We Salute You: A week to realize life in Uniform and Combat Shoes!
Military, Force, Defence, Gliders, Fighters, Arms, Wars, Operations, Ranks, Guard of Honor… Just skim these words again for a second and visualize the first picture that comes up in your mind!
Most likely it will be sort of similar to this.. Group of young men, well dressed in blue and white, with name tags-badges and service medals, armed or saluting with combat vehicles. And just after that, many of the girls like me will feel like having momentary crush on them, isn’t it!?
Military is other name of discipline, maturity, passion and bravery. But now-a-days it is not just limited to wars and protecting boarders! Advancements in defence research and automation are equally important. This has opened up several intellectual positions for individuals with technical background.
Yes! This service of pride and excellence which essentially also utilises my Computer Science skills thrilled me to attempt Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT). After the examination, I was fortunate to get shortlisted for Services Selection Board (SSB) interview process. Meanwhile being in Bangalore that days, I chose the Mysore Air Force Station Board (AFSB).
Getting dressed up in formals early morning was very charming that day! Energetic girls from all different parts of India were present to work hard for pursuing their dream career. After initial knowledge check and communication skills round, everybody was having mixed feelings. And again, destiny was in my favor! I had an opportunity to stay on campus for 4 more days.
The immediate next stunning thing happened that day was — seizing of our cell phones!, with little aftershock of not stepping out of campus except one day. Followed by some psychological testing and paperwork, we were allowed to talk to our parents for a minute to let them know that we are staying here for further testing. That day you realize the value of even a minute you get to talk to your parents!
It was announced that power will cut-off at 10 PM, get up at 5:30 AM and report at 7 next day. The next thought everybody had in mind was — how can our generation sleep at 10PM and get up without snoozing several times at 5:30 AM!?
But next morning was miracle! The positive vibrations you can feel in environment, that makes one get up without alarms and never feel sleepy or tired. Following two days included various physical-mental team activities, extempore and group discussions. Despite the variety of intensive testing throughout the day, still it was an immense feeling to have same positive energy-enthusiasm lasting for full week.
The next day was one-on-one personal interview- little test of general knowledge and more focused on provoking one’s emotional nerve! Where every little gesture and expression counts for your fear and eventually gets deeper on the portion you begin slipping! But it was awesome to know about the interviewer’s experience in combat boots so far.
The last day is known as Conference. You can see all the board members-assessors at once dressed up formally in a same room. The conference room had a red light indicating when the next person should go in. That felt like standing outside the operation theatre, and its suspicious if person before you comes out too early or too late! One feels like being the center of the gravity with all fourty eyes in semi-circle table staring at you!
And at last, the dark part of any assessment- the results time! 4 girls were selected and not I was among them. Had to pack the bags but they were full of learning, experiences and memories!
It was just unforgettable, wonderful week and a lifelong experience! Believe me, if I was considered for this position, I would have not accepted the fully funded doctoral degree at prestigious US university!
And lastly, to every girl out there, #Aren’tWeMotivatedEnough that our government can take proud announcing that we have gender equality in force employment!?
Jai Hind! Happy 69th Republic Day to all Indians!
