KAMPONG TANAH JAMBU, Friday 20 October 2017 – A total of 104 candidates enrolled to be selected as potential Officer Cadets for Officer Cadet School, Defence Academy, Royal Brunei Armed Forces. The Armed Forces Commissioning Board (AFCB) Series 2/2017 selection process was organised by the Recruitment Office, Directorate of Personnel and chairing the committee is the Commandant of DA RBAF, Colonel Saiful-Akhmar bin Haji Mohd Shariff from 16-20 October 2017 held at Defence Academy, Tanah Jambu.
The opening address was delivered by Colonel Saiful-Akhmar bin Haji Mohd Shariff, Chairman of The Armed Forces Commissioning Board, who stressed upon the importance of being accountable as well as responsible with the authority given once becoming an officer in RBAF. In addition to that, he also warned the mental and physicals demands of AFCB and the duty of being an officer in the RBAF, where the highest standards are expected at all times in order to act decisively and lead intelligently. He also stressed the importance of preparation as the key to any success especially in the military.
In his speech also stated that personal leadership exists only as the officers demonstrate it by superior courage, wider knowledge, quicker initiative and a greater readiness to accept responsibility. Most importantly, although the RBAF may not match the range of technological sophistication of the equipment capabilities of the larger nations but to have the most professional and highly skilled personnel employed. The Chairman quoted from His Majesty’s Titah which reminded that in order to generate officers to really appreciate and grasp the meaning of sacrifice as none other than sacrifice for the beloved religion and nation is through the concept and objective of officer training.
Prior to AFCB, physical fitness was conducted earlier at Bolkiah Garrison which consists of 2.4km run, pull-up, push-up and sit-up. For the first three days of AFCB, the assessments with personal interview, individual problem solving, lecturette and a group discussion. Then the assessment continues with leadership command tasks on the following day. Each assessment will test individual’s capacity and capabilities especially in leadership, personality and interests with creativity and ambition to prove their potential to earn the opportunity to become an officer in the RBAF.
The four-day AFCB assessments then concluded with a reflection sessions by selected candidates from respective syndicates to share their thoughts, experience and lessons learnt throughout the AFCB. This gave the candidates a room for improvement and reflected their own performance.
The competition among the candidates was high where the individuals are to prove their potential to earn the opportunity to become an officer serving in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. Once selected, they will undergo one-year comprehensive training at Officer Cadet School (OCS DA RBAF) and will be commissioned as RBAF Officers.
