As recruiters seek to broaden the appeal of a life in the Defence Forces, Irish Times journalists Conor Capplis and Katie Mellett decided to try some of the induction tests that each applicant needs to complete. The full selection process involves an entry medical; fitness test; online psychometric test; recruitment interview and attestation. Here is how they got on:
‘The pass rate for the fitness test last year was 87 per cent. I am, of course, raging’ - Conor Capplis
Last year I attempted the Garda Fitness Test and failed. (Feckin press-ups.) The year before, I failed to finish an ultra-marathon in the Pyrenees. (Feckin mountains.) Sensing a trend, surely the Defence Forces will help me complete my redemption arc?
The Curragh Camp in Co Kildare is a bit of a labyrinth, I even get lost for a moment in the changing rooms. On arrival to the gym, I ask a burly looking tattooed man if we are in the right place. “Oh so you’re the journalists?” he looks at us with glee.
Ross Hayden will be our instructor for the day. Born in the Curragh, he says his whole family have been in the Defence Forces and collectively they boast more than 350 years of service. His grandfathers served in the UN mission in the Congo during the 1960s.
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Ross walks us through some warm-up exercises and demonstrates the correct form for the induction fitness test: 20 press-ups in a minute; 20 sit-ups in a minute; and a 2.4km run. I’ve been practising my press-ups, but like the Garda test before I buckle at the last hurdle: 17 press-ups. Usually a recruit would stop there, but as we’ve come all this way, we give the other bits a go.
Sit-ups are my strength. No bother to me. But they’re into a whole other breed of fitness in the Army. Feet down, no help holding them in place and no lifting or rocking your body up. It focuses on your core rather than your hip muscles.
“How many is that?” I ask Ross midway through the test.
“I’ve stopped counting because they’re all wrong.”
I nearly wallop him, but then again, his biceps are thrice the diameter of mine.
Thankfully, I save face with the final run. My target is to complete the 2.4km in 11 mins and 40 seconds, and I clock in at a cool 10 minutes and 4 seconds. It’s a fail overall, but at least I can hypothetically outrun a soldier.
Last year the pass rate for the fitness test was 87 per cent. So I am, of course, raging. Who does sit-ups without holding their feet down anyway? I think they should make the whole thing running. Maybe that wouldn’t produce the Action Men and Wonder Women our country (probably) needs, but it’s my pride we’re talking about here.
The psychometric induction test is a welcome change of pace, even if the timed element induced Leaving Cert flashbacks. We are tasked with completing sums, word association tests and deductive reasoning (basically logic). If we floundered in the physical arena, surely we’d excel in the literary domain? That’s our turf. Thankfully, I pass, “beating” the 36 per cent of inductees who failed or didn’t make it through the stage last year. Take that, Action Man.
‘I began to wonder why I ever agreed to do this test’ - Katie Mellett
As I take part in the induction fitness test, The Curragh sees the good, the bad and the ugly. The good was when I completed 30 press-ups, 13 more than Conor, might I add – even if they were modified ones. The bad was most definitely when I failed to do a single sit-up correctly, not my proudest moment. And the ugly was the 2.4km run with hills, wind and sun all at once.
The Curragh is like a little town all of its own with chapels, sheep, a Centra, a Chinese takeaway, accommodation and, of course, the gym. We kick off with a light warm-up which progresses to intermediate and intense activities with the goal to get our heartbeat over 100 beats per minute.
My time has come, I take to the mat and begin my press-ups, with a few demonstrations first to ensure that Ross can see if my form is right. Down I go and up I come, it feels like my arms are going to break but when the minute is up, I have achieved 30 press-ups. I am delighted, not only have I reached the induction level amount, but I’ve also achieved stage four of what is expected for soldiers at the Curragh in my age group. I think I’m happiest knowing that I have at least passed one element. But it’s only going to get worse from here.
Next up: the dreaded sit-ups. This is where I fail miserably. I don’t think I completed one successful sit-up. I begin to wonder why I ever agreed to do this test.
After that we head to the starting point of the 2.4km run. Conor had casually mentioned that he ran the Dublin Marathon last year. I knew I would have my work cut out for me.
After fearing all morning that we would get soaked following several heavy downpours, instead the sun comes out to play as we start to run.
I make it back to the finish line in 14 minutes and 39 seconds to a loud shout of support and encouragement from the team. I’m one minute and 29 seconds off the time that would have seen me pass. A one-out-of-three pass rate – I’ll take it.
The psychometric test in a way reminds me of my school entrance exam: short questions with a right or wrong answer that had confusing instructions. After failing the fitness test, this is where I hope I can claw myself back. And at least I can say I passed one part of the Defence Forces induction test.
I may not have got through to the next stage of training, but it was a great experience and I now have a newfound awe of soldiers who do this on the daily.
A spokesperson for the Defence Forces encouraged anyone who is interested in joining to visit military.ie to “see the range of careers available and to get the best information on how to prepare for the selection process”.
Budget boost
Outlining spending on defence in his budget day speech, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe, who spoke after Minister for Finance Jack Chambers, told the Dáil on Tuesday: “We are working to maintain a safe and secure Ireland and to support where we can overseas.”
Crucial to this goal, he said, was the work of the Defence Forces, as he announced an allocation of €1.35 billion for 2025.
The money will provide for the recruitment, training and support of a net increase of 400 Defence Forces personnel in 2025, as well as investment in measures such as enhanced advertising for recruitment, equipment maintenance and a “new and improved” Defence Forces uniform, Donohoe added.
Much of the focus of the 2025 defence budget was on achieving the goal of increasing the size of the Permanent Defence Forces to 11,500 by 2028. The figure currently stands at under 7,500, about 2,000 short of the 9,600 current intended strength.
This week’s budgetary increase was cautiously welcomed by the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (Raco), although general secretary Lieut Col Conor King said the goal of increasing Defence Forces numbers would be achieved only by retaining current personnel through the urgent application of the working time directive and improvements in pension arrangements.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin’s defence spokesman, Matt Carthy, said the announcement that the allocation would provide for a net increase of 400 Defence Force Members in 2025 would be seen as a “farcical joke” by members, and the Opposition TD maintained that more people had left the Defence Forces than joined every year since the Government took office.
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