How I Cleared SSB In 6th Attempt For The Indian Army

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Hello friends, my name is Vivek Pandey. I live in Faridabad, Haryana. Being a son of an IAF personnel I was always inclined towards the career in Indian Armed Forces. I got my first call for SSB for TES-30 for the army in September 2013.

My consecutive attempts are as follows:

TES, 22 SSB Bhopal- CO
NDA, 2 AFSB Mysore- SO
Navy 10+2 B Tech, 33 SSB Bhopal-SO
Navy UES, 33SSB Bhopal- SO
Navy SSC Tech, 33 SSB Bhopal- SO
Army SSC Tech, 19 SSB Allahabad- REC

After getting the screen out from 33 SSB Bhopal on 30^th May 2017, I was ready to face another one on 1^st July 2017 at Allahabad for SSC Tech 49. It was raining heavily on 30^th June so I called my friend to drop me on nearest metro station by his car. I reached New Delhi railway station and boarded Mahabodhi express. I reached Allahabad by 2140 hr. I stayed in a nearby hotel and reported next day at the station by 0600 hr.

As soon as we reached the Selection centre we were trifurcated into three categories i.e freshers, screen out and repeaters. 217 candidates reported in the batch out of 710. After the document check, we were allotted phase 1 chest numbers. I got 206 chest number. After appearing in verbal & nonverbal tests we were shown a picture. I made a story revolving around a social problem. A group of 20 people was sent for discussion. I narrated the story very well but in between one assessor said,” Understood your story, next”. So I was not able to complete my story. Then came the discussion part, as we all were repeaters there was a lot of chaos, so assessors divided the group in two sub groups. We arrived a common story at the end of the discussion. Soon the results were declared after lunch. Out of 217, 40 made it through the phase 1 and I was one of them (obviously :p).

The moment I got screened in I felt like half the battle is won. I felt relieved and said to myself that I’ll just enjoy my stay at SSB. I got 38 chest number. After filling various forms including PIQ, we were allotted rooms in 19 SSB candidates lines.

For the next day was psychological tests were scheduled. TAT was easy. I made positive stories revolving around my own life events. In the blank story, I wrote real incident happened to me. I just gave my original responses in SRT, wrote the first sentence came in my mind in WAT. Finally, the schedule for the day was over. We went to candidate lines. Later that day with chest no 30, 39 I went to Court to accompany chest no 30 to get an affidavit then we went to the bank of the sangam and Akshyavat temple. This is how the day came to an end.

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GT was scheduled for the next day. We went to ground. The first task was GD, as expected again there was a lot of chaos in GD, nobody was listening to anyone. Somehow I was able to give on valid point in GD. Even in second GD, everyone was shouting at top of their voices, I was also continuously trying to speak but in vain. Same thing happened in the discussion part of GPE. Next came Group Obstacle Race, we were ahead of other groups as our group members were doing very good but as always every group finished the task at the same time. Next task was PGT, there was also chaos in the tasks and GTO was very angry on our group. I was standing at the last with the load in my hand. I was trying to give ideas from the back but unfortunately, no one ahead was listening to them. Then came HGT, we performed very well on HGT. I gave an idea in HGT twice. In lecturette, I spoke well on the topic South China Sea for exact 3 minutes.

For next day IO, CT, FGT was scheduled. I did 9 obstacles. Command task given to me was slightly difficult however I managed to complete it in the given time. FGT was again chaos. I think my group members motive was not to cross the obstacle but to tell idea to the GTO. Friends, please don’t do this. Just do your job which is to cross the obstacle with the group and leave GTO’s job to him.

My interview was scheduled with the president of 19 SSB on last day. I was given half an hour to change my attire to formal. I waited for about 10 min in the waiting room. I entered the room with a smile. The interview went for 40-50 minutes with 4 rounds of rapid fire questions. I tried to give my best by remembering the sequence but missed some of his questions. Technical questions were asked from my domain i.e mechanical engineering and I managed to give answers correctly except one where I understood the question in a different way, as he was asking something else, so technically I was right but wrong in the context of his question. He asked my GATE score and other competitive examination I have appeared with their results. Then a round of GK, we discussed GST for a while. Most of the interview revolved around my family & friends. There were some light moments in the interview when I shared some funny experiences of mine when he asked for it. Finally, my interview came to an end. However, somewhere in my heart, I wasn’t satisfied with my performance, especially when I understood what he was asking but it was of no use later.

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Next day was the conference on 5^th July 2017. After the closing speech by Dy. President, it started in reverse order from chest no- 40. I waited for about 15 minutes for the call after chest no. 39 left the hall. I saw the sole of my right shoe was broken and hanging on one side but I could do nothing at that point of time. I went in the hall with a smile on my face. The President asked me 2 SRTs. He asked me about my performance in group tasks and I told him that I wasn’t able to perform as much with the valid reason. Then some normal questions about stay and suggestion. I left the conference hall with a smile.

Then came the final moment, the results. Officer asked us to nominate 4 candidates who can make it through according to us. He said that ” When I’ll call the chest number the candidate will spell his name loudly with roll number”. Bang! the officer said,” Chest no. 38”. I spelled my name and said,” I don’t remember my roll no. sorry, sir”. Then he asked me to confirm the roll no. It all was like dream.

I was the only recommended candidate out of 40 candidates. All my brothers congratulated me. I rushed to my luggage and then waiting room to fill the various forms. That was the best day of my life. Finally, I made it! Now I can say I have it in me!

I am medically fit and waiting for the merit list. Looking forward to joining OTA Chennai this October.

At last, I want to say that SSBCrack helped me a lot with my preparation, especially the lecturette and GD topics I got from the website. The success stories I read gave me energy and enthusiasm to prepare for SSB.

For the aspirants out there especially repeaters I just want to say that never lose hope and keep working hard because a Fauji Never Back Down! Wish you all the best for your future. For any queries, you can drop me an e mail at [email protected].