Wish Me Luck

Alrighty well I'm enlisting in the Army Reserve here finally, and I have my initial assessments coming up tomorrow. Since I'm applying for Reserve Officer Entry I've had a hell of a time chasing up all the documentation I need to take in, thats been great.
So it's just aptitude testing, the medical assessment and an interview with my recruiter about what they think I should do, and then after this I have to take my main assessment some time down the track, probably soon, and then see the officer selection board, which I imagine will be weird and scary.
Then, hopefully, I'm in and I can start training at the Melbourne University Regiment. If I don't make Officer then I'll gor for entry as a private although I've been told there's no room for new reserve recruits to start training until May.
So yeah, I might be joining the club soon. Anyway wish me luck people, I'll let you know how it all goes over the next few weeks.

[Officer of Engineers]

Be sure to let me know when you get your cap badge. I'll see if I can get you something from the Canadian regiment.

[Bill]

Good luck bro!

Make us proud...and listen to your NCOs and superiors(for once, hehehe) :)

[Ray]

Best of luck.

I am sure you will succeed.

[-{SpoonmaN}-]

Thanks guys, things went well, apparently I'm an extremely strong canididate and my recruiter went so far as to cancel all my enlisted job preferences, so I'm being motored ahead as quickly as they can manage. I have my proper assesment with the head to toe medical and all that on the 1st of December and then I'll have to wait a while to see the Ofiicer Selection Board since they just finished a big intake.
If all goes according to plan I should be starting my training with the Melbourne University Regiment before the middle of next year.

[Ray]

Stand by for Iraq!

Nothing like the real thing to help one to settle into a new job profile.

Best of Luck.

[-{SpoonmaN}-]

Stand by for Iraq!

Nothing like the real thing to help one to settle into a new job profile.

Best of Luck.

Only if I ask for it apparently, they're not allowed to send reservists outside of Australia against their will except during wartime. It's a hangover from the Citizen's Militia, which was the predecessor of our Army Reserve. In essence the Reserves here are more like the Army National Guard in the states, in that units are raised on a state-to-state basis (still under federal control however) and their primary role is in home defence.
Which brings me to a rant I've been meaning to post. There's been talk of re-introducing conscription to bring the ADF's numbers up, and I have a theory about how we could make this work without being too mean to people.
My idea is to offer people some choice:
Everyone gets picked at the age of 19, unless they have kids, or they're medically unsuitable of course.

They get to choose between 1 year of full-time service on active duty with the Army, Navy or Air Force.
or
2 years part-time duty in reserve service with the Army, Navy or Air Force.
or
2 years full-time service with Police, Fire and Rescue or Emergency Services etc.
or
3 years service with a militia/national guard branch of the ADF (this would be a new service dedicated to home defence, allowing us to deploy as much as possible of the regulars overseas), on a part time regional basis
or
for the pacifists, 3 years full time work in community service, aged care etc.

Males and females should both be up for the draft, and this way people can choose to do the harder stuff and get it out of the way faster, but if they're not up for it, they can opt out of military or dangerous work, but they'll have to put their lives on hold for longer. For people who must power ahead with university education, there are part time military jobs available so they can balance that around their national service obligations.
And obviously anyone volunteering to work in these fields would be exempt from the draft but they'd have to complete the minimum term of service in that category or they'd be drafted.

[-{SpoonmaN}-]

Be sure to let me know when you get your cap badge. I'll see if I can get you something from the Canadian regiment.

And thanks sir its probably a year and a bit off at least before I graduate as a 2LT so you don't have to worry for now but I'll keep that in mind.

[-{SpoonmaN}-]

Well things went well once again, I got recommended to go in front of the Officer Selection Board, I managed to make a pretty good impression with my interviewer seeing as how he gave me a high recommendation.
So now I just have to sit around until March, when they have the next board running, apparently I'm first in line for Army candidates which is a plus, still I wish I didnt have to wait this long. I gotta thank you guys, without all the stuff you guys post on this forum I wouldn't know half as much about the Military, my prior knowledge has really helped me, since it impresses the recruiters.

[Shek]

Good luck!

[gf0012-aust]

Only if I ask for it apparently, they're not allowed to send reservists outside of Australia against their will except during wartime. It's a hangover from the Citizen's Militia, which was the predecessor of our Army Reserve. In essence the Reserves here are more like the Army National Guard in the states, in that units are raised on a state-to-state basis (still under federal control however) and their primary role is in home defence.

I think you'll find that this has changed. When East Timor went off in 99 they sent the Reserves in as well as the regs - they discovered that it was in breach of Commonwealth Law (for the reasons you mention). A special bipartisan sitting was convened in the middle of the night (literally a 02:00-04:00 sitting) to allow for Reservists to be sent offshore for active combat.

btw, good luck ;)

[Officer of Engineers]

Did your res deployed as entire companies (I'm assuming your res regts are coy strength) or were your res regts stripped to flush out the regforce?

[gf0012-aust]

Did your res deployed as entire companies (I'm assuming your res regts are coy strength) or were your res regts stripped to flush out the regforce?

they were deployed as discrete units. none of the regs were backfilled. the reserves typically inluded medics and construction (equiv to "pioneers"??)

[Officer of Engineers]

More like construction battalions. Pioneers are combat engineer reconnaisance equivlent.

[TopHatter]

Good luck Spoonman!

And another one goes off...