I always knew I was going to post my SSB story on SSBCrack but never expected it to come this early. Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am Aman Rajbir Dhaka from Rohtak, Haryana and I got recommended from 3AFSB in my first attempt. I am pursuing my Bachelor of Commerce from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, DU. I am an NCC cadet in 7DBN and this is my story to pass on some insights which might help you.

3 AFSB, Gandhinagar – 29 March 2021

DAY 1

Reported at 6:30 am at the Gandhinagar bus stand with some friends I made during the train journey. Got Chest No. 7.

After breakfast, I performed the OIR Test, it went very well. I was sure of about 45/50 questions each in OIR 1 & 2. PPDT went well, my story was unique. I think it added an edge to me getting screened in. Narrated it, discussed the different possible stories.

EOD: I was in. Chest No 7 was announced. I was elated, called home. Got Room “Sukhoi”. Explored the premises but due to covid, things were out-of-bounds.

DAY 2

I had my Psych and then the interview planned on the same day. Psych went well. Did all stories, thought of the blank story then and there, completed WAT, did 46 SRTs not that it matters. The accessor doesn’t score on the basis of the quantity of SRTs but their quality. I never tried to remember SDs while practising at home, I believe in allowing the natural beauty of my expressions.

The interview was good. IO asked me many questions, tried to pressurize me, I performed up to my expectations. Also, I gulped down the entire glass of water at the end of the interview.

One should have logical answers to decisions taken in life and the “WHY” needs to be clear if not crisp. A very tiring day but more was to come.

DAY 3

GT was planned for Sukhoi. GTO was the DSO. He had a “no-bullshit and straight-to-work” personality, an amazing officer. It was intimidating for some. Somehow, during the conversation with him before CT, he arrived at Maths and I told him I never liked it after topics like Integrals and Differentiation were added to it. (I took Commerce with Economics) He asked me questions on the same, the definition of both, is the time involved in these topics and I, as expected, couldn’t answer properly. During the Command Task, he tried all tactics to pressurize me, changed colours, removed structures. Nevertheless, he wanted me to explore more and more options and I did so. 

I completed 9 Individual obstacles, was left with 30 seconds but could not climb up the rope.

Tiring day. Slept feeling accomplished.

DAY 4

Rest day, no tasks. Enjoyed it fully. Probably had Chicken for dinner.

DAY 5

Whoof! Scary day, guys! Started my day early as usual.

Went to the testing hall and then to a room, group-wise. A bell was to be followed and go to the Conference room by chest number.

I entered the conference room. It was a feeling that made my eyes shine. All the officers, in their uniform, sitting in a semicircle. It made my heart go crazy. The trip to 3 AFSB felt worthiest at that time.

But to my surprise, It went for a mere 2 minutes. I decided not to think much about it. Headed to the accommodation and took a nap. Sleep is the stress killer, people!

After lunch, all the candidates were made to sit in the Testing Hall. DSO Sir came after a wait that felt very very long. He started his speech and I could feel my heartbeat in all of my chest. He cautioned before starting the list and lo and behold, Chest No. 3 was the first to be announced. I went to the stage, another 5 candidates were announced. My happiness took a hit as soon as I saw my group and their disheartened faces. I felt bad for them but I was sure they all will work on their shortcomings and join me later.

We were escorted out of the room, I picked my bags and couldn’t wait to call home. 

A motivational line I read somewhere on Instagram stuck to my mind, “Bacha log ka bag bahar, saab log ka bag andar” Though, nobody said that, those words made me feel proud of my achievement.

I called home, my mother picked up.

“Aman?”

“No, Flying Officer Aman Dhaka”

Mothers are emotional beauties, man!

END

Now the story above which you all read doesn’t really matter much, at least it didn’t matter much to me when I used to read the SSBCrack Blogs for motivation. Yes, it gives you a feel of what it must have been like but always looks for insightful things people have to say. So, here it goes with a disclaimer that I am no expert:

I believe SSB is not a test, it’s a collection of tasks and there is a difference that needs to be understood. Answers in a test only have one or maybe two answers and on the other hand, a task has unimaginable-many answers with which you need to reach the endpoint.

The explanation very fairly tells you why “coaching” seldom works. What you need to seek is guidance and not someone who will tell you that your story is wrong. No story is wrong.

And yes, I took a guidance program organised at MDU, Rohtak which was very helpful. The crucial part is that you need to be alert, not follow everything blindly and absorb selective things only.

I might not be eligible to say this but trust me, it doesn’t matter if you clear SSB or not. SSB is a process that actually makes you a better person if you diligently look for your shortcomings and improve on them. I got to know mine. I know what things I need to work on. Believe in the process and keep working on yourself.

The tasks in the Psychological part at least, are set to the least extent of difficulty. You need to write a story on a picture, write sentences on words, write about yourself. My 5th class cousin can do that. The point being, it’s not hard. The issue is, candidates tend to kill their imagination by bounding and restricting themselves and hence their stories on the basis of what they heard from a) a recommended candidate or b) an “expert”.

Okay, this one is obvious. Asking a teacher or anybody for their story won’t help you in any way possible. Even if a candidate got recommended by one of those stories, it is not going to help you. You ask why? Because it won’t reflect your personality and will 100% contradict something or the other. SSB expects you to perform according to your self-set standards.

G in the GT is GROUP. A very important thing to keep in mind is that your group is not your competition. They are your resources in a task, buddies to be more precise. SSB doesn’t want you to outperform everybody else in the group, it wants you to give your own best which might help the group move forward. 3 people got recommended by our group. Why? Cause we all shared the same mindset. We had the most intellectual GDs, everyone spoke. It feels stupid to actually say this cause it’s so obvious but LISTENING is one of the utmost important parts of a GD. Understand the objective of all tasks, GD is to talk, listen to all views, make a decision as a group and come to a conclusion. That is moving forward, making a “Macchi market” is not. 

Okay, last one. The Interview. Scary for some, piece of cake for others. The interviewer has different expectations from everyone.

My motto while preparing for my interview was that. “The interviewer can’t ask me anything I have not asked myself ever.” It’s a basic expectation that you know about yourself. PIQ form is not to be ever undermined. A funny thing that came to my mind during the interview was that “An interviewer is a cannon which sits unarmed and you arm it with your PIQ and sit face first towards the barrel.”

A popular FAQ is the stats. 214 reported. 55 screened in. 6 recommended. 4 freshers. These stats never mattered to me, to be honest. I might or might not make it to the academy this time but I’ll never stop trying and keep this experience always fresh.

I am grateful to my brother for sharing his experiences and keeping me in the loop of the process since the beginning and never did he tell me that my story was wrong which is very important.

I had a wonderful experience at 3 AFSB. Made lots of friends and not just from my group. My brother gave 10+ SSBs and now I understand why. Nasha hai ye yaaro. I can’t wait to go to my upcoming SSBs.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s an unreal feeling on this side of the river. I’ll be waiting to read your stories. Good Luck and Kill it in your SSBs.

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