Hi guys hoping someone would be able to help with a few questions about the officer interview. I am currently 17 in my first year of college, I do a lot to fill out my CV so I am confident for the application process however I am not sure about what kind of things I need to revise regarding RN and RM knowledge also what kind of questions I will be asked aside from the "why do you want to join". Another thing do a lot of people join straight from college? Or do I need to get some more experience would I be considered too young? Thanks again in advance.
When you get to your SIFT Interview you will be asked about the role of a Royal Marine Officer, why you want to be an Officer, who are the Royal Marines, specialisations, training pipeline, Commando Tests, motto, ethos, current affairs, basic geography (point out countries on map and what’s happening there) and Royal Navy and Royal Marine current affairs (leaders, units, budget, ships, operations, etc) in general. For mine I was also asked about NATO, what it is, what does it stand for, how many members, who are the members, what is the UK’s role, etc. In addition to this I was also asked much of the same questions about the UN.
In terms of Corps history I haven’t been asked anything yet but I definitely recommend learning the VC’s (name, date and action), ‘key dates’ (action, date, what happened) and a break down of the RM Cap Badge and colours to be safe.
Just a tip I’ve noticed from my SIFT and Pre-AIB brief is not to give away too much information about how much you know about a subject too soon- whatever your interviewer asks you they will keep on asking for more and more detail to test you and see how confident you are on the subject. If you tell them everything you know off the bat you’re stuck when they start trying to delve in for more information.
E.g.
What are the names of the RN’s new Aircraft Carriers? HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales
How much do the carriers cost? £6.2billion
How large are they? Each has a displacement of 65,000 tonnes.
To give you an idea...
Navy News and Globe and Laurel are life savers for this type of information- easy to find online or collect from your AFCO. Also just general internet searches can help wonders.
In addition to the above just from this site I’ve seen that AIB are known to ask about vehicles and weapon systems just to be safe I’ve tried to learn their names, uses, weight, calibres, ranges, rpm etc as well.
There’s lots to cover so we can all just do the best we can.
In terms in joining straight from college- I don’t believe there’s any problem in it. If you can pass all the tests then you’re as capable as any 24year old out of uni. Personally I did apply out of College at 18 but was set back 2years- however looking back I don’t think that I personally was mature enough at the time anyway.
Hope this helps some!
