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on more responsibilities in the leadership and organisa- tional side of the Regiment in order to help further soldiers’ careers and to help achieve our objectives.
I was aware that the Army
Officer Selection Board
process (a 2-day briefing/
practise run in test conditions
and then the actual 3.5 day
Boarding event at the AOSB, Westbury), and the Commissioning Course itself (3 x 2 week modules at Sandhurst) would involve a great deal of work, and whilst I was confident that I had the fitness to apply, I would need to spend a lot of time preparing for the selection tests. These involve various interviews, group discus- sions / essay writing on current affairs, physical tests, command tasks, mental aptitude tests and planning exercises – which would require some sharp mental arithmetic to quickly solve speed/ distance/time equations – something I hadn’t contemplated since my maths GCSE some 18 years prior. As a result, I gave myself several months to prepare for both the AOSB briefing and board in my spare time - mostly to sharpen up my maths for the planning exercises, revise for the mental tests and current affairs, and to engross myself in leadership literature.
Concurrently, as a member of Gourley Troop in the regimental officer training wing, I was able to take part in some fantastic leadership and AOSB prepara- tion training from the Adjutant and the wider officer cohort with some extremely valuable practise at interviews, command tasks and planning exercises. I had also continued my trade training throughout this time and would have been well placed to develop this leadership training as an
I gave myself several months to prepare for both the AOSB briefing and board in my spare time
and young family to look after!) this came as a great relief, but also brought with it the next goal of passing the Commissioning course itself.
Having passed board in April, there was a Commis- sioning Course due to start in June and I was able to enrol which was perfect timing as I was able to maintain some momentum from AOSB. The
Reserves course at Sandhurst is split into 4 two-week modules (A, B, C and D). Module A is the equivalent of the two-week basic training course, so all trained reserv- ists move straight to Module B. These modules can be conducted separately over the course of 3 years if required, and a probationary commission is awarded after completing Mod C, but as we were expecting a baby at home, I was keen to undertake them altogether in order to keep things moving, and so that I would be available to help at home with the new-born at a later date.
Thankfully my wife and
employer were incredibly
supportive in my request
to take 6 weeks out of
work and away from home
and on top of using annual
leave, work were able to
provide extra unpaid leave
to facilitate my absence. It
was a big ask to have my
pregnant wife step up and
cover childcare for our young daughter for 6 weeks and she was very pleased to be able to help me achieve my goal of commissioning, so I owe her a huge debt there.
The Commissioning Course Short mainly consists of leadership training conducted via Platoon level infantry tactics
Regimental Journal 2018-20
Other Rank to Officer Transition By 2Lt Dave Beales RA
Having performed well on my JNCO lead- ership course, I was recommended for Officer training. At the time I really enjoyed my leadership responsibilities as a JNCO (L3 Guns having moved over from L2 OP Ack) and I found it particularly rewarding to help others develop their fitness as a PTI in the ranks, so I thought that commis- sioning would be a great opportunity to further develop those attributes – it would be a great chance for personal develop- ment and I was keen to take
SNCO should I have not been successful at AOSB. Thankfully the hard work paid off and I achieved a Cat 1 at AOSB briefing to progress to the AOSB main board where (after a nervous wait for the postman in the days following) I was selected to attend the Commissioning Course Short at Sandhurst. After almost two years of appli- cations and preparation (it took a while to find slots that would fit with my work/ home life balance with a busy calendar
(Mod B is spent learning the theory, Mod C puts it into practise and tests it, and Mod D confirms this knowledge, finishes classroom modules and gives prep time for the final Commissioning Parade). This includes several demanding exercises which started from pairs fire manoeuvre all the way up to a culmination of 3 days of Platoon attacks where each member of the Platoon is tested throughout the command appointments from Section 2IC up to Pl Commander – the main aim being able to take Company Commanders orders and to be able to deliver a set of Platoon orders using the Combat Estimate – the military equivalent of the planning exercises that were tested at AOSB. The ability to quickly develop courses of action, identify the best, show working for these and develop them into a convincing set of orders to motivate the platoon – all whilst under pressure, arduous conditions and time constraints was a huge step up from delivering Section Commanders’ quick battle orders at JNCO level. In between the exercises, the schedule was packed with modules on war studies, communication and applied behavioural
sciences, signals, CBRN, first aid, law of armed conflict, marksmanship, drill practise, command, leadership and manage- ment/administration. The days were long – we had early mornings ready for Colour Sergeants’ inspec- tions (each room had to follow a rigorous locker layout and our Platoon
would have to line up outside and sing the national anthem each day), and late evenings completing homework and preparing for inspections. AGAIs were handed out liberally, mostly given as show parades for the offending item to be corrected and shown on parade at the other end of the camp (1.5 miles away) at
Thankfully my wife and employer were incredibly supportive
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