Not when they’re asking questions which aren’t relevant to the realities of RAFAC.
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How can you interview anyone for anything meaningful in 12 minutes??
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Are you telling me you can’t spot a clot in under 12minutes??? I normally make a judgement call in 3mins, and spend the rest of the time letting them confirm it! 
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It’s not an interview as such, it’s basically a quick fire knowledge test. It’s also not the only thing they do as a test.
I know two former CIs who went for OASC
One had spent a lifetime as a CI while their children went through the Sqn and were active on a Wing level…very competent CFAV but “failed” OASC twice
The other was not very competent or i felt committed and it was clear only in the organisations for what we could get out of it and nothing more. Passed OASC and has been a Walt since
My feelings towards that process are much like an MOT…if you tick the right boxes on the day its a pass regardless of what went before or after.
Will removing OASC change the quality of officers? Possibly. It may encourage those who were put off by OASC to now apply which may include some less desirable candidates but no process is fool proof and sometimes a case of if your face fits…
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Around September 2019 it changed to a 1 day format, apparently with the interview being 12 minutes of RAF specific information, which is not what the JIs said it would be.
There were some other bits ammended too I think but I’m not sure.
Out of curiosity were RAFAC SNCOs who were/are “aircrew” required/are required to Officer & Aircrew Selection Centre?
I believe they were.
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I might be wrong, because i didnt care that much but i thought it was just a board for COS 2FTS. As they were grouped in with “non-aircrew”+" SNCOs in ACP20. Happy to be corrected though
One had spent a lifetime as a CI while their children went through the Sqn and were active on a Wing level…very competent CFAV but “failed” OASC
Been there, > CI for 32 years, cadet upto 20 before that.
“What clubs or societies did you join at school ?”
“Did you take a leading role ie chairman, captain etc ?”
“What activities did you do after school ?”
“apart from the air cadets, Did you join any local clubs when out of school”
“Did you take a leading role such as captain, coach etc?”
“Were you a school prefect ?”
“How did this make you feel ?”
“What responsibilities did that entail ?”
Come on this was 35 years ago I had not prepared for that focus on questioning, This was typical OASC interview for under 20’s looking to join the RAF.
“Apart from @$%&*$£"£?££$ (48 full days a year) volunteering with the Air cadets have you not considered that you should take a volunteering role in the community ?”
’ errr I coached my daughters football teams for a 4 years then merged with another for a couple’
“Yes but apart from that have you not considered volunteering ?”
WTF how much free time does anyone have, bet none of them did anything like that commitment
Certainly not focused on what I was there for, to offer more of myself to the Air Cadets.
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Couldnt agree more.
Using RAF filter interview Qs for VRT now RAFAC CFC, is pointless.
There is a RAFAC card for the sift interviews
One bloke who had been a CI for several years and touted as a good commissioning candidate was asked questions like that, told them it was pointless, went home and resigned as a CI, given how disconnected the process was from the ‘cadets’ and he had lost all faith. He’s now in the district side of the Scouts as well as running a group.
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And this is the problem. HQAC are so disconnected from understanding what volunteers are and what they do that nothing is designed for volunteers.
The simple approach is copy and paste from the regulars which holds no value.
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And this relates back to the economic thread… “Why do we only get 25p/mile?” “That’s what the JSP says you’re allowed”. Right. The JSP also says that it’s for service personnel, which I am not.
And the recent heat illness thread. “Follow these rules on heat Illness in this JSP”. “But it says it’s not for children”. “Doesn’t matter!”
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Why do these things always get implemented then challenged by the mere CFAV. Shouldn’t the leadership of this organisation be sticking up for our interests?
They don’t know what our interests are.
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If HQAC challenge anything FTRS may disappear?
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Important to remember two things about HQAC:
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they are at least as much the RAF’s creature in the ACP as they are the ACO’s creature in the RAF.
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they are RAF, reported on and employed by the RAF, and reliant on the RAF for their next role.
They could have the integrity of a saint, but - like the rest of us - they are shaped by the orgs/cultures they’ve been in most of their adult life, and would be foolish in the extreme to not have a weather eye on a) not getting a 2 year tour to Saxa Vord, and b) ensuring they’ve still a career in 4 years.
Anyone hoping for outspoken rebellion simply doesn’t understand the power dynamics at play.
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Saxa at one time was quite a desired posting especially when the alternative was Macrihanish,
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