If you have an alert mind and are strong willed, then a career in the Armed Forces beckons. payal krishnan talks about everything that you need to know in order to crack the tests and the interview. A report
A career in the Armed Forces is always seen as one of dignity, bravado, selflessness and respect. That is why a lot of students appear for the National Defence Academy entrance exam after completing their class 12 or SSB exams after graduation. It is a career that is full of adventure, travel, job security and of course, a lot of responsibility.
Reasons for joining the forces
· As an officer in the forces, you will learn to get the best out of yourself and out of others. This is so because being an officer is about being a leader.
· There are many career paths that officers can choose to follow. The defence is a large and a complex organisation that offers an extensive range of opportunities and experiences that one would rarely encounter in any civilian employment.
· Officers in the forces enjoy lots of benefits like high-quality training, adventure sports, an attractive remuneration packages, ongoing job security, travel, opportunity and satisfaction for career advancement etc.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has directed all its affiliated schools to motivate senior-secondary students to join the armed forces. The CBSE currently offers a compulsory subject called ‘General Foundation Course’ for all students in Classes 11 and 12. The course aims at improving students’ mastery over current affairs and general knowledge. Two periods in a week have been earmarked for students to hold discussions on career options open to them. The Board has directed the schools to use these classes to focus on the benefits and challenges of a career in the armed forces, in order to be able to attract young students to take up this profession.
Besides creating a human resource of organised, trained and motivated youth, the course would provide a suitable environment to motivate the youth to take up a career in the armed forces and help students be informed about the process of selection carried out by the armed forces for recruitment and prepare accordingly. To further concretise its move, CBSE also recommends a supplementary book by NCERT titled The Indian Army - A Glorious Heritage for use by teachers to attract young students towards career options available in the Armed Forces.
Joining the Armed Forces
A career in the Armed forces is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Here are some personal attributes that could work in your favour.
· love for one’s country
· Commitment
· Dedication
· An alert mind
· Integrity
· Willingness to obey orders
· Discipline
let us now look at the selection procedure for the Armed Forces after Class XII.
STAGE 1 — Eligibility
NDA Examination :The NDA entry is open twice a year. The requirements for entry into NDA is as follows:
Age -16 plus to 19 years (at the day the course is expected to begin)
Qualification -12th Class of 10+2 for Army and with Physics and Maths for Air Force/Navy
Written Examination & SSB Interview
Duration of Training -3 Years at NDA and then 1 Years at IMA, Dehradun.
STAGE 2 — Written Test
In order to join the NDA, a student has to clear the UPSC exam and SSB interview. There are two batches every year. One starts in January and the other in July. The UPSC exam is a two- and-a-half hour affair consisting of 900 marks exam in two different papers, 300 marks for Maths and 600 for Physics, Chemistry, English, History, Geography, GK, IQ .
STAGE 3 — Assessment Day
Qualified candidates in the written examination will be called for a final interview conducted by SSB (Services selection board). For Army, Navy Wings & 10 +2 Entry Scheme candidates need to undergo Intelligence Test & Personality Test, but for the Air Force Wing the candidates must attend a Pilot Aptitude Test.
In the interview the candidates will be put to intelligence tests to assess their intelligence, they will also have group discussions, group planning, outdoor group tasks, and asked to give brief lectures on specified subjects.
STAGE 4 — Medical Assessment
The final stage of the recruitment process will require the candidate to complete a fitness assessment. Recommended candidates appear before the medical board for carrying out their medical examination.
STAGE 5 — APPOINTMENT
· Permanent Commission: Which means a career in the forces till you retire. For a cadet to be on permanent commission, he has to join the NDA ( National Defence Academy) or the IMA ( Indian Military academy)
· Short Service Commission: For a short service the cadet has the option to serve the Army for 10 years which is extendible till 14 years. Qualifying for a short service requires written examination and medical.
Short service for an engineering or a law graduate includes SSB interview and medical. At the end the officer has the option to opt out or convert to permanent commission.
Official websites are indianarmy.nic.in, careerairforce.nic.in and nausena-bharti.nic.in provide valuable information on these careers.
(The writer is career expert, Meritnation.com)