AOSB Advice

[RichiJC]

Hi guys,

I recently underwent my AOSB Briefing, and was really happy to have passed with a Category 1. Over the last few months I've seen a few posts in various places from people worrying about AOSB or looking for advice. So I thought that I would share some (hopefully useful) advice with anyone who's got their AOSB coming up in the near future.

Night before - If, like me and most other people, you're travelling down to Westbury from outside the local area, then you'll probably be required to stay overnight in a hotel the night before your first day. Most people spend this night trying to cram in last minute revision and worrying about the interview etc. Personally, I try to avoid that. If you've done your prep (which you should have) then trying to cram your head full of stuff the night before is only going to make you worry, and you're not going to take a whole lot in. Just try to relax and acclimatise yourself. If like me you are staying at a local hotel with 8 other candidates, then get yourselves down the local pub, have a couple of drinks, play some pool and just get a good nights sleep. Don't spend all night in your room on your own trying to test yourself on SDT questions

Arriving at Westbury - After you've arrived on site in the morning, and unloaded your bags you'll get put into groups of about 8-10 people. Use the time you have to chat and get to know everyone in your group, as you'll be spending all your time with them. Don't worry too much about remembering everyone's names because you'll be referring to each other as numbers most of the time anyway. But find out about them, what reg they're looking at, strengths etc. and just generally try and have banter with each other. It'll help to break the ice. Also, don't worry if you feel like some in the group are better than you. You're not competing against them. The assessors can fail or pass a whole group if they want so don't worry. And remember, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses.

Address from the President - Before you start any assessments, you'll have a formal address from the President or VP of AOSB. Although this part isn't judged, try and sit up and look interested. First impressions mean a lot, and you can bet that if they see you slumped in your chair looking at a poster on the wall then they'll remember that the next day. Also, pay attention to what's being said. It will give you a very good summary of the army, and the process from AOSB. And you could well pick up on stuff you didn't previously know.

MAP Tests - After the address you will all be taken to the hall, where you will undergo your aptitude tests on a computer. You will be tested on verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning. Most people are fine on verbal, and I personally don't feel that it requires much practice if you've got a fairly good grasp on the English language. The numerical test is harder, so opening up a GCSE maths book and making sure that you understand ratios, graphs, charts, areas etc would not go amiss. The abstract reasoning test is the one people find hardest, but only because they have not really done anything like it before. There are some really good videos on YouTube which cover how to answer these tests, and are definitely worth a look. Do not worry if you do not answer all the questions. I didn't finish any, not even the verbal tests.

Self introduction - After your MAP tests you will go back to your groups. Before you start the group discussions, you will be required to stand up in front of your group and talk about yourself for a set time, usually 2 or 3 minutes. Whilst this sounds pretty self explanatory, you would be surprised at how many people struggled with this. Although this part is such a small section in the AOSB assessment, it carries a lot of weight, as the assessing officers will be looking at how confident you are speaking in front of people and how well your conduct yourself. If you pass out of Sandhurst you may be required to to speak confidently in front of a platoon of 30 people, some of which may have done several tours of duty. So you need to show your assessors that you can do it. Spend some time beforehand rehearsing the kind of things you're going to say, and don't be afraid to crack a joke about your nickname or where you went to Uni. It'll make you and everyone else feel more comfortable and it shows your have a sense of humour. Try not to pause too much, or say 'erm' or 'like' every other word. Just be confident and comfortable.

Group Discussions - After this you will be undergo several group discussions. Now these will be a mix of current affairs, and topical discussions (e.g Is abortion wrong?". These topics will be given to you by your assessing officer, but he\she will also ask each of you in the group to give your own topic to discuss. So make sure you have 3-5 current affairs, and 3-5 moral topics ready to put to the group. It's important that you contribute strongly in this part. If you sit there saying nothing for the whole time, you will be judged on not having done any research. Having said that, do not shout over people, and listen to what people are saying, and don't be afraid to contradict them if you disagree. The army isn't all nicey nicey.

Planning Exercise - The words that send shivers down the spine of every officer candidate. Ok yes, there is no getting around the fact that the planning exercise is very heavily weighted. The reason being that it displays a wide variety of skills that are essential for an army officer to have. Having said that, you will NOT be expected to turn up at Briefing with the ability to write and present a perfect planning exercise. They will teach you how to answer it, so TAKE NOTE! When you come to do your own, do not panic. And do your best. Remember it's about showing that you have potential, not that you're perfect. Practice your Speed, Distance, & Time calculations in the weeks leading up to AOSB, as these will help you help no end. Especially if you get to Main Board, where they will be firing SDT questions at you under pressure. If you go a different route to everyone else, don't worry. As long as you can justify it, it doesn't matter. Just make sure you get the HQ etc in the right place, and that you don't miss anything.

Interview - At Briefing you will have one 5-10 minute interview. That's it. So don't waste time worrying about it. They'll ask you about a couple of things off your CV, so make sure you haven't lied and you know what you've written, as well as asking about your family life, your education and maybe a few questions about Sandhurst. So again, make sure you show them that you have done some research.

Fitness/outdoor tests - After you've had a sh*t nights sleep and eaten too much bacon for breakfast, you'll undergo the fitness test (bleep test), assault course and leaderless tasks. The bleep test is simple. Just don't be unfit. 8.1 for girls and 10.2 for guys is not a high level to hit. Whilst you don't get tested on press ups and sit ups at the briefing, they will show you how to do them 'properly', so take note. There were lots of guys, who could comfortably smash out 44 press ups in 44 seconds with incorrect technique, but struggled when using proper army form. If you're concerned about form there's lots of good videos on YouTube showing you how to do proper press ups, sit ups etc. As for the assault course, it's great fun, but be aggressive and attack it. Try not to hesitate or slow down during the course. As for the leaderless tasks, be loud! Try and come up with ideas, and be actively involved with the group. If you're struggling then act as timekeeper. Telling the team how much time they have left is important and will involve you more.

After a (surprisingly warm and powerful) shower, you'll be individually given a full debrief and category from your Group Leader: which will either be a cat 1, 2, 3, or 4:

Cat 4 - unsuitable for army officer
Cat 3 - You are unlikely to pass main board at present, however you can attend if you wish
Cat 2 - proceed to main board after a set period in order to work on your weaker areas
Cat 1 - proceed to main board

Now although it is possible that you may be given a Cat 4, you will most likely get a 1, 2, or 3. Whichever one it is, listen to the comments they give you. They are very detailed in their assessment and ignoring their feedback is a sure-fire way to fail main board.

I know this is a lot of information, but I hope it helps. If there's one thing to take away, it's do not get hung up on bits that you think you've done badly on. For example, I was convinced that I had done horrifically badly on the numerical reasoning test, which was one of the first things I did. But it turns out that I actually got a good mark. Once you've completed a section, stop thinking about it and move on. There's nothing you can do to change it, and you don't want to jeopardise your chances by doing badly on another task.

But the main thing is, enjoy yourself!

If anyone has any questions, feel free to fire them at me. I have my main board after Xmas so I'll be on here a fair bit!

Good luck everyone