Hi all
I’ve been selected for an NCO course, which is great and all, and I’d like to ask for top tips and how I can really make myself stand out as someone deserving for a Cpl promotion (hopefully all goes well during the course and the process). What am I to expect in the course and how can I complete it to the best of my abilities?
However my only issue is that I am least experienced (in terms of badges and enrolment) amongst those doing it so there will be a lot of work ahead, but I am willing to put in the commitment it requires.
Your help is much appreciated!
I’ll start by saying that NCO courses vary between Wings in terms of content and purpose, so I’ll give some general advice on what to expect.
Assuming this is a JNCO course, formal assessments will likely include uniform inspections, personal drill, squad control, and a knowledge test. You also may be assessed continuously during the course on things like attitude, participation, bearing and leadership.
To prepare I would focus on your uniform and personal drill. For squad control they should teach you what you need to know on the course, with plenty of time to practice, but if you have time it can’t hurt to get a bit of practice in on squadron.
Other content will include the role of an NCO, dress regs, discipline, and potentially any other skills that may be important.
While you’re on the course, try to make the most of it. Engage in the lessons and take notes. Speak to the other cadets on the course and help each other. Ask the staff questions. Hopefully they’ll do a Q&A where you can ask about anything which is a good opportunity to ask about things that happen on your squadron which you’re not sure if they’re correct.
I would say that this is just my opinion and I wouldn’t necessarily say I have any great insight… However.
Be your genuine self
For example, there might be a leaderless exercise where cadets are so obsessed with presenting themselves as a leader that they automatically start barking out ideas and orders when they haven’t got to clue how to achieve a particular task.
One would say a better approach would be to try and have a think about how to accomplish it and then offer your opinion and lead from there.
However, other people may disagree with this approach because… Military and stuff! Shouty shouty wins the day
1 Like
I should also add, the intent of the course isn’t usually to recommend to squadrons “yes promote this person” or “no don’t promote them”, but to offer an insight into their standards and abilities in the key areas. What squadrons do with that feedback is up to them. It might be that you score top marks on everything but your squadron has other things they’re looking for; equally, you might get a more average score but for your squadron that might be good enough.