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You do realise that the Royal MARINES are part of the Navy? (The clue is in the name lol).
Questions on the forces
- Thread starter PlatinumFX
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You do realise that the Royal MARINES are part of the Navy? (The clue is in the name lol).
A few things. Cambridge, music, a woman.
I think it's quite obvious what he means, and that he does indeed know that they're part of the Royal Navy.
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Of course I know that!
I thought it better to reply to that question here rather than divert the flow of stinkys thread.
Its early days yet. I have a test tommorow morning at the Exeter Armed Forces Careers Office (AFCO). Its a test on my logical, english, mathematical and mechanical reasoning.
My a level grades were:
Computing (Comp Sci) - D. I was on track for an A/B but my college messed my timetable up and I had a third of the tuition I should have had. I just couldn't make it up.
AVCE Double Award Business Studies - BC. This counts as two alevels.
Academically, I meet the requirements for becoming an officer. I even have half a degree not that its directly relevant to being a Marine.
A good resource a friend recommended to me is http://www.how2become.co.uk/royalmarines.htm. I purchased that pack and it has some helpful stuff. Well worth the modest fee. Note though that the site doesn't render properly in Firefox if thats a factor to you.
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Thanks for that information, very helpful so far.
I understand that they only recruit 60 officers each year, has having not A/B grades been an obstacle for you at the minute? Basically what I wnat to know is do they simply accept you for suitability training if you have 2 A-levels, no matter what their grades? I have 2 D's and a couple of AS grades, and it'd be nice to know whether its worth even bothering to apply now or go on to get a degree (in first year now).
I know they'll be able to tell me more at the careers office, but I don't want to look like a complete idiot
I understand that they only recruit 60 officers each year, has having not A/B grades been an obstacle for you at the minute? Basically what I wnat to know is do they simply accept you for suitability training if you have 2 A-levels, no matter what their grades? I have 2 D's and a couple of AS grades, and it'd be nice to know whether its worth even bothering to apply now or go on to get a degree (in first year now).
I know they'll be able to tell me more at the careers office, but I don't want to look like a complete idiot
Killing another: I like to think that if I had to kill another that it will be because he was causing an imminent threat to human life; either my own, my colleagues' or an innocent bystander. In that case it is quite simple, if you don't shoot then someone else will die. The politics count for diddly squat when it's reached that stage, it's him or me.
Fact I might die: Along a similar vein, I would hope that if I died in the line of duty that it was while I was trying to save the life of another, or that I died but everyone else survived because while the enemy was shooting at me they managed to get a shot in on him. However there is the flip side that you might just get killed randomly by a roadside IED, that's just unlucky. You take the Queen's shilling and you've got to deal with the fact that it might happen.
Some Officer jobs have hard and fast rules regarding qualifications and require Degrees, mostly engineering jobs and professional roles. For the most part though it's all aptitude based, if you can impress them enough in interviews to get through to the aptitude testing phase then your quals will count for very little and it will rest on the aptitude tests.Thanks for that information, very helpful so far.
I understand that they only recruit 60 officers each year, has having not A/B grades been an obstacle for you at the minute? Basically what I wnat to know is do they simply accept you for suitability training if you have 2 A-levels, no matter what their grades? I have 2 D's and a couple of AS grades, and it'd be nice to know whether its worth even bothering to apply now or go on to get a degree (in first year now).
I know they'll be able to tell me more at the careers office, but I don't want to look like a complete idiot
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I received my results within half an hour of the ending of the test. While I did well enough in most sections and as an overall score to join as an officer, my maths let me down and unfortunately I have to work on that and re-take the test in 6 months. I have no excuses, I should have prepared my maths better as I knew it was my weakest area.
The consequences however have little bearing on my plans. I performed well enough to join the Royal Marine Reserve which was the initial part of my strategy all along given I can't start in the RM full time until September 2009. That is, assuming I pass all stages of the application process.
What is your experience with the forces Stringy?
The consequences however have little bearing on my plans. I performed well enough to join the Royal Marine Reserve which was the initial part of my strategy all along given I can't start in the RM full time until September 2009. That is, assuming I pass all stages of the application process.
What is your experience with the forces Stringy?
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Your welcome. Im going to update this thread regularly over the course of my application to help others gain insight into the process.
Whilst there is a UCAS point minimum, your personality, motivations and competencies will really be of most significance in the degree of success you have in your applications.
I know they'll be able to tell me more at the careers office, but I don't want to look like a complete idiot
Ha that's not the way too look at it. Its never too late to come across a fool!
By the way Zefan, I was a UWE student. Up till December when I arranged to be withdrawn so that I may follow my calling.
What are you studying there?By the way Zefan, I was a UWE student. Up till December when I arranged to be withdrawn so that I may follow my calling.
Games Technology, not really something you need a degree for either which makes leaving an even more attractive option.
What level were the questions at? I only ask because you said you had trouble with the maths, can you give me an example of how difficult it was? Sorry about all the questions, I'm just preparing as much as I can for this as possible.
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All sections of the paper ramp up from quite easy to very hard (all subjective to my own experience, ability level and thus interpretations). Also factor in the time limit, and the test truely allows the most able of people to excel.
Regarding the maths section, I reached about half way through the sections to the intermediate questions and it was here I started to struggle. Given the time preassure, I was skipping a few questions such as 60 X 67. Now if I had revised my maths better, I would have brought with me to the test the mental tools to quickly dispatch such levels of question.
For the maths, here is a few points to consider:
- Learn your times tables for multiples up to 200 ish. 9 X 13 type sums will quickly emerge as components of the problem when you break down the question in front of you.
- Related to the above, knowing what multiplies with what to make 88 quickly saves you time so that you can focus your brain on more complex aspects of the problem. Too often I wasted time figuring out mostly by trial and error what these lesser solutions are.
- I didn't have a problem with this but many might. Adding 3 digit numbers to 4 digit numbers should be a quick and straightforward way of earning yourself marks. Problems like 4289 + 334 made appearences a few times either as questions in themselves or components in more complex questions. Similarly, mental deductions questions along the lines of 5086 - 637 appeared. The techniques taught at GCSE and earlier level maths should help you to quickly dispatch these problems. The crucial factor (besides being correct!) is doing it quickly. Every second counts.
- There were a few questions which at vary levels of complexity, presented some information from which it is required you extract the relevant data and perform the necessary interpretations of their use and subsequent maths on. Example:
I had just such a question in my test. Note that the simplification that all boats and all ships have the same complement number and composition I have presented is exactly how it was in my paper, but obviously this is really a test on understanding and using information and need not reflect reality.
- Division, including that giving answers with decimal points; was present. As above, learn the techniques and mental tricks for solving these.
- Number sequences. 1 3 7 13 ...
+2, +4, +6. The next in the sequence is 21 becausing you will be adding 8. These were common too. Some of the sequences were more complex in two ways. A) the changes in the sequence might be -x +y and B) the question may be presented as 47 ... 34 29 25. Both easily adapted to, especially with the benefit of forewarning of their presence.
- There will be algebraic expressions of varying complexity to solve or answer a question in relation to. At their most basic, I noted one to require you to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of algebra by completing a expression. 4t - 2y = 8t - ... . Among the multiple choice answers, you would seek to select for example C) 4y. I hope I got that correct! Because thats as far as my comfort with algebra goes. There will be other more complex problems to solve. I won't go into these as I dont fully remember them and wouldn't dare attempt to solve them in front of essentially, an audience!
Thats covers all the areas of questions I can recall.
You'll have to decide where your own ability is based on how you fare in tests you place yourself in. I would recommend allowing atleast a month to prepare if you haven't touched this stuff since GCSE like I had not.
Regarding the maths section, I reached about half way through the sections to the intermediate questions and it was here I started to struggle. Given the time preassure, I was skipping a few questions such as 60 X 67. Now if I had revised my maths better, I would have brought with me to the test the mental tools to quickly dispatch such levels of question.
For the maths, here is a few points to consider:
- Learn your times tables for multiples up to 200 ish. 9 X 13 type sums will quickly emerge as components of the problem when you break down the question in front of you.
- Related to the above, knowing what multiplies with what to make 88 quickly saves you time so that you can focus your brain on more complex aspects of the problem. Too often I wasted time figuring out mostly by trial and error what these lesser solutions are.
- I didn't have a problem with this but many might. Adding 3 digit numbers to 4 digit numbers should be a quick and straightforward way of earning yourself marks. Problems like 4289 + 334 made appearences a few times either as questions in themselves or components in more complex questions. Similarly, mental deductions questions along the lines of 5086 - 637 appeared. The techniques taught at GCSE and earlier level maths should help you to quickly dispatch these problems. The crucial factor (besides being correct!) is doing it quickly. Every second counts.
- There were a few questions which at vary levels of complexity, presented some information from which it is required you extract the relevant data and perform the necessary interpretations of their use and subsequent maths on. Example:
The test said:
I had just such a question in my test. Note that the simplification that all boats and all ships have the same complement number and composition I have presented is exactly how it was in my paper, but obviously this is really a test on understanding and using information and need not reflect reality.
- Division, including that giving answers with decimal points; was present. As above, learn the techniques and mental tricks for solving these.
- Number sequences. 1 3 7 13 ...
+2, +4, +6. The next in the sequence is 21 becausing you will be adding 8. These were common too. Some of the sequences were more complex in two ways. A) the changes in the sequence might be -x +y and B) the question may be presented as 47 ... 34 29 25. Both easily adapted to, especially with the benefit of forewarning of their presence.
- There will be algebraic expressions of varying complexity to solve or answer a question in relation to. At their most basic, I noted one to require you to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of algebra by completing a expression. 4t - 2y = 8t - ... . Among the multiple choice answers, you would seek to select for example C) 4y. I hope I got that correct! Because thats as far as my comfort with algebra goes. There will be other more complex problems to solve. I won't go into these as I dont fully remember them and wouldn't dare attempt to solve them in front of essentially, an audience!
Thats covers all the areas of questions I can recall.
You'll have to decide where your own ability is based on how you fare in tests you place yourself in. I would recommend allowing atleast a month to prepare if you haven't touched this stuff since GCSE like I had not.
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Anouther lesson I have learned quickly.
Start behaving like a soldier/serviceman/service woman from the start. Even at the careers office, I was spoken to in very direct terms, being given specific instructions that I was expected to follow immediately without questions. Trust in what they say and do exactly what they tell you to.
Its important that you can get your head around this concept as it governs the way the forces operate.
I attended a presentation on the Royal Marine Reserve at Lympstone Commando (handily only 5 miles from my home town) in Devon and my contact with the security personal over seeing my entry to the base was very formal once I got past greeting the civilian guard and the armed men manning the main entrance to the facility. I wasn't asked for it, but I brought my passport just in case.
Start behaving like a soldier/serviceman/service woman from the start. Even at the careers office, I was spoken to in very direct terms, being given specific instructions that I was expected to follow immediately without questions. Trust in what they say and do exactly what they tell you to.
Its important that you can get your head around this concept as it governs the way the forces operate.
I attended a presentation on the Royal Marine Reserve at Lympstone Commando (handily only 5 miles from my home town) in Devon and my contact with the security personal over seeing my entry to the base was very formal once I got past greeting the civilian guard and the armed men manning the main entrance to the facility. I wasn't asked for it, but I brought my passport just in case.
Sounds great.
When you mentioned before the fact that you couldn't join properly until 2009 what did you mean? Personal/domestic/financial issues or are there only a limited amount of entrance windows? I know the whole process can take a great deal of time in some cases.
When you mentioned before the fact that you couldn't join properly until 2009 what did you mean? Personal/domestic/financial issues or are there only a limited amount of entrance windows? I know the whole process can take a great deal of time in some cases.
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Bare in mind that officers training starts in September each year. Two principle reasons:
A) When I applied in early December, I had missed the deadline for the September 2008 intake. The only possiblity of being on it were if a space on the course emerged as a result of some one else dropping out.
B) I am not physically ready. I haven't a particularly strong upper body yet but I have also been held back by being hit by a car in late September. Its only in the last month or so that I have been able to walk properly and undertake some running/distance walking to work 3 months of inertia induced flab off. I got a new road bike last sunday and will be cycling to work everyday! Its only 13 miles total, but combinded with some increasing distances over the weekend, my immediate target is to lose the stone or so of weight I gained when I couldn't so much as walk unaided for 3 months.
A) When I applied in early December, I had missed the deadline for the September 2008 intake. The only possiblity of being on it were if a space on the course emerged as a result of some one else dropping out.
B) I am not physically ready. I haven't a particularly strong upper body yet but I have also been held back by being hit by a car in late September. Its only in the last month or so that I have been able to walk properly and undertake some running/distance walking to work 3 months of inertia induced flab off. I got a new road bike last sunday and will be cycling to work everyday! Its only 13 miles total, but combinded with some increasing distances over the weekend, my immediate target is to lose the stone or so of weight I gained when I couldn't so much as walk unaided for 3 months.
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Rendell, is that you?
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Commissioned, an officer. I have edited my first post to include that vital piece of information I over looked...
Sarcasm and aloofness.
You are definitely Lieutenant material at least.
I've been an RAF Officer for the last seven years as an Air Traffic Controller. The job's fascinating and I love controlling. The pay's good too, however.....
......Why then am I considering leaving and getting a job with NATS?
No matter how much fun controlling is it doesn't offset the sheer amount of ******** you get thrown at you as an officer in the armed forces. It's not a matter of how good you are at your primary job, it's a matter of who you know, how much you can brown nose, how many dreadful secondary duties you can amass and whether or not you want to become the Mess Sec. Honestly, the sheer number of ******** who get promoted who are utter cretins but will jump at the chance to run a service fund is simply mind boggling.
Then there's the amount of shifting around you have to do - I've moved home 6 times in the 7 years I've been 'in' and it's starting to drag.
Pay - ok, it's decent enough when you get to Flt Lt and above but it doesn't match the private sector in terms of equivalency, especially if you do a specific skilled job like ATC. Perhaps the single best motivation to staying in to complete my commision is the pension at the end - this is really still quite good compared to civvy pensions simply because you draw it the day you leave.
......Why then am I considering leaving and getting a job with NATS?
No matter how much fun controlling is it doesn't offset the sheer amount of ******** you get thrown at you as an officer in the armed forces. It's not a matter of how good you are at your primary job, it's a matter of who you know, how much you can brown nose, how many dreadful secondary duties you can amass and whether or not you want to become the Mess Sec. Honestly, the sheer number of ******** who get promoted who are utter cretins but will jump at the chance to run a service fund is simply mind boggling.
Then there's the amount of shifting around you have to do - I've moved home 6 times in the 7 years I've been 'in' and it's starting to drag.
Pay - ok, it's decent enough when you get to Flt Lt and above but it doesn't match the private sector in terms of equivalency, especially if you do a specific skilled job like ATC. Perhaps the single best motivation to staying in to complete my commision is the pension at the end - this is really still quite good compared to civvy pensions simply because you draw it the day you leave.
Trick since you are in the RAF, i have a quick question. Have you seen many people join as a normal soldier, then after a few years of service gain a commission? I know its possible but im just trying to figure out how likely it is, like if it sometimes happens, or if its very rare.
In Air Traffic Control? Stacks - 50% of the students to undertake to Joint Air Traffic Control Course (which I did in 2002/3 and instructed on in 2006/07) were ex-ATC Assistants who had joined up as LACs (Leading Aircraftsmen).
There are no Soldiers in the RAF! (The Regiment don't count!)
There are no Soldiers in the RAF! (The Regiment don't count!)