6 months later.
The day had come. Jim had packed his belongings for the three day Army Officers Selection Board course, and was more ready than ever for it. Every night, he had spent thirty minutes either watching the news or reading newspapers to get a wider understanding of the world around him. Mark had also arranged for Jim to meet some of his old army friends, to give him some advice on what to expect and how to express himself in the interview room.
Mark drove Jim up to Westbury, where the AOSB would take place. Upon arrival, we would be met with some challenges, which included a formal interview, command tasks and a written essay on current affairs. Jim felt confident in all three of these subjects; the moment he walked through those gates, he thought to himself 'let's do this!'
When the car pulled up in front of the rather ancient looking house, there was an officer with the rank of captain who greeted them and gave them directions to the main hall, where there were a couple of dozen other young adults like Jim. For about 15 minutes they loitered around, grabbed a cup of tea and biscuits, then a rather big man walked up onto a podium, and projected a rather loud cough, the type that says 'silence everyone, I'm about to talk', he took in a deep breath and said 'Welcome everyone to the Army Officers Selection Board, my name is Colonel Dawes, and I'll be your host for the next three days.' Colonel Dawes had a very known presence in the room, from the way he walked to the way he talked. Jim saw this as a new level of a video game. 'Now', said the Colonel, 'please do help yourselves to some more tea and biscuits if you wish to do so, and in around five or so minutes, I'll round up all the nominees and we'll get them started'. At this point, Jim didn't want to wait five minutes, he wanted to get stuck in right away!
Those five minutes felt like a lifetime, but once they were over, the Colonel rounded up all the boys together and led them off to their billets. They were quite possibly the best MOD provided billets he had stayed in for a very long time! Each room had five beds, and each bedding space had a locker and a basin. And it got better; in each of the lockers, there was a bar of chocolate that said 'AOSB' on it. Jim already felt at home in his tiny bedding area. After around ten minutes of settling in, the Colonel burst into his room and said 'alright lads, downstairs in five minutes!' Jim scuttled around his tiny bedding space, getting all of his belongings where he wanted them. When he did so, he joined the others who were gathering downstairs.
