine samples because they had ketone bodies, which are starvation proteins, in their samples. you will also get an aptitude review at some point, and be cleared by the president of the medical board. you are then subject to the cull, and those that pass part I get their overalls.
after lunch, you get into your sexy green overalls (they really are very sexy) and have a briefing on part II. your syndicate will then have your group discussion, and they've added some weird questions at the end. our group got 'who is your hero or heroine and why?' and another group got 'what law would you enforce if you had the choice?' very odd...
then you have a hangar familiarisation and the leaderless exercise. fun and frolics all round . then comes the group planning. you have 20 mins private study and 15 mins discussion with your group. then you must GIVE BACK the information sheet and use only the map and your notes to answer the questions from the board. so make sure you take note of what times bridges close etc, because these type of questions come up.
then its off to the mess for jenga with your mates
day 4: you're all squished into the syndicate waiting area then at ten minute intervals, you will be called into a private study area for the first part of the individual planning exercise. you have 20 minutes to work on a similar problem to yesterday, however, you ARE given the briefing notes along with the map and your notes when you are interviewed by the board. so don't waste time rewriting times etc, concentrate on your plan. in the classroom, there is a large map that you must use to describe the situation to the boarding officers, then you sit down with your notes and go through your plan for about ten minutes.
then everyone hangs around oasc reception for a bit before going through the command situation exercises, again, great fun. then lunch, and home. congratulations, you've just survived what will probably have been the four most exhausting days of your life
ok, so some of you will have got the letters telling you about the changes to oasc that took place in april-ish. they weren't incredibly clear, so rather than giving you a blow by blow account of my week, i'll mention the bits that are new...
the itinerary is roughly as follows:
day 1: arrive in the afternoon, get an initial briefing and room keys, then chill out and get an early night
day 2: aptitudes from 0710 till approx lunchtime (take a water bottle with you so you can keep hydrated and alert).
after lunch, expect the measurments part of the medical, plus the hearing test, and also some eye exams (and for people chasing sponsorship, the academic interviews)
around 1630, get your PT kit on and head for the gym... this is different, the fitness test has been moved to part I instead of part II. you have your MSFT, then a 5 minute break before the maximal push ups in one min, then 5 mins before max sit ups in one min... be careful, i really pushed myself on the msft, then had to throw up before i did my push ups because my body had re-distributed my blood . another point to noe with the push ups, is that your arms must be shoulder width apart, which is a damn sight more difficult than spreading them further. girls do the same push up but against a bench instead of on the floor.
as you can see, this is a LONG day, so eat a good breakfast, drink loads of water and have an early night the night before.
day 3: this morning, you will have your formal interviews, your physical exam from the doctor and any academic interviews, eye tests and urine tests that weren't completed on day two. this is a long, boring morning that seems to go on forever, so take a book, a magazine, anything... also, a packet of fruit pastilles or something wouldn't go amiss, you'll get really hungry, and a lot of people had to do repeat urine samples because they had ketone bodies, which are starvation proteins, in their samples. you will also get an aptitude review at some point, and be cleared by the president of the medical board. you are then subject to the cull, and those that pass part I get their overalls.
after lunch, you get into your sexy green overalls (they really are very sexy) and have a briefing on part II. your syndicate will then have your group discussion, and they've added some weird questions at the end. our group got 'who is your hero or heroine and why?' and another group got 'what law would you enforce if you had the choice?' very odd...
then you have a hangar familiarisation and the leaderless exercise. fun and frolics all round . then comes the group planning. you have 20 mins private study and 15 mins discussion with your group. then you must GIVE BACK the information sheet and use only the map and your notes to answer the questions from the board. so make sure you take note of what times bridges close etc, because these type of questions come up.
then its off to the mess for jenga with your mates
day 4: you're all squished into the syndicate waiting area then at ten minute intervals, you will be called into a private study area for the first part of the individual planning exercise. you have 20 minutes to work on a similar problem to yesterday, however, you ARE given the briefing notes along with the map and your notes when you are interviewed by the board. so don't waste time rewriting times etc, concentrate on your plan. in the classroom, there is a large map that you must use to describe the situation to the boarding officers, then you sit down with your notes and go through your plan for about ten minutes.
then everyone hangs around oasc reception for a bit before going through the command situation exercises, again, great fun. then lunch, and home. congratulations, you've just survived what will probably have been the four most exhausting days of your life
I was just thinking that it will be more easily accessable if we have two continuous stickies for the two most commonly asked about parts of the officer selection and development process.
It is up to you guys though, if you think it would be better as part of the FAQ's or as two individual stickies then just let me know. It doesn't really affect me, because I have done my homework and I will know where they are situated, but for newer people just wanting to find out about OASC ot IOT then it may be better to have them as individual threads.
I'm not sure what is best so you guys can have a vote.
It is up to you guys though, if you think it would be better as part of the FAQ's or as two individual stickies then just let me know. It doesn't really affect me, because I have done my homework and I will know where they are situated, but for newer people just wanting to find out about OASC ot IOT then it may be better to have them as individual threads.
I'm not sure what is best so you guys can have a vote.
Yeah good idea,
We should just have stickies that are going to have useful info in them that won't be updated often.
We should just have stickies that are going to have useful info in them that won't be updated often.
I'm looking for a definitive answer regarding debriefs / OASC reports. At what point does a candidate get a written debrief regarding his/her performance at OASC?
Since I attended last year I've had nothing apart from the occasional letter deferring my decision until the next sift, whereas a friend of mine who's in a remarkably similar position actually received his report back in March.
Whenever I ask I'm simply told that debriefs are given for successful or unsuccessful applicants... but not those awaiting sifts. If this is the case, how come my friend has his and people who regularly post on here know their scores?
Is there a laid down policy or does it vary from AFCO to AFCO?
This isn't a whinge, but it is frustrating to be held in relative limbo with no way of knowing how to improve for next time if the situation dictates.
Any ideas?
Since I attended last year I've had nothing apart from the occasional letter deferring my decision until the next sift, whereas a friend of mine who's in a remarkably similar position actually received his report back in March.
Whenever I ask I'm simply told that debriefs are given for successful or unsuccessful applicants... but not those awaiting sifts. If this is the case, how come my friend has his and people who regularly post on here know their scores?
Is there a laid down policy or does it vary from AFCO to AFCO?
This isn't a whinge, but it is frustrating to be held in relative limbo with no way of knowing how to improve for next time if the situation dictates.
Any ideas?
BlackHawk
Maybe this should be added to the FAQs, rathar than making two new stickies as there is already an OASC and IOT section in the FAQs. Plus the FAQs aren't just written by me, I don't know everything about it so it's more of a collaboration. 
Hear hear. There're too many sodding stickies on this page! Have one page of FAQs by all means, but the rest are a waste of time.
REME-Bod
I'm looking for a definitive answer regarding debriefs / OASC reports. At what point does a candidate get a written debrief regarding his/her performance at OASC?
According to someone who knows, one is obviously written on you as soon as your time at OASC is done. Whether or not you see it depends on who's sponsoring you there; if it's the Army, perhaps they're all stroppy or haven't asked for it?
mankyscot2
Hi guys, since OASC and IOT are the two main subjects that interviewers like you to know, I have created two stickies called IOT - Initial Officer Training and this one is called OASC - Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre.
Interviewers at OASC want you to know about OASC.......?
Elmlea
According to someone who knows, one is obviously written on you as soon as your time at OASC is done. Whether or not you see it depends on who's sponsoring you there; if it's the Army, perhaps they're all stroppy or haven't asked for it?
Well I've asked for it and only got fobbed off... and yes, i was polite!
Elmlea
Interviewers at OASC want you to know about OASC.......?
Not so much at OASC no, but for the filter interview, yes, definately. As puk said you get asked quite in depth about what happens at OASC during your filter interview. Its also quite handy to know what will happen during those four days. It doesn't hurt to know.
Elmlea
Hear hear. There're too many sodding stickies on this page! Have one page of FAQs by all means, but the rest are a waste of time.
I wouldn't call them a waste of time, but then again I created them, so i'm going to stick up for my stickies. I felt that when people came on these forums for the first time, the most asked about questions were OASC and IOT, and to an extent, filter interview questions. I felt that BlackHawks FAQ's covered most if not all of the aspects of a filter interview, where I felt that the FAQ's were lacking was information about IOT and OASC. I had good note on IOT and OASC, and I thought that it would be beneficial to add them to TSR as easy to find and access information to current and future users.
Now if anybody else thinks that I should either remove my threads because they 'are a waste of time' or thinks I should add them to the FAQ's then I will gladly do so.
mankyscot2
I wouldn't call them a waste of time, but then again I created them, so i'm going to stick up for my stickies. I felt that when people came on these forums for the first time, the most asked about questions were OASC and IOT, and to an extent, filter interview questions. I felt that BlackHawks FAQ's covered most if not all of the aspects of a filter interview, where I felt that the FAQ's were lacking was information about IOT and OASC. I had good note on IOT and OASC, and I thought that it would be beneficial to add them to TSR as easy to find and access information to current and future users.
Now if anybody else thinks that I should either remove my threads because they 'are a waste of time' or thinks I should add them to the FAQ's then I will gladly do so.
Now if anybody else thinks that I should either remove my threads because they 'are a waste of time' or thinks I should add them to the FAQ's then I will gladly do so.
Just wanna say that i really appreciate all the information and all the effort you have put into the posts that you have written. The information is really useful, detailed and it has helped me a great deal, thanks!!!
Ta, it's no problem. It helps me to remember my own notes if I post them publicly on a forum because I read over them so many times to make sure of the grammar and the punctuation.
mankyscot2
I felt that when people came on these forums for the first time, the most asked about questions were OASC and IOT, and to an extent, filter interview questions. I felt that BlackHawks FAQ's covered most if not all of the aspects of a filter interview,
Search button. SEARCH BUTTON! Or links in the FAQ to older threads?
Okay, if that is true then send me a link to posts which are as detailed as mine are in relation to OASC and IOT. Also having seperate threads for each allows people to easily add amendmants to the thread such as changes to IOT or OASC, which is helpful because everything about IOT and OASC are now in one place as opposed to spread out over however many thousand posts in the RAF Officer/Pilot thread.
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