related to people joining the BA

punchdrunk

have a go at the BARB test

http://www.armyjobs.mod.uk/psp/stage1/Pages/BARBTest.aspx

it's not as easy to waltz in the door as you might think

OS119

as a rough guide - given the recruiting environment the BA is operating in - infanteers will need a minimum of 40 points to get in, Para's and RA 50, RE Combat engineers 60, and any technical trade - RLC/REME/RE/AAC/RMP/RSig - 70 to 80 pts.

the official scores are (from recall): 28 for Infantry and Pioneers, rising to 60 for RMP - however, the numbers and quality of potential recriuts coming through the doors mean that the BA can be choosey about who it recruits. no unit has sufficient manning problems that it would be forced to accept recruits who have criminal convictions, those who can't speak or write coherently, or homophobic - and a little bit mental - ninjas.

iceage

74....Shame I couldn't do that 25 years ago. :P Took a while but I can now also write coherently, am only Slightly homophobic - and a little bit mental - Oh and yes I AM a ninja.

cyrusdvirus

we should petition the mods to rename him Homophobe Ninja.

feckit, i think i might retire Gatecrash for that one!!!

airvan

There is nothing that new about this. In WW2 the Americans carried out tests on inductees and recruits and then streamed them according to the results. The more intelligent ended up in specialist jobs or the air force. The dumber you were the more likely you were to find yourself as a replacement clutching a rifle on the front line in the Hurtgen forest or other similar hellhole. But they went too far with it and later had to transfer a bunch of air forces trainees into the infantry to beef up the IQ on the front line.

helimachoptor

68, stupid number distance test!!!

OS119

airvan wrote: »

There is nothing that new about this. In WW2 the Americans carried out tests on inductees and recruits and then streamed them according to the results. The more intelligent ended up in specialist jobs or the air force. The dumber you were the more likely you were to find yourself as a replacement clutching a rifle on the front line in the Hurtgen forest or other similar hellhole. But they went too far with it and later had to transfer a bunch of air forces trainees into the infantry to beef up the IQ on the front line.

we know there's nothing new in it - **** i did a BARB test 19 years ago (yes, i am that old...) - merely that this forum gets an awful lot of visitors, a fair percentage of whom don't seem to be able to spell or breathe with their mouth shut, who seem to think that being unemployable in Ireland makes them steely-eyed dealers of death that the BA would bite its own arm off to employ.

the little test is purely to indicate that it may not be so easy.

OS119

helimachoptor wrote: »

68, stupid number distance test!!!

yeah, i didn't read the instructions on that one, and just found myself bashing random numbers and going 'fcuk, fcuk, fcukitty fcuk!'

disturbingly, i still got 11/20...

It wasn't me!

79. Missed one of them on the symbol rotation section it seems.

piby

79. Did it twice and got the same result both times and both times I lost my mark on the letter recognition test even though I'm convinced I got it right

cyrusdvirus

79, missed one of the number wotsits

airvan

we know there's nothing new in it

Relax, it was only an historical aside and you're right people do have illusions about the ease of joining the army and what unit they'll end up in.

I took it out of interest and only dropped three points. Not bad. I did enquire about joining the British AAC years ago, so it seems I might have qualified on the test. But somehow I doubt I'd have qualified on other criteria. Oddly the recruiting Sergeant took one look at me and asked if I'd considered applying to be an officer and going to Sandhurst. He obviously saw something I didn't.:D

iceage

Trying....to.....resist....the.....urge.....

airvan

LOL, more like:

Lord Flashheart: Always treat your kite like you treat your woman.
George: How do you mean, sir, do you mean take her home at the weekend to meet your mother?
Lord Flashheart: No, I mean get inside her five times a day and take her to heaven and back!

iceage

Touché Flashheart was my original idea but I'd forgotten his name!

airvan

Sadly this is closer to the truth:

punchdrunk

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,

Boom, Boom, Boom,

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,

Boom, Boom, Boom

Hear the words I sing,

War's a horrid thing,

So I sing sing sing...ding-a-ling-a-ling.