Discovering Higher and Degree Apprenticeships with UWE Bristol, get free advice >>

OASC 2nd Attempt

If anyone could offer any advice regarding my situation I would be entirely grateful.

I recently attended OASC for the first time in February for the role of Pilot and unfortunately was not competitive enough during the exercise phase (hangar exercises etc). I was asked about the possibility of going down the NCA route as a WSOp since I had the aptitude for that also, however, after much thought It seems like that wouldn’t be a smart option for me since I truly want to be a pilot in the RAF. If i was deemed medically unfit for pilot then I wouldn’t mind going for another aircrew role, but until then I feel like i should keep trying.

Apologies for the waffle but my main issue I’m facing is knowing exactly what to do with my year whilst I wait to retake OASC. Is there anyone who could offer advice on some good ways to really spend my time in terms of developing my leadership abilities etc?

I appreciate any help, cheers.

Reply 1

Surnia

You must have shown enough leadership potential to have got as far as OASC, so are you in a position to continue in those same areas of responsibilities for the next year? Are there are opportunities to develop your position in those roles?

However, bear in mind that what you're doing day-to-day doesn't automatically translate to someone who can pass OASC; it's an artificial environment designed to test you, you don't know how your teammates will respond and the nerves can kick in. Whilst it's still fresh in your mind you need to reread your assessment from Cranwell, think back over your performance and critique yourself, so you know what to try differently next time.

And I agree you are right to continue pursuing pilot for now! Not everyone gets through OASC first time and that's not a reason to immediately change your goal just to get into the RAF; people need to think if they would be happy going into a job that potentially they are going to be doing for years, though with NCA you'd at least be in a related role of aircrew.

Reply 2

Drewski

Original post by DylanDC

If i was deemed medically unfit for pilot then I wouldn’t mind going for another aircrew role, but until then I feel like i should keep trying.

Surnia's already said it all, but just a quick one on this point; the likelihood is that if you were unfit for Pilot, then you'd also be unfit for NCA.

Also worth remembering that going NCA means being a direct entrant SNCO, so they're still looking for a high level of leadership potential from you. If you need to work on that to get in for pilot, you'd need to work on it to get in for NCA...

Reply 3

DylanDC

Original post by Surnia

Thank you for your response and I do agree with everything you say about the environment at OASC. I know where I fell down in terms of leadership qualities, like you said, I think i let the fact that i was in a group with almost all currently serving and older individuals cause me to take a more reserved role as they were all fairly strong minded people. I think for my first attempt I was naive in thinking that it would be much easier to really make yourself shine in a group who all have the same ultimate goal as you.

What I don’t want to do now is just go day to day in my current job becoming complacent and so I end up in the exact same position next year.

I thought about going back to the air cadets as a CI to get some volunteering in etc, however as far as i am aware you have to be 21 for this.

Reply 4

DylanDC

Original post by Drewski

Yes absolutely, I understand what you’re saying entirely. I think in terms of medical, i’m most worried about the anthropometric measurements as I’m on the shorter side, however I imagine there must be some aircraft you can still be aircrew on if you’re too short for pilot. Of course if I was medically unfit for more serious things I get that it’s likely to be the same for aircrew too.

When I was debriefed by the boarding president and he went over my BARS results in terms of pilot, he obviously pointed out where i needed more work. It was then that he asked if I was interested in going for WSOp. They said I wouldn’t have to come back to repeat OASC, I would just need to do the specialist interview and aircrew medical of course.

Overall I took that as I hadn’t completely flopped OASC, so i feel like I would hopefully have a good shot at NCA if it came to it.

Thanks for your response

Reply 5

Runner009

I passed OASC for Aircrew and had a 'recommended for training' report but was ultimately let down by a lower CBAT score than others in the same pot so was not offered. If you have a high enough score for pilot and that is your dream then may be worth sticking to it

Reply 6

NobleWizard

Have a look at becoming a gliding instructor for the air cadets. The minimum age is 18, you'll then be within the 'RAF circle' of things and it should help develop your leadership skills. This is what I plan on doing while waiting to retake my CBAT, was only 20 points off for pilot but I know what I need to do to improve.

Reply 7

DylanDC

Original post by NobleWizard

Cheers for that, i’m in the works of discussing a possible opportunity for this, but although it says 18-55 on the air cadet website, they told me that you can’t start until 20. I suppose it makes sense since that is the age you can apply to become a SNCO for the air cadets.