A bit of guidance needed :D

[harvey]

hello i am basically here asking for a bit of guidance, as im in a situation where i dont want to ruin my chances of getting into the RAF.

Well I have always been convinced that RAF is the career path i would choose ever since a small child, and im still in love with the idea and the whole package that it has to offer. Initially i applied as a gunner but failed the PGAC due to being 30 seconds too slow in the 3 miles run. After returning home i realised i dont think being a gunner was quite right for me.

So i visited the AFCO again and he told me about different careers, and i loved the sound of Firefighter and Survival Equipment Fitter. I then went home and read about the two etc, and then i decided to try and make it as a firefighter. I passed the first interview but at the medical i was failed due to the fact i failed on my 3 mile run at the PGAC. I was told I would have to wait 6 months for another medical if i was going to continue my choice as a firefighter.

The man at the AFCO also said that it seems as though im just trying to get any old job to get away from home etc. I guess its obvious to understand why he thinks that but its really not the case as its the RAF that iv always had my heart set on and still is.

Im now at the point where what is the best move?

I understand even if i was to wait 6 months and then pass the medical, theres a very high possibility of the trade being closed or also a high possibility that im rejected.

Would it be wise to organise the next steps as a survival equipment fitter?
or am i just going to make a bad impression.

Thanks

[gunner75]

hmmm must be a LOT stricter on letting lads through or not on the PGAC now a days if you were binned for only being 30seconds late? normally they are screaming out for people with the thought that fitness will eventually improve. If you dont mind me asking why after the PGAC did you not think being a Reg Gunner was for you? Or were you put off by failing the run? Did you become dispondent over the rest of the PGAC or did you stay positive? sometimes attitude counts towards the whole bigger picture of passing and if this took a nose dive on your part it may of been noted!
With regard to the blokes at AFCO they are just wanting to make sure they are putting their money on a winning horse, so to speak. They want someone applying for vacancies who is 100% certain what career path they wish to go down and not someone who will go off on a tangent and possibly choose a totally different job because they've had a knock of confidence or whatever.
Making comments like that to you 'want any old job so you can leave home' sounds to me like they are trying to suss you out. Depending on how you answer and carry yourself, my guess is that they will either help you get what you want or if you come across as a timewaster - help out another person better suited for the vacancy.

[harvey]

The PGAC I actually think went well and i like to think i impressed after failing on the 3 miler, i successfully completed the TAB etc and really did put in 110% because i knew that if i impressed enough, then i have a chance to be accepted. But wether or not i was successfull i still cant imagine myself doing it for 5 months. As far as i understand its as much as a taster as it is a test. I guess the taster was definetly a good thing for me to try and it opened my eyes a little bit about how tough the regime etc is.

I could easily get my fitness times up that extra notch, but I guess its just im not convinced that its the career path for me.

I was hoping you would say something along the lines of what you said regarding if i was to reapply. My heart dropped when i spoke to him on the phone and he sounded so negative. I was also told by the AFCO after my firefighter interview that he imagines my application to be a weak one, just on the fact that its a competitive trade right now, and he has seen ex-firefighters etc apply also, so it sounds like iv got some tough competition even if i was to wait the 6 months and then pass the medical.

[B_H100]

I have a mate who is a Firefighter, it is VERY competitive. What other trades are you going for/thinking about?

Which AFCO are you going to?

[harvey]

Yer when i first went to the AFCO asking about Firefighters i was asking him if i was to stand a realistic chance of being accepted, and he told me to go for it. But I guess i always knew it would be hard, just when i heard i was up against ex-firefighters etc, it hit me just how hard it was going to be.

It was sort of a split decision between firefighting and survival equipment fitter really, i just hope i havent made a real bad impression if i'm to keep changing my mind.

I go to the AFCO in Redruth (Cornwall), good staff etc there, I just think either i didn't ask the right questions, or the answers i was given were a bit optimistic regarding my chances as a Firefighter.

[gunner75]

on another point, my friend, the afco may in their blinkered vision see your failure to complete the bog standard 3mile run presented in the PGAC as a clear indication that you wont by Physically fit enough to be able to become a firefighter (which is another physically robust job within the RAF) even if you posess in abundance many other qualities that you may need. my advice would be choose TWO trades and prepare yourself for them thoroughly. You say now you have gone off becoming a rock ape but Im thinking there must of been something there originally that ticked all the boxes who is to say that you may want to try for it again?? Give it 6 month even 3 if your in a rush but get your fitness to a superior level so that you wont fail anything thrown at you and try and get into the frame of mind where you appear to be in control, mature and confident. This will impress your potential employers (RAF staff at AFCO) far more than having to deal with a quiet, timid person who maybe hasnt thought enough about what he or she is getting themselves in to.
good luck.

[podder]

firefighter is a very competitive trade. when i went to selection in manston only around 2 people in the group were accepted.

[harry hackedoff]

where you appear to be in control, mature and confident.

I keep looking in the mirror each morning, waiting for that to happen Maybe when I`m older I`ll grow up more

Good post there gunner,

[gunner75]

yes, im prone to doing that - except I look at my reflection in shop windows as I do my silly walk as learnt from the ministry....wibble

[Skye]

what are the specifics of the three mile run? Im a newbie thinking of joining up.

[harry hackedoff]

It`s three miles long and you have to run.
And there`s a cut-off time.

[harvey]

its a 3 mile run in 24 minutes or under.