Armed forces operational officer
Operational officers in the armed forces lead the fighting arms. They direct and operate technically advanced fighting systems on land, at sea and in the air and command people in the front line of battle. The Army calls them combat officers, and the Royal Navy uses the term warfare officers.
Responsibilities cover the training, fitness, operational effectiveness and welfare of everyone in the unit, so they reach and maintain a high level of competence and readiness to fulfil their defence and peacekeeping purposes. The officer's primary responsibility in operations - which are often dangerous, fast-moving and confused - is to command, lead and inspire service personnel.
An operational or combat officer in the armed forces is first and foremost a leader who must lead and manage a team of fighting specialists, developing their skills to a very high level of competence and readiness. Typical activities include:
Generally:
At base or on exercise:
In battle and other operations:
All three armed forces recruit graduates as officers and provide initial officer training and continuation of technical and professional training. Graduates of any subject will be considered as officers for operational/combat roles since leadership qualities and suitability for service life are more important than degree subject. However, graduates in science or engineering are particularly welcome in operational or combat roles, especially flying, weapons and artillery, the armoured brigade and transport and logistics.
The acceptability of higher education qualifications other than a degree varies between forces, depending on both the subject studied and the specialist area the candidate wishes to follow. In general, all three forces will consider applicants for officer training with a minimum of 180 UCAS points.
GCSE maths and English language (A-C) are essential. A pre-entry postgraduate qualification is not needed, neither is pre-entry experience, but some training with cadet forces, university service units (University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) , University Air Squadrons (UAS) or University Royal Navy Units (URNUs) ), or the Territorial Army (TA) can be helpful. You will be expected to demonstrate a range of qualities and aptitudes.
Candidates need to show evidence of the following:
Generally speaking, you must be a UK, Commonwealth or Irish citizen and have been resident in the UK or Ireland for five years prior to entry to the armed forces, but some exceptions and restrictions apply.
Age limits also apply. All three services offer student bursaries or sponsorship, but amounts vary according to the subject you are studying and the needs of the service. University service units also pay students who join and attend training. Up-to-date information on bursaries, entry requirements, vacation training and familiarisation visits to service units is available from university liaison officers (ULOs), local armed forces careers offices and on the three armed forces websites. Your careers service can give you details of your nearest Army , Royal Navy or Royal Air Force (RAF) ULO.
If you are considering the Army, the Army ULO will conduct an initial interview and decide whether to recommend you for a familiarisation visit to the regiment or corps of your choice. If that goes well, the regiment or corps will support your application for the four-day army officer selection board (AOSB). The AOSB process consists of a series of individual and group tests of your physical, mental and intellectual abilities, along with in-depth interviews. Both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force follow a similar process.
The selection process varies for each service but can take up to a year, and high standards are required at the selection board and throughout basic training. A common problem at interviews is a lack of current affairs and service knowledge. It should be noted that the competition for certain job roles, e.g. pilot training, or for popular regiments, can be fierce.
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All three armed services provide initial officer training followed by specialist professional or technical training.
If you are successful at Army selection board, you will go on to the officer training course at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst , which lasts for 11 months and includes physical training, military training and exercises, adventurous training and participation in a wide range of sporting activities. Academically, you will be taught about army organisation, defence issues, current affairs and management skills.
A similar pathway is followed by graduate officer recruits to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF) , who enter the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth or the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell , respectively. Officers of the Royal Marines train alongside all other recruits to the Marines. Before receiving a commission, you must successfully complete both commando and young officer training.
You will attend further training courses where your knowledge and skills are extended. Continuing professional development (CPD) is a feature of a forces career.
The modern officer career structure has three stages to cover the variety of challenges met in an army career: education, training and CPD. Each of these involves short residential courses, employment training, distance learning and the acquisition of new skills.
Some officers, after several years' experience, will be selected to attend extended command and staff training courses at the Joint Services Command and Staff College , part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Shrivenham, in preparation for senior and top management appointments.
After initial officer training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst , Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth or Royal Air Force College, Cranwell , you are posted to your chosen regiment or corps, to a ship, or to a squadron or station where you will undertake specialist command training before assuming your first command. Your first command in the Army will be as a platoon or troop commander, responsible for a unit of up to 30 staff and their equipment. This might be four armoured fighting vehicles, or tanks, together with their associated weapons and systems.
The responsibility will be similar in the Royal Navy if you are trained for ship-based duties. When on flying duties in any of the three forces, your responsibility will be less for staff and more for the highly complex and expensive piece of equipment. With promotion, your responsibilities will increase, in terms of both numbers of men and quantities of equipment.
The normal route for career officers in all three forces is to achieve the command of a unit by the age of about 40. You may, therefore, be selected for a sequence of command and staff courses and further professional courses, which may include postgraduate study at the College of Management & Technology , or other universities or colleges, depending upon your specialist area.
Further promotion is normally to increasingly senior staff posts with increased responsibility and may lead to a command and staff training course at the Joint Services Command and Staff College as a preparation for a senior command or managerial appointment. Such appointments are not limited to roles within one's own service but may be joint service posts or involve secondment to international bodies such as the United Nations (UN) or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) .
There are only four employers within the armed forces, namely:
The armed services are an arm of the government, which currently defines their purpose as follows:
Much of the time, the armed forces achieve these aims through membership of alliances, particularly the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) , but unilateral responsibilities may mean that they act alone and thus need to be equipped and trained for all aspects of modern warfare. Britain's membership of the United Nations (UN) , and her permanent place at the Security Council, may also call for the use of armed force in defence of international security (as in Afghanistan) or in support of humanitarian and peacekeeping initiatives (as in Bosnia or after the Asian tsunami).
The services have an important diplomatic function in representing Britain overseas with goodwill visits and also in training - both in the UK and abroad - other countries' armed forces. There is also action in support of the civil power (as in Northern Ireland).
Many opportunities exist for officers upon retirement from the armed forces because of the management and professional training and experience gained during their period of service.
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Related civilian occupations include:
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