Every newly commissioned officer to the RAFVR(T) holds a conditional commission until passing the Officers Initial Course at RAF Cranwell. The regular RAF Initial Officer Training lasts a gruelling 32 weeks, and we have to squeeze the most relevant sections of this into one week, meaning it is an intensive course with lots to take in and develop.

Pilot Officer Sarah Cotton looks back on her week at Cranwell.

There was an air of trepidation in the ante-room on Sunday night, as we all sat sipping coffee in Daedalus Mess awaiting our first briefing of the week from Flt Lt McGavigan, Training Officer for the ATF.

From that briefing onwards, it was clear we were in for a physically and mentally demanding week, requiring us to be on our absolute best form. Back to our accommodation we went, white hat bands issued, to bed in for a night of uniform preparation.

The week required all 18 Officer Cadets to be highly alert from when we went for breakfast at 0630 each morning, until we finally managed to get to bed at gone 0000 most nights. With inspections every day, we often spent a number of hours each night in preparation, irons and shoe polish in hand until the early hours.

The course covers oral communication skills, drill, leadership, health & safety, styles of command, child protection, interview technique, and officer qualities. Particular focus is to given to leadership, which all prepares you for a day in the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre, where you are given the lead of a team who must perform a certain task.

On the Thursday evening of our course, the students held a reception and dinner for three dignitaries from Ghana, including Ghana’s Education secretary and the Commandant of the Ghanaian Air Cadets. We also welcomed along guests from the ACO, in particular the Wing Commander (Training) who would be presenting us with our commissioning scrolls at Graduation on Friday.

After making it through the week it was finally time to head off to the graduation ceremony within College Hall of RAF Cranwell. Every one of the 18 students on the course passed, and were all presented with their scrolls at graduation. The final task for the day was to get our photo taken as a course standing on the red carpet in the rotunda, all incredibly tired but proud of our achievement.

It was an intense and busy week, which often put us outside of our comfort zones and stretched our learning capacity to the limits. The skills I have learnt will certainly stand me in good stead throughout my officer career and are an excellent basis for development within the ACO.

The staff at the ATF; WO Mitchell, Flt Lt McGavigan and Sqn Leader Pelcot, all delivered an action packed and streamlined course, perfectly tailored to turn us into effective officers of not only the ACO, but also the RAF. My fellow students provided encouragement, knowledge and entertainment throughout the week and I wish them all the best in their careers with the ACO.