Amourous Badger wants elaboration
Right then, Naval Officer selection.

As an unemployed graduate with a worthless 2:2 living back with my parents, I thought fuck it, join the navy. I contacted the recruitment office & they sent me for officer selection as I had a degree. At this point they were falling over themselves to get me to officer selection, couldnt be more pleasant & told me no matter what happened "I would enjoy the experience & find out a lot about myself".

The reality is 3 days in Portsmouth of tests, interviews & bridge building over water pits with a bunch of public school arseholes who seemed to speak their own language & were born into the officer class.

I have never been so humiliated, the interviews consisted of being told I wasnt very adventurous and that I hadnt really been to many countries. My arguement that I was only 21 & that I had worked my way through college & university held precisely FUCK ALL water & you could see that the assorted Naval Captains who interviewed me had written me off before I had even opened my mouth.

At the recruitment office, I had been shown a video to give me a taste of what it would be like for the 3 days of selection. At the end of the video one guy was told he had passed and another smiling but unsuccessful candidate was told "I'm very sorry, but this time you have not passed the Admiralty Interview Board..."

I was told "you've failed, please leave". I had tried my best, I really had. I had to walk past all the smiling glowing public school boys who had passed & were now hob nobbing with the officers. The naval ratings on the base no longer had to be nice as they knew I was a failed officer & were rude & abusive.

No jokes, no redemption. It's been 8 years & I still go cold when I think about the whole experience.
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Fri 5 Jan 2007, 13:05, Reply)