After reading several responses regarding knowledge of current affairs and military history, I have been left bemused. Answers range from knowing simply the basics, others suggest having an in depth knowledge of affairs and history.

I would greatly appreciate being shown the right direction. Note, I am doing a lot of research and reading on both but feel I could cover more at a lower level than a few and be an expert.

Regards

Originally Posted by 0508611

After reading several responses regarding knowledge of current affairs and military history, I have been left bemused. Answers range from knowing simply the basics, others suggest having an in depth knowledge of affairs and history.

I would greatly appreciate being shown the right direction. Note, I am doing a lot of research and reading on both but feel I could cover more at a lower level than a few and be an expert.

Regards

Read Broadsheet Newspapers at least 2 of differing political stances regulary, so spend time in cafes where you can read them for free.

Right/Centre Right: - Daily Telegraph/Times
Left/Centre Left:- Guardian/Independent

Read Good Current Affairs Magazines:-

The Economist and The Week, both cover World Affairs and cover most things providing good summaries and more in depth look at issues over the 2 week/1 week period between issues.

The Spectator & The New Statesman may also be considered, but read in conjunction with each other as they come from differing ends of the political spectrum.

Dip into an On-Line Encyclopedia or buy a copy of Pear's Cyclopedia, just to give you somemore depth in Current Affairs and World Information. This will also aid with the Computer tests where you will get questions on Geography, History, Science and the like:

eg. What is the closest star to earth? - a/b/c/d
What is the longest river in Africa? a/b/c/d
When did Brazil beciome a republic? etc.

Easiest thing to do these days is to set up a homepage on gmail or yahoo, and have the news right in front of you. You can tailor it by source and topic so as to avoid all the shite. Every morning I'm greeted with headlines from BBC, CNN, New York Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, and Washington Post. (Used to have The Times too, but they became a pay-site, so fcuk 'em.) I also try to take a look at "foreign" sources too, so a periodical trips to Al Jazeera, Sydney Morning Herald, South China Morning Post, Times of India are done from time to time, as well as French, Italian and German sources just to keep my hand in with the languages. (Der Spiegel does an English language version and Google Translate allows you make sense of most things if you don't speak the languages.)

I can also recommend sites like RealClearWorld: World News, Analysis & Commentary to give you a pretty good overview of what's being said about international stuff in different periodicals from all over the place. New links are posted every day, so you're rarely bored and- once again- you can avoid all the fluff that you don't really care about.

Many thanks for the feedback. Seems to be a lot more intense than previously considered. Along with this how much emphasis is placed on holding such knowledge.

I mean, would they not accept a person if they have outstanding fitness but their current affairs knowledge is basic?

Regards

Originally Posted by 0508611

Many thanks for the feedback. Seems to be a lot more intense than previously considered. Along with this how much emphasis is placed on holding such knowledge.

I mean, would they not accept a person if they have outstanding fitness but their current affairs knowledge is basic?

Regards

I would suggest that being very competent in one area may, to some degree, compensate for a lacklustre performance elsewhere but only within certain limits. I don't think someone could get away with being an utter bonehead when it comes to world affairs, UK politics etc - these are things that, directly or indirectly, impact on the armed forces after all.

In addition to the advice given above, it would be prudent to have some knowledge of various hotspots around the globe, or countries where there is a UK interest. The CIA World-book is a good source. Obviously from a US viewpoint, but it has a lot of information/facts.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...ook/index.html

Similar to the link above, I've used the following link to get a greater worldwide viewpoint while I've been researching information and found it quite useful.
World Military Forum - Latest Military News
Clio58

These threads are becoming slightly ridiculous.

You are expected to be able to demonstrate that you have a general understanding of what is happening in the UK and the wider world, to the extent that you can answer a few basic questions and participate sensibly in a group discussion. You ought to be able to achieve this nirvana by watching the 10 o'clock news on the TV in the evening and/or listening to a radio news programme or two (I would recommend the Today programme, the World at One and the PM programme on BBC Radio 4), and by regularly reading a broadsheet newspaper (ie, the Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, the Independent, the Financial Times - any one will do, choose one you like). If you really want to up your game, read a weekly like the Economist and perhaps the New Statesman or the Spectator ('The Week' is a news digest with relatively little analysis - definitely not a substitute for the Economist).

If you can't make the effort to do this, then a career as an army officer is not for you. The reality is that not long after commissioning, many young officers will be in the position of having to make decisions which will have long term impacts on the lives of others, and we need you to be as well informed as possible.

cpunk,

They are laughing at you... they are trying to make you snap by bombarding your forum with a hundred variations on "I am unsure about what I will face, I crave certainty".

Originally Posted by cpunk

These threads are become slightly ridiculous.

If you can't make the effort to do this, then a career as an army officer is not for you. The reality is that not long after commissioning, many young officers will be in the position of having to make decisions which will have long term impacts on the lives of others, and we need you to be as well informed as possible.

Like so many other officer recruiting posts; I really do wonder how they have even got to the point of asking? Do I need to know anything? Learning to read and write may be a start, knowing what is going on in the world even better, knowing the name of more than one Regiment a good lead in, after that leave them to it and let them find out.

To give a simple answer, you may get asked simple questions or you may get asked harder questions. The best thing you can do is just over prepare yourself, that way it does not matter if you get easy or hard questions, you will still be able to give a good in depth answer and gain the marks you need.

Like with everything, it's better to over prepare than under prepare.