Anybody, especially Australians here in the defense force, most

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Shameless bump. I couldn't think of a better place to discuss this topic. Here's a picture of a pretty gun.

>>32528191
I'm in the army reserve as a Rifleman (transferring to full time).
If you think you can deal with military life go for it Mate, The army will give you the chance to prove yourself.
The march out of kapooka is one of the proudest moments of your life.

>>32529309
Not op but do you have any advice for the aptitude test. Where can you practice it online?

>>32529324
The YOU session... fun haha
as far as i'm aware there is no online practice for it. But don't stress the questions are generally "what come next in the sequence" type questions and they are multiple choice.
I recommend picking up your old maths book and just lightly revise algebra and fractions that sort of thing.

>>32529309
Honestly I don't know if I can handle it. I'm soft and easily overwhelmed by pressure but I have this hope that military discipline fixes that quick, if it doesn't break you.

Is there like an average age for newbies? I'm worried about being the only guy in my mid 20's in a platoon of like 18 year olds

>>32529782
Its not like they want you to fail though, physically you're probably stronger than most of the younger guys there but endurance and running capabilities probably not so much.

> after a few years of depression kicking my ass
Watch out, I got rejected from a priority job because of my medications.

>>32528191
>depression
>uneventful
>friendless

You can lie about the depression but you've got to get some concrete evidence that disprove 2 and 3.

The bare minimum is usually 4 years in a sports team and having some professional leadership experience in a full time job.

Think it through mate. Not having your head on straight can be detrimental to your fellow diggers.

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>>32528191

Give it a crack. My brother is in the army. He loves it. He was a bit aimless with his life after uni, but got motivated and direction with the army. He will make a career out of it.

His only recommendation (the same advice given to him and he gives to everyone) is to be fucken fit before you walk in the door. If you are strong and fit, virtually all your major hurdles are taken care of.

And don't be a jack cunt.

If you go into the ADF do a trade. Unless you want to spend your whole life there (or if you get medically discharged) you will have zero transferable skills as a rifleman back in the real world.

Infantry would have been great when Afghanistan was going off but at the moment it's a dead end for young blokes to do just out of school before they move onto something bigger and better in their mid 20s.

>>32529986

>The bare minimum is usually 4 years in a sports team and having some professional leadership experience in a full time job.

That's criteria for officer selection, there's literally 17 year olds who have done nothing with their lives yet going through Kapooka.

>>32529935
I don't take meds anymore. Used to be on antidepressants for a number of months but got off that shit after a while of it doing nothing but make me tired and irritable. Best thing I can do for it is exercise and eat well.

>>32529888
Yeah I get what you're saying. My reservations are more akin to being the guy who goes back to high school in his 20s because he's an idiot. I know it's not the same thing but I'd feel so out of place.

>>32529986
>The bare minimum is usually 4 years in a sports team and having some professional leadership experience in a full time job.
Didn't see anything of the sort when I was researching and checking out the requirements online. It was mostly physical and related to citizenship and background checks.
>Not having your head on straight can be detrimental to your fellow diggers
Absolutely agree. That being said, I am certain that all of my mental health problems are environmental in nature and related to my upbringing. I feel like military discipline and just a sense of belonging to a collective I can be proud of will pull my head out of the fog.

>>32530177
what does a medical discharge have to do with a transferable skill?

>>32530282

I mean if you spend your time in the ADF in an unskilled role such as a rifleman, if something forces you to leave you won't have anything to really fall back on.

>>32530220
>>32529935

what they don't know won't hurt them

>>32528191
Give the reserves a try first before going full time
Full time, can be hard to get into depending on what you want to do exactly when you get to that point. They do look favourably on people with team building experience, charity work and other types of working with others, because basically any job in the armed forces involves working with people.

>>32530306
Honestly a rifleman is the only thing I can see myself doing. I don't have any engineering knowledge or experience, and I have no real desire to take up a leadership role at this stage. Maybe that ambition will come to me later down the road, who knows. Foreign aid too, I guess would be a cool experience.
I'll still have my diploma to fall back on and I can always study one of few other fields I'm interested in. Probably something in politics

>>32528191
344 for 2 years now 150, what do ya wanna know

>>32528191
mate i tried to go for it, but it turns out i have a genetic heart condition so im not medically fit.

you should do what im doing now, i just bought a yacht at auction for a super cheap price and im going to sail the world.

>>32531927
First of all what those numbers mean. I ain't familiar with any of that jargon yet.

>>32531927
Alright cunt what does an autist with no job experience and no year 12 finished have to do to get in?

>>32531927
343 is Rifleman, no idea on 344 maybe reservist.
150 is a 'Combat' Clerk - typist and brewbitch

>>32530177
Depends what qualifications he has before the Army and also what he can do part time/online while in the Army. I left the Infantry with 3 Diplomas and 7 Various Certificates (Fitness, Government, Training etc).

Then again, I was badly hurt on one of my Deployments and now I am Studying at Uni.

My advice to anyone seeking an Infantry "Career" is to get qualifications before the Army as it is basically a volunteer prison sentence and you'll find yourself popping out the other side of your 4-6 year enlistment totally unqualified and unprepared for civilian life unless you prepared properly.

>>32528191
>Depression
Rejected.

>>32532213
At the moment - you're pretty fucked.
After Afghan etc there is usually a backlog of highly qualified guys ahead of you.
Without Y12 - basically no hope.
With no job experience - ditto.
>pull your finger out, fix yourself, go back and do HSC or equivalent, get some parttime jobs or at least volunteer work, then maybe if the recruiters get desperate.

How rigorous are the background checks? Say if you got prescribed anti depressants as a young teen

I'd like to join but I feel like I missed the window of opportunity I should have taken in my teens. Are there a lot of 20+ year olds among new recruits?

>>32532439
I have Yr 12 and a diploma. How'm I lookin'?

>>32532338
What if I'm in good physical health and I convince them that exercise makes the sads go away? Besides I did a bit of therapy and I'm not on drugs

>>32528191
Army cadets won't put you ahead of other recruits. Just have a decent work history to show that you're not lazy maybe take up a team sport like rugby or volunteer somewhere, they love to hear about teamwork stuff. As for fitness don't aim for just above minimum make sure you're well above minimum.

Try to see if there's anything else that tickles your fancy besides rifleman and not only just in the army try navy and airforce. Having a diploma might help in getting a more technical(higher paying) job.

>>32532866
if you are flawed in any way you are rejected unless you are a woman, they simply won't take you if they know unless you're chad incarnate and have the charisma of the devil

>>32531927
is doing cool guy stuff worth not having any qualification after the contract? Serious btw

>>32532845
get a job.
do a teamwork (teamsports / volunteer firey / ses)
run
pushups situps / weights / full bodywieght routine

>>32532992
what sort of benchmarks do you need senpai

>>32532895
>if you are flawed in any way you are rejected unless you are a woman
Loving that male privilege :^)

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>tfw just surpassing the minimum BMI requirements by 0.02 after a year long bulk
>I will always be a skeleton
would they just deny me on sight lads

>>32532222
Typo obvs shitbird, and realistically ask yourself. Would you work for no pay, and no leave, with nobody to process your training, deployment and promotion opportunities? Yeah i dont reckon so...

>>32532899
Inf has no quals but ive transferred to essentially army HR so theres plenty of civi quals there

>>32533278
What are you, tall or something?

>>32533291
Fuck off pogue.
I have to do my own pay on PMKeys PSS, online leave apps, every deployment I have the civvy MPAC do my allowances and recheck my S23AD, and SCMA does my promotion off my online PARs...
>white with two sugars thanks, bitch

I'm shipping out to kapooka in 5 days and I've passed the pfa and all, but i can only get 12:30 for the 2.4km, am I fucked?

>>32528191
If you really want to go grunts do it. It's a good opportunity to save cash and develop skills and personal attributes that will help you in the work place and life in general. Plus it looks good when shown alongside formal qualifications (which you don't get for around 5+ years if you go Infantry).

Coming in as an older gentleman is loaded with benefits as you're much more likely to get left the fuck alone during training while they focus on confused 18-20 year olds. Just don't be a jack cunt as previously stated.

>t. Infantry NCO of 7 years.

>>32533325
Are there usually at least some "older" guys among them? Like mid 20's ish. Also would you recommend reserves to begin with? Working 2 casual jobs atm and have 6 months of college left to meet some arbitrary health fund requirements even though I've actually finished my study.

>>32533322
Holy shit you had better be praying to whatever god you believe in that it's a rainy day.

>>32533378
women can do kapooka, I thought it was ez?

>>32533378
But wait there's more,

I'm going infantry

>>32533389
I wouldn't know, but if you're doing a 2.4k run in Aussie summer in the hottest part of the day you're going to be miserable. I hope they let you at least carry a water bottle

>>32533394
Yeah I was looking at the forecasts, most days next week are hitting high of 40 degs.

>>32533389
The physical tests are easier for women and older people

>>32533400
Pls don't die ;_;

where the fuck are we even deployed

>>32533417
300 of us in iraq atm training iraqis, our spec ops are also always....somewhere

>>32533394
Have fun! Hopefully you get Echo Coy. New lines, A/C and showers work great. You will be fine the RFA 2.4km run isnt a hurlde anymore. But the PESA is. You will be fine. And far from the worst person there. Its easy man. Dont be a lid. Dont get into all the stupid rumours. Dont be a jack cunt. You're prob gonna get yelled at and deliberately fucked around. And you are prob gonna have a hard time shitting/knowing when ro shit. Welcome to the army.

On a positive note,
Highwire is awesome fun.
Weapons training is actually ok.
PTIs are phychos but gym sesh are Ok
Mess is just OK.sometimes.
Some of the Seccos are great and don't pay them off as they will teach you some invaluable stuff not in the curriculum.

Um. Dont ask dumb questions either.

31pl D coy reppin

>>32533457
Thank you for the advice!

>>32533322
Long as you're not the last guy, or the screws will terrorise you into doing better next time

Do they just straight reject you for having depression?
What if you've been off meds for a year?

>>32533378
Mate to be honest, AI actually prefer older blokes at work, you don't go around doing dumb shit (well at least not as much) and are for the better part far more organised than some 21 year old chasing pus and getting DUI'd every 3 months.

Reserves is an option while studying,but you're pushing shit up hill transferring to full time without at least a few years under your belt as a choco. Grunts is fine just so long as you know what you're getting yourself into. I love my fucking job but there are some aspects that grind my gears.

And don't get lulled into a false sense of security, Kapooka is a fucking cake walk compared to SOI, especially considering they are changing the TMP. If you can't pass a BFA coming out of ARTC, you are about to get your shit pushed in by the instructors at Singo.

>>32533727
What do all those acronyms mean?

>>32533746
DUI- being a drunk cunt behind the wheel.
BFA- Basic Fitness assesment.
SOI- School of Infantry (Singo)
ARTC- Kapooka
TMP- Training management plan (dictates how a manadated course is conducted and what is covered)

Kapooka is a fun word. It sounds like a Pokemon

>>32528191
If you're going to join a peacetime army get a trade or aim for commandos etc. no in between shit. Being a rifleman is shit.

planning on enlisting, then trying to get to commandos in a few years. How fucked am i?

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How long does it actually take to get to Kapooka?

From the (You) session to the fitness test and finally getting a letter then going. How long does all of this take?

>>32529324
http://content.defencejobs.gov.au/pdf/triservice/DFT_Document_GuideToAptitudeandAbilityTesting_20140402.pdf

>>32534090
Why is being a Rifleman shit?

>>32533322
How long did it take you to get your Job Offer letter ? Then how long after that did it take to go to Kapooka?

>>32534168
6 months usually.
Depending on your job, availability, hold ups, etc.

>>32534090
Trades are good anywhere, any of the electrical, tech-fitters, fitter and turners, mechanics etc will see you well in the world for some time to come. All 3 forces offer fairly good foundations in those.
Avoid anything to do with a kitchen or logistics... or tanks for that matter, that's where they send the people too munted to function anywhere else.

>>32534113
Pretty fucked.
Look after your legs and feet, get used to being in pain (and not in a fun way), half starved, sometimes drowned and spending time with people so spannered in the head that they technically should be in an asylum. The only real upside is that you 'might' one day get cut loose to go murder the living shit out of someone.

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>>32534239

>>32534226
I did my assessment day and 4 months Iater I got my job offer at the start of december and I'm shipping out in 4 days to kapooka. So the 6 months is usually an accurate estimate, unless your job is in high demand. You could for, example, be recommended for a job but won't get an offer for years due to the demand.

>>32534281
What are you going in as? Priority or not a priority?

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>>32534281
doesnt this mean you can get multiple letters, all different with different numbers of job offers?

>>32534291
Well me story is that I applied for army and navy officer at the start of 2015 when I was 16, did the (you) session and got the scores for everything and was recommended for both army and navy officer. I then went to the assessment day and got recommended again for both army and navy officer, as well as passing the psych and english essay test. I then went to an OSB (officer selection board) halfway through the year. Unfortunatelly I was unsuccessful at said board, so I immediately got back i to contact with my recruiters and they set me up with another assessment day 5 months layer, but this time for Gap year. The assesser didn't even bother asking me any questions on the day, due to me already having gone through a very similar assessment previously, and thus reccommended me for Gap year rifleman and artillery (Neither were priority). And have I have since got an offer for rifleman gap year. I provided this background as I have a feeling that me getting through to the OSB previously worked to my advantage.

>>32534306
Pretty sure you only get one offer at a time

>>32534328
>>32534306
*however if a job on your wishlist is priority they may propose a deal that you do that instead of what you want to do

>>32534322
Since you did your Aptitude test relatively recently how much more difficult does it get than the questions listed on the ADF pdf.

http://content.defencejobs.gov.au/pdf/triservice/DFT_Document_GuideToAptitudeandAbilityTesting_20140402.pdf

Do you have any general advice for this test?

>>32534344
If you have a job on your wishlist isn't that a job you're meant to want anyway?

I selected 3 jobs, one was priority. Will they offer me ones outside of these as well and just see the ones I selected as my priority in case multiple are available?

>>32534361
The aptitude test is infact in two components, a general and a math. The general is basically a bunch of puzzles which arent too hard (much like an IQ test), however with the math some of the questions were much harder than the practice ones. Also, it should be noted that neither test is designed to be completed within the timelimit and calculators are not allowed. Personally, of I didn't know how to answer a question within a reasonable amount of time (maybe 30 secs) I would hit skip and go to the next.

Regarding the jobs, they will assess you for each one individually from your prefered one to your least preferred one. The will simply go down and If they can they'll offer your number 1 job. However they pretty much won't offer you a job putside of what you have selected due to there being a priority job in there.

>>32534432
Do you do trigonometry and shit in it? I was looking at some internet test and it had it on it. Or that won't be on there since there is no calculators?

Thanks for answering my questions man

>>32534464
Yeah look, if you're not going for officer you don't have to be too flash.
However the math had basically all of grade 10 math that was doable by hand, so yeah logs, trig, %, fractions, multiplication and i think one of the questions even had a bearing? Lol
Anyways if you're going for grunt you don't need to be a wizard at tough stuff, just start getting used to handling numbers without a calculator again.

You're welcome mate!

>>32534488

I'm not going for officer, I just really want to not fail, that's all.

What are logs? I haven't even heard of this before.

>>32534516
Maybe I'm wrong but I thought there was logarithms on there

>>32534532
I'll make sure to look into that basic maths shit then.

Thank you again for all your help, take it easy and good luck.

>>32534548
Thanks, will do

what is the realistic chances of becoming a tanker?

i mean we only have like ~50 tanks..

>>32534218

Like he said. It's peace-time Army. Rifleman literally gain 0 useful civilian trades or qualifications even aftet decades of doing it. Engineers, RAEME, etc. Earn a lot of trades that are transferable to Civi side.

>>32534889

I have no clue what the go with tanks is, but I know we have plenty of guys training to become APC crewman and there's always more flowing through the School of Armour at Pucka.

Tank/APC crewman, being a full-time only gig, has a high turnover rate as most guys leave once their 4 years are up. So there are perpetually spots freeing up.

Hey guys,

I did my You session about a month ago as a recent highschool graduate who completed a pre-apprenticeship for electrical as my path for my senior year (general english, and maths with a pass in year 10 science). Since I need to be fully qualified to be an electrician in the defence force that is not an option at the moment, I was hoping someone could recommend me any similar high priority jobs/trades that don't require me to be fully qualified or to have followed an ATAR pathway.

I spoke with a case manager a few weeks ago which turned out to be a waste of time (it was almost holidays and seemed like they didn't give a fuck).

Cheers lads.