My Adventures at IAF Selection Board-2008
Hurray....i got selected in Indian Air Force as an Officer.....i started jumping inside myself.......but it wasn't yet fully confirmed.I was still in KLCE college campus,Vijayawada.I went there to attend an off campus interview for IAF.Me and around 45 students of my college mates gave a written test and only a few(around some 5 or 6 members) got through.I was one among them.
Hurray....i got selected in Indian Air Force as an Officer.....i started jumping inside myself.......but it wasn't yet fully confirmed.I was still in KLCE college campus,Vijayawada.I went there to attend an off campus interview for IAF.Me and around 45 students of my college mates gave a written test and only a few(around some 5 or 6 members) got through.I was one among them.
Then we had a 2nd round.....thats
called picture perception round (we have to write a story by seeing a
photograph shown as a slide.example slide shown in pic to the left).
The final round was a GD and i got
through it too...Hurray..... i thought i got the job.But there was a twist in
the story there.....we were given an entry ticket for the further rounds that
are going to be held in INDIAN AIRFORCE SELECTION BOARD MYSORE....!!
There started my journey towards IAF.We
reached yashwantpur railway station.We were total four students from our
state(myself included).From there we went to majestic Bus-stand Bangalore by
prepaid auto (this is for the first time i ever came to know of 'prepaid auto'
system).Bangalore city railway station is very near to majestic.We got a train
to MYSORE.It was around three/four hours journey.Outside Mysore railway
station,where we were instructed in our call letters to wait,we waited for
about an hour.At sharp 6.50 Am, an IAF bus came ther and it started to the
selection board at sharp 7'o clock.Within 15 mins, we entered "NO-2
AIRFORCE SELECTION BOARD-MYSORE".
It was like another world inside mysore
city!! (Picture at the right is that of an old plane kept at the entrance for
display) we were given Tea and snacks to eat and were made to sit in the
seminar hall within few minutes.
- TWO PSYCHOLOGY TESTS (written) were taken without gap.
- Followed by PICTURE PERCEPTION TEST for 12 successive slides (the picture display time is very less...may be few seconds) were given.
- Followed by SITUATION REACTION TEST for 45 questions were taken.
- Then immediately ENGLISH WORDS USAGE TEST was taken.
- Then
at 2 pm or 3 pm approximately,we were arranged lunch in the canteen.
After Lunch we were given chest numbers
before conducting all these tests.my chest number was "6"!!!
SECOND DAY
GTO(Group Testing for
Officers)TESTS :---
- 1.Two sucessive GROUP DISCUSSION(indoor)were taken.
- 2.Followed by a GROUP TASK (a city or country map is given,we have to tackle various situations as per the given task).
- Then after that, we went outdoor for PROGRESSIVE GROUP TASK. (It consisted of 4 sets of obstacles.Time given for us was 45 minutes.We completed it in time.ours is a group of ten members i.e chest numbers form 1 to 10 named GROUP-A).
- Then after that task,we had a race called SNAKE RACE (The tent used by army jawans is rolled in the form of a snake and was tied firmly by a rope all around so that it looked like a snake.All ten members of our group had to carry the snake on our shoulders and participate in a race, in which we had to cross TEN OBSTACLES (Somewhat Harder task) to reach the finish line.While our Group-A started,simultaneously other two groups D and G raced parallel with us.
The obstacles were like
1)A Car Tier will be
hung from a support at a height of 5 feet.we have to jump through the tyre
without losing contact with the snake.While crossing any obstacle, at least 3
team mates should be in contact with the snake.If this rule was broken by any
team,the G.T.O officer watching each of our groups gives a penalty.
If the rule was broken, the GTO officer will give us a penalty
depending on the severity of the rule broken.For example...If the rule was
severely broken,then the G.T.O officer shouts out the number "twenty"
upon which, everyone of us should stand still and count numbers from 20
to 1 in descending order and then start again.While we were having penalty, the
other groups will be marching forward.
The other snake race obstacles were
like
2)A wooden plank hung
between two wires, on which we have to walk and cross.(The plank used to swing
and we had to balance ourself with the snake still on our shoulder).
3)A structure shaped
"8" will be hung. We have to move through inside of it in the shape
of "8" (No pic available).
4) We have to climb a
Ten foot wall and cross to the other side(most difficult because of the snake).
5)Other obstacles were
tougher enough.
After successfully completing the race, our necks were full of
dust and gunny bag wool, as we had to carry the snake on our necks.Finally,
among the three competing groups,ours was the first to win the race.our G.T.O
congratulated us.Our winning slogan was "CHAK-DE" (chosen by us). We
had to shout it loud and we did it in winning josh.
Now the second day testing was all over.We went to our mess.Ate
bellyfull and got to rest.Everyday we had free hours from 2 pm onwards.In the
evenings,we used to go out to roam out in the streets of Mysore.
We visited the Mysore ZOO.Wow...!!!It was a wonerful feeling...!As
i never visited a zoo before,it was a good feeling to be visiting a zoo,that
too in a beautiful place like Mysore.....!!
We saw the worlds smallest monkey
called pocket monkey, many cockatoos, white and different coloured peacocks,
birds and we saw white tiger, ordinary tiger, indian elephants, african
elephants, deers, wildbuffallos.
Zirraffees are the most interesting
ones that i saw in the entrance of the zoo.as it turned out to be 6 pm in the
evening, as it most often does in Mysore, it began to rain heavily.
Then we saw
a board on which it was written "This is the only zoo in India exhibiting
a Gorilla".We wanted to see it too, but becoz of rain, we ran towards a
shelter and we missed the gorilla.morover, the zoo will be closed by 6.30pm.so
we had to leave soon.as we came out, we ate some panipuri, murmur, kheera and
returned to the IAF hostel.we had a good dinner and slept.
THIRD DAY:-
Everyday, starting
from the first day of our stay, we had to assemble infront of our hostel in
threes by 6:45 Am.So we used to get up early @ 4:30 am, get ready and
used to assemble in time. Everyday @ sharp 6:50 am,the wing commander
used to come there and used to inquire regarding the comfort of our stay
and about our health and he asked us for any complaints, etc.
As soon as he
finished his addressing,it was around 7 am and we had to go for further
testings.on the third day, we had group testing second phase. We had to wear
white and white(or a track suit) for GROUP TESTING.
As we went for
group testing, we were given a strip, on which 4 topics will be written.we have
to choose one, think for it for 3 minutes and give a seminar in front of our
group mates for 3 minutes.Since ours is a group of ten , we completed those
seminars in 30 minutes.
Then came a COMMAND
TASK.ie each one of us will be acting as a commander individually.When acting
as a commander, have to call up any two members of our group and make them do a
task by commanding them through instructions while i was doing the task, the
remaining members of the group should remain facing towards a wall.Means they
shouldn't see what iam doing.
Like this, each
one of us were called one after the other.Finally, it was a very time consuming
process.When not acting in command task,i.e while seated facing the wall, one
should have good patience.It was boring heavily in that mean time.
When this command task for all ten of
us was completed, we had to face INDIVIDUAL TASKS.There were ten obstacles to
be passed for finishing the task.
Obstacles are:
1)
A small inclined slope.(we have to jump over it by
stepping on it).
2)
Four feet High Jump.
3)
Balancing walk on a wooden plank placed horizontally in between two vertical
wooden poles at a height of 7 feet.
4)Have to jump a wall of 10 feet high (Tough and have to be smart enough).
5) Two ropes were tied between two
vertical poles at about 15 feet high above ground
and
20 feet high.we have to climb the pole, catch hold of the 20 feet high rope and
walk on the 15 feet high rope and cross on to the other side and then
climb down.(The ropes swing u like anything.so one need to be steady but
keep a watch on running time and should be confident.Most of the members
lost much time here).
6) we have to climb a platform about 12
feet high, from there jump on to a platform at about 8 feet high(both platforms
separated by 3 feet gap), then jump from there to ground.
7) Have to climb a rope, thats hung
from a support @15feet high,touch the top surface, then again climb down
slowly(should not slide over the rope).
8)monkey crawl:- we have to crawl
upside down, like a monkey and cross to the other side.there will be a wooden
bully hung between two ropes.it swings vigorously as we crawl on it.
9)Sorry
i don't remember the ninth one.
10)Finally there was be a platform at
12 feet height.We had to climb over it and jump and catch hold of a rope hung
from a pole at a distance of 4 feet from the platform and then climb down
slowly.(This is where i felt my heart beat increased...i climbed on to the
platform with ease but jumping and catching hold of a rope at a distance is
really harder...if the rope swings due to air and u miss it...oh my..u will be
in the dispensary with severe bruises...so i thought there on the platform for
a few seconds...and climbed down the platform and reached the officer to report
the task completeion.Shortest time counts).
Their difficulty increases from 1 to 10.Marks will be awarded as follows: 1st obstacle will be awarded 1mark, the second one two marks and so on........!! If all ten obstacles were crossed, we will get 55 marks(sum of one to ten).I scored 36 marks( i had no time for 10+9 marks/obstacles).Do u know whats the time given to cross all these ten Obstacles??
Believe me its just 3 minutes!!!! Just
imagine how hard it was...to do such hard tasks keeping in view of the time
constraint and keeping ourselves safe.
Then finally, the day was over for testing.Then we had lunch and set out on I.A.F bus for a tour(paid by us).We saw Mysore Palace, Tippu Sultans Battle Field where he fought a battle with britishers and was killed in the battle (place called as srirangapatna) .His Tomb where even today he receives lots of respect.Then we went to see Brundavan Gardens.
FInally, at night 8pm, our bus was on its way back
to the hostel.As usual..we had our dinner and fell a sound sleep..zzzzzz lol :)
FOURTH DAY:-
We faced
personal interview lasting about half an hour per person .It was very
casual.But u cant bluff or be fake with the interviewer because interviewer is
too clever(officer brains are too sharp). Even if u wish to bluff, he will get
every truth out of you by successive twisted questions.
JUDGMENT DAY ( FIFTH AND THE LAST DAY ) :-
Finally, it
is the day we have to face the conference.About 13 officers will be seated in
the form of an "U" like structure.and there will be a chair placed in
the opening of the "U" structure, on which each member will be called
to sit and would be interviewed.It was a casual interview(but be cautious about
your formals and the body language and walking style).It just lasted for 5
minutes.They will test your confidence and suitability to the forces.
finally after having lunch,we
are called to know our result in the same seminar hall, where we were seated
and tested on the very first day.
Finally, the group commander declared the result....."lub
dub"....."lub dub"(Every one was smiling but were praying
silently with fingers crossed...thinking about the journey we had throughout..the
tasks we did..the friends we made...everything...every thing flashed in our
minds in just a few seconds like a lightning .
After a breath stopping suspense,the commander started calling out the names of selected ones and asked them to come on to the stage.Oh god..what is this..my name...how did it miss?? grief...but had to control it...and show a smiling face out...aah felt like heart stopped beating for a few minutes...and tears rolling in the eyes...but had to send them back in to those pores..where they came from...without wiping them off..just by blinking the eyes twice or thrice...!! yes...i sent them back..now could see the stage clearly.Only 6 out of 56 were selected.my name was not in the result.
All
the unselected candidates were in pale faces..but some of us like me..tried to
hide that situation by saying the fact that.."Even Abdul Kalam sir was not
selected in an I.A.F interview so nothing to be felt bad about....".With a
sense of humour out of pain...i said "Thank god i was not selected because
i cant get up every day at 4 Am" :)
Na Na wait baba...wait..wait..the movie
is not yet over...even those 6 selected members were not confirmed of the job
in IAF. They were further sent for physical and medical tests.Few weeks later
through a friend i came to know that only 2 of then got the FINAL SELECTION
!!!!!
Then i thought "how sad those
remaining 5 might be????"
NOTE: INDIAN AIRFORCE INTERVIEWING PROCESS IS SAID TO BE THE SECOND MOST TOUGHEST INTERVIEWING PROCESS IN THE WORLD (FIRST PLACE BEING THE RUSSIAN ARMY)
I have written this blog just that it could be of some help to
future IAF aspirants..
ALL THE BEST..
ALL THE BEST..
