Air Force Selection Board
2 AFSB Mysore, 16th - 22nd
March, 2015
Batch # M/AFCAT/CDSE/NCC/204
Candidate Piyush Varshney
Chest # 63
Recommended and medically fit for Flying and Ground
Duty (Admin)
To join the defence services is the ultimate dream of
many. The same was the case with me. The dream had incubated in me for years. To
realise that dream I appeared in the AFCAT in the month of August. For that, I thoroughly studied the Indian History,
Geography, Political Science and current affairs and did practice for aptitude
and reasoning. I cleared the test with a decent score of 158. Honestly the exam is
not at all tough. The real challenge is
clearing the Air Force Selection Board or AFSB (or SSB in general). I opted for the AFSB on 16th March, 2015 at Mysore which was
probably the last AFSB of the session. For AFSB I mainly focused on interview and
psychological tests. I profoundly read daily
newspapers like Hindu and magazines like Frontline. I ensured that I am
well aware about the current issues going on in the world and especially
related to India and the countries associated with India in one way or the
other. I also apprised myself with the
history of Indian Air Force and the aircrafts it possesses. I explored
about myself and the people associated with me like my parents, friends,
teachers through self – introspection
which is a very important aspect from psychology and interview point of view.
And most imperatively I focused very
strictly on my fitness. I used to go for running in the morning and to the
gym in the evening for about 2 hours every day. I built up stamina and enhanced
my strength.
Day 1- PPDT and Officer Intelligence Rating Test
Finally the week came which changed my life forever. I was a
trivial identity in the crowd of 257 students which had come with the same
motive. I was quite nervous to see such a large number of students but I
somehow consolidated the courage and decided to give my best in every possible
way. The first day began with a briefing
by the Warrant Officer followed by the document
related formalities. After that we were headed to the conference hall for
the PPDT and aptitude test. The picture shown for the PPDT was very uncertain. There seemed to be a boy going through a
pile of some papers which appeared to be worn and torn. There was a portrait
of a lady in the background. The time allotted was 30 seconds for comprehending
the picture and 4 minutes to write the story. Though the time for writing the
story was less than 4 minutes. The age, sex and mood of the character were
required to be mentioned in the space given in the sheet. I related that
picture with a scene of a movie and wrote the story on the pursuit of boy who wants
to become an actor and end up working in a movie which consists of a scene
which is actually that picture. After the PPDT there was the aptitude test in
two rounds. Each round consisted of 50
questions and time allotted was 20 minutes. I attempted about 46 questions each in both the rounds. Subsequently
we were divided into a group of 15
candidates who were then sent to the GD rooms. There were 3 officers to assess the GD. Each
candidate was given a chance to narrate their respective stories followed by a
GD which was supposed to continue for 15-20 minutes. There was so much
pandemonium in the GD that the group was not able to conclude the GD with a
common story and the GD ended after 5
minutes only. The results of the screen-in were declared after an hour and out of 257 students, 115 students were
screened-in.
My Advice- Even if you are not able to complete the story don’t worry, you
can complete the story in meantime before you go for the GD. At the time of
narration be clear and loud enough. This is the only chance when you will be
heard in the best possible manner because in
GD you don’t have any control. In GD try to be the first or the second
person to speak. As more candidates will enter the discussion it will be
difficult for you to put up your point. In OIR try to score more as they will
be counted at the time of recommendation.
Day 2- Pilot Aptitude Battery Test and
Psychology Test
PABT
The second day was even more challenging for me. Since I had
applied for flying branch it was a once
in a lifetime chance for me to clear the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test. In
the morning all the candidates who had applied for the flying branch reported
at the PABT facility. The PABT was in two rounds, one the pilot aptitude test which was an objective test. The first
round also had two tests. The basics which were to be applied in the test were
discussed in detail by the PABT moderator before the test began. So there is no
need for the candidates to worry. No
preliminary preparation is required. The candidates who qualified the first
round were then sent to the pilot simulation facility. The candidates were made
to sit in a cockpit where they were supposed to complete certain tasks in a
definite time. The tasks were pretty stringent. Each task was given three
trials. The best of three was counted for final assessment.. In every task I
created a mess in the first two trials. The third trial was taken very
seriously. The final result of the PABT was a cumulative of the performance in
both the rounds.
My Advice- The candidate has to be quite certain about the sensitivity of
the controls. I would suggest them to take the first trial for apprising themselves
about the sensitivity of the whole setup
Psychology Test
PABT was followed by the Psychology Test which is the most important test in AFSB. The
selection of a candidate is very much dependent on the psychology test. I was
very much apprehensive for the psychology test as it was decisive phase of the
AFSB. The psychology test began with Thematic Apperception Test in which we
were supposed to write 12 stories back
to back in the same way as we did in PPDT except the age, sex and mood of the
characters. The 12th slide was a blank slide in which we had to
think a picture of our own and write a story on that. The TAT was then followed
by Word Association Test. The candidates were required to write the first
thought that comes into their mind after seeing a particular word which flashed
for 15 seconds. They had to observe the word and write the thought in the 15 seconds itself. 60 words were flashed back to back out
of which I attempted 45 words. After WAT, then came the Situation Reaction Test
which consisted of 60 situations of which we required to give our responses.
The time allotted for 60 situations was 20 minutes. I could write responses for about 50 situations. The final test of
the psychology phase was Self-Description Test. In SD test there 5 paragraphs
to be written on what your parents, teachers, friends, enemies and you think
about you respectively. These 5 paragraphs were to be written in 15 minutes.
My Advice- for TAT is that try to
be diverse in approach for every picture. Don’t form the story on the same
background or repetitive concepts. Make sure that from the stories your
character and psychology is projected. Divide the stories in three phases viz.
defining the central character and issue/objective/problem related to the
picture, the course of action to achieve the result and the final result of the
story. Try to be quite practical and
realistic in writing the stories (Armed Forces don’t need Rajnikanths).
Write stories which are somehow related to the situation you have faced in your
life. A thumb rule for SRTs is that write
only the responses which you would have actually done and not what you think is
correct and most suitable for the situation. In SD a candidate should write
exactly what is true about him and not something the psychologist would like to
look for. The character of a candidate that comes out from the psychology test
will be cross checked at various phases in AFSB. So a candidate should keep in
mind that faking out is a very good option if he is looking out for a
rejection.
Day 3- Group Tasks
On the third day, the candidates were grouped into 9. My group was the first to perform the group tasks.
We were sent to a room where the GDs were to be done and for the Group Planning
Exercise. The group tasks started with the GDs followed by the group planning
exercise. The topics of the GD were very common and every member was able to
speak on them. There were three candidates who were continuously dominating the
group and were not allowing others to speak. In that scenario I ensured that if
I am not the first person to speak, at least I am the second so that I am heard
at least once. After that I tried to maintain the decorum of the GD whenever I
found that the group was deviating from the topic. I think that worked in my
favor and added to my points. In group planning exercise I tried to stay with the group no matter what my solution was. I
ensured that I contribute towards coming up with a workable solution and not
proving my solution to be correct. After the GDs and GPE we were sent to an
open ground where there was complete setup for the remaining group tasks.
Progressive Group Task was the first in the line. The GTO explained the rules
of the tasks and the dos and don’ts to the group. The group started the tasks
and as usual synergy lacked in the group to some extent. The GTOs are so
observant that they could easily figure it out that who is contributing in the
group and who is trying to impose the leadership which is leading nowhere. So the
three guyz were doing the same thing as they did in the GDs. Not listening to
other’s opinions and imposing their points. I was the working hand of the
group. I basically didn’t give any suggestion because there was no point in
wasting the energy, so I decided to be the machine of the group. I was
implementing whatever suggestions were coming from the group. I tried to be the
cohesive link of the group which paid off to me. Consequently we were able to
complete the Progressive Group Task in the given time confinement. Similarly we
completed the Half Group Task efficiently. Then came the Individual Obstacle
Round which was very imperative in judging the candidate’s physical strength
and stamina. Out of 10 tasks I completed
8 tasks. I focused on overcoming those obstacles which my other group
members couldn’t complete or didn’t attempt, for instance the rope climbing
obstacle which is the most difficult one but with the highest points. I
successfully completed my IO round among other candidates. The Command Task
followed the IO round. I was given to command a task objected to lift a load
from a restricted area safely with the help of given materials. The GTO took a
very brief introduction of mine and asked few questions like why I want to join
Air Force. I began the task by briefing my subordinates in a very assertive
manner. I was able to get the logic of the task in the second attempt as in my
first attempt the strategy couldn’t work. What added to my points was that I
maintained my calm and changed the perspective from which I was thinking
earlier. My second strategy executed very well and the GTO was satisfied with
the performance. The final round was the Final Group Task which was similar to
the Progressive Group Task but with only one task to be done which we completed
in no time. In this way our GT ended. The GTO was pretty satisfied with the
performance of the group.
My Advice- GTO is looking for the candidates who can work in coordination with the team and also lead the team
whenever required. They are not looking for the dominant elements who
create nuisance. So while performing GT keep this in mind that don’t go with
the mind set to prove yourself. Always be with the team and try to get to the
final result. The GTOs are so adept that they will easily figure out who was
the most contributing candidate and who was the inhibiting element in the
group. Armed forces are all about team work and coordination and not about
individuality. Respect each and every
member in the group and their opinions. Don’t disregard their perspectives
even If you don’t agree with their view points. Be with the group blindly no
matter if the majority is going to the wrong direction.
Hope you enjoyed the experience and the task done by Piyush till now. Keep reading for Part 2 of this series for the rest of his experience of the remaining rounds and how a dream converted in to a reality.
 | About the Author:
Piyush Varshney is a final year engineering student (Electronics) from Aligarh Muslim University. He gave his AFCAT in August 2014 and appeared for the AFSB on 16th March. He got recommended in his first attempt and has been medically fit. He is getting ready to join IAF from July 2015 .
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