Assessment Day-
The Assessment Day started at 7:45 this morning.
Medical-
First I had a medical where I had a blood test done and a physical examination where I was stripped down to my underwear and had a series of tests done including a testicular check. I had to give a full history of all my medical conditions and hospital visits, which I did. They are now chasing up hospital reports from when I broke my leg and my arm when I was 11 and 14 respectively. I had a hearing test, which I passed. I passed the eyesight test but unfortunately I failed the visual test for colors. I've got color perception problems (mild form of color blindness, which apparently affects 8% of the male population. As a result I failed my medical test for infantry but was able to continue with the recruiting process because my second preference was combat working as an Artillery Gunner.
Psychological-
They gave me a questionnaire to fill out, which had about 30 questions on it where you tick either 'Yes' or 'No'. It was straightforward questions asking about mental state, family mental health history, childhood etc. I got asked about why I wanted to join the army and my motivation. I actually applied for the Army back in 2010 but I withdrew my application at the time so I got questioned about it. I said that at the time I was studying at uni and also re-thought the prospect of being sent away interstate and committing 4 years of my life. But then the psychologist said "but there was another reason wasn't there?". So I answered truthfully and just explained that at the time I was facing court for a few charges and had to go into very specific detail about all the charges and what was going on in my life at the time. I answered them honestly and went through all the details and took full accountability for everything and explained that I had no convictions and had to explain why I thought that was etc. It's not really a conversation that I like having and I thought I was going to get rejected. However, the Psychologist passed me and said that it would now be up to the Defense Interviewer to see whether I'd be accepted or not.
Defense Interview-
It was a great interview. I'm not a great interviewer as I get nervous and wear my heart on my sleeve but it was easy to build rapport with the interviewer. The psychologist spoke to the interviewer prior to my interview and they also had all my background history but the interviewer congratulated me on my integrity. The rest was easy just asking about myself, why I wanted to join, my knowledge about the role. After the interview finished I had to sit outside for 5 minutes and I got called back in and he asked me how I went and what I could do to improve, which I did. Then he congratulated me and said that I had been accepted as an Artillery Gunner and as soon as I pass the Fitness Test I'll be enlisted.
Cliffs-
I got accepted
