Prepare and succeed on the AOSB Briefing, Numerical, Verbal and Abstract Awareness Aptitude Tests

In many ways, the AOSB is like an assessment centre you would attend for more conventional jobs. In other ways, it’s not. Yes, you will sit psychometric tests, participate in group discussions and in-person interviews but, the AOSB selection process includes so much more than that.

The psychometric tests you will face during the AOSB process include those for numerical, verbal, and abstract reasoning, as well as a personality test. These assessments are computer-based and administered under strict time constraints.

Note: Both Briefing and Main Board act as elimination processes for Army Officer hopefuls. If you are unable to prove your skills during your time at Westbury, you may be unable to continue in the process indefinitely. If a military career is the path you have set forth for yourself, you must prepare for both your physical and intellectual assessments several weeks in advance.

Let’s find out more about this process below:

The AOSB Selection Process

The AOSB selection process includes mental and physical assessments. The purpose of this process is to evaluate a variety of traits deemed necessary for military life. These traits include your intelligence, fitness (stamina, agility, upper body strength, etc.), as well as your problem-solving, leadership, and teamwork skills. Here is a general break down of what you can expect during your time at Westbury:

AOSB Briefing Overview

The initial briefing lasts over a 24-hour period and includes the following:

• Welcome Address
• Introduction to AOSB – During the introduction, participants will be split into different teams and receive information regarding what to expect while at Briefing and Main Board. It would also help if you also  prepared to talk briefly about yourself – e.g. your hobbies, interests (outside of the military), family, etc.
• Group Exercise – You and your assigned group will discuss many current event topics chosen by the board. It’s best to be up to date in both UK and worldwide military affairs. Being aware of what’s going on in the world allows you to bring something of substance to the discussion during this exercise.
• Psychometric Assessments – These tests give the selection board an idea of how you work out complex problems, analyse, and understand data – all of which are essential traits for most military roles. These tests include:
  • Numerical Reasoning
  • Verbal Reasoning
  • Abstract Reasoning
• Planning Exercise – You are given 15 minutes to read the provided scenario brief. From there, you are tasked with agreeing upon a solution with your group. The purpose of this task is to assess your communication, leadership, and teamwork abilities.
• Obstacle Course – The obstacle course is made up of many elements, including hurdles and a long jump. You must get through as many obstacles as you can within the time limit.
• Command/Leaderless Tasks – These tasks will be held outdoors and are used to assess your leadership and teamwork abilities. Each task will either have a clearly defined leader (command) or none at all (leaderless). The point of these tasks is to show initiative and help your fellow group mates at reaching a collective goal.
• Fitness Tests – The requirements of the AOSB fitness are:
  • Reach 8.7 on a bleep test
  • Throw a 4kg medicine ball 3.1 metres from a seated position
  • Lift 76kg in a mid-thigh pull
• Interview with Team Leader – In your initial interview you are generally asked about your motivation for wanting to become an army officer, your understanding of what an officer does, and what your plans are if you pass or fail.

Be advised: Your performance during Brieifing will determine whether you can attend Main Board. Your result will be discussed during a brief final interview which will cover the strengths and weaknesses you exhibited. Once this interview is completed, you will find out which category you have fallen into based on your performance. These categories are detailed below.

AOSB Main Board Overview

If you have successfully passed the initial briefing, you will receive an invitation to attend Main Board. Main Board lasts 3 ½ days and consists of many of the activities you participated in while on Brief, albeit, with a few exceptions:

• Personality Test: This assessment measures your interpersonal skills, i.e. how you interact with others.
• Essay: Your team leader will present your group with 5 or more topics to write about regarding current events or broader political, social, or economic questions. This part of the assessment centre tests your sentence structure, English level, spelling, neatness, etc. It also tests whether you can offer a set, clear and concise argument.
• Military Knowledge/Current Affairs Test: Brush up on your knowledge of military equipment, command hierarchy, etc. as well as current events within the UK and the rest of the world.
• Lecturette: You will prepare to give a 5-minute talk and take questions from the group.
• Additional Interviews
• Team Dinner

1. 2003
2. 2004
3. 2005
4. 2006
5. Cannot Say

Read the passage to choose the correct answer.

A day of national mourning is a day marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. Most are designated by that nation's government. Sociologists claim that national mourning is both a symbolic political gesture as well as a meaningful expression of grief. On the one hand, predetermined mourning days reflect and create a national community, united in a feeling of grief. On the other hand, mostly in mourning days instigated by the people, such as on the day of Princess Diana’s funeral, they reflect a spontaneous bout of pure grief manifested in the closing of shops and banks, cancellation of sports, theatre and cinema showings. Although the fervour of the mourning can differ dramatically from one country to another, there is no doubt that a day of collective grief is extremely good for national unity.

Different countries manifest national mourning in different memorial activities.

Keep in mind that parts of your personality (e.g. your leadership and teamwork skills) will be on display and evaluated throughout the AOSB selection process. Not only during this written assessment, but also during your group exercises, outdoor tasks, and interviews.

AOSB Main Board Memory & Attention Test (MAT)

In this test, you are presented with a series of either matrices (grids) or letters. You must memorise the order in which they are shown to answer a follow-up question.

Types of questions: Following instructions and procedures

Time Limit: 20 Minutes

The purpose of this assessment is to see how quickly and accurately you can memorise and apply guidelines and procedures. During this test, the number and complexity of instructions increases. Your MAT results detail a pattern of responses which make up your performance profile. Your score is based on the following criteria:

• Speed of working – How much time did it take you to complete the test?
• Memory – How often did you need to refer to the current set of test instructions?
• Accuracy – How many test screens did you complete correctly by following the current instructions?

The strict time constraint and amount of information you must remember to answer each question in this section can make it a bit tricky to pass. Check out the RAF-style memory test question below to put your skills to the test:

AOSB Main Board General Knowledge, Military Knowledge, and Current Affairs Tests

Although we do not provide practice for this portion of your assessments, it is still essential that you find a way to prepare. Here is some information on questions you may be asked in each of these sections:

General Knowledge

The general knowledge questions will come from a mix of topics. These topics can include:

• General geography
• Famous authors
• Famous artwork/artists
• Famous musical composers
• Presidents/leaders of countries around the world
• ‘Where does the UK treasurer live?’
• UK political structure

Military Knowledge Questions

You will be asked a variety of questions ranging from those regarding equipment, weapons, and vehicles, as well as personalities, regiments, acronyms, etc:

• Vehicle Types
• Abbreviations of Military Words (RAMC for Royal Army Medical Corps etc.)
• Deployment Knowledge
• Ranks
• Gun Types (e.g. SA80 and Javelin)
• Army Structure

Current Affairs

You will be asked up to 10 questions regarding current affairs. Our advice for passing this section is to be in the know of the goings-on in the world. You can do this by keeping up with the news and reviewing a wide range of news media (online articles, videos, newspaper, etc).

Now that you have learned a little bit more about each of the written assessments you will face during your time at Westbury, it’s easier to see why preparing beforehand is so crucial.

What to Expect During your AOSB Interviews

During your time at Westbury, you will participate in several interviews. You will participate in a single one-on-one interview once you have completed the briefing. At this interview, you are given a category ranking based on the strengths and weakness you exhibited during each exercise/test.

If you are given the go-ahead to attend Main Board, you should be prepared to participate in up to 3 interviews while there. These interviews are as follows:

• Interview with board Vice President – During this interview, you will discuss your motivations for wanting to become an officer.
• Interview with Education Advisor – This interview will go over your educational achievements.
• Interview with Assessing Officer – At this interview, you will be asked about things you have included in your CV. Be sure to know your CV inside and out (e.g. your time in school, extracurricular activities, etc.).

Remember: You can prepare for your AOSB interviews by practising how you would answer potential questions. These mock interviews can help you organise your thoughts and improve your confidence. When the time comes, be sure to answer each question honestly and just be yourself!

Preparing for the AOSB Recruitment Process

Now that you have a better understanding of the Army Officer selection process, you can see how important it is to prepare. Even if you are taking your AOSB assessments tomorrow, starting to practise now can significantly improve your test scores and limit your stress. Get a handle on your AOSB written tests and start practising now.