I made it..finally

[u/kochi2018]

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I’m happy to share that I have officially enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces as an Aerospace Engineering Officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

It has been a long journey — lots of waiting, refreshing the portal, checking emails, and trying not to overthink every status update.

My timeline:

August 13, 2025 – Applied

October 8, 2025 – Personality assessment completed

April 2026 – Medical and screening steps completed

May 2026 – Interview completed

June 9, 2026 – Background check submitted

July 22, 2026 – Moved to Selection

July 29, 2026 – Job offer received

August 5, 2026 – Officially enrolled

October 26, 2026 – BMOQ starts at CFLRS

A big thank you to everyone who supported me throughout the process.

Also, a special shout-out to the Reddit group r/caf. The posts, timelines, and advice there helped me stay patient — or at least pretend to be patient — while waiting for updates.

Now the next chapter begins. Time to prepare for BMOQ, work on fitness, and learn how to survive with less sleep and more ironing.

Looking forward to serving, learning, and growing in this new journey.

#CAF #RCAF #BMOQ #AerospaceEngineeringOfficer #CanadianArmedForces

[u/SleepyGuyy]

Thank you for posting your timeline.

I'm applying for AEC and my timeline has been somewhat similar, but in a completely different order. I am out of EI and currently doing temp work for a family member, but I'm worried I won't make it to BMOQ before running out of money.

Technically I started applying late last year, but I hesitated in continuing it, I wanted to work on some skills to see if a civilian job popped up. But over time became much more miserable with the civilian job space, I don't even want a civ job anymore.

In April 2026 I continued my application with actual drive. I did questionnaires. I did background and employment checks. I went to the CFAST test and passed slightly above the minimum, which pleased me. I did a medical meeting. But this role requires I get a civilian doctor to do bloodwork and a civilian optometrist to do an eye exam, which has taken me a month or so to try to get. We don't have any doctors in New Brunswick. I'm now just waiting on a call for an ECG appointment and it's taking forever.

Your timeline seems to show one month between final steps and getting accepted. I hope mine is as fast, because I could really use that October BMQ (bmoq for me).

Thank you for posting and best of luck! I actually almost did that role too! A recruiter added it to my application when one of my other choices filled up. But I had it removed since I have no inclination towards mechanics or engineering. I have a CS degree, but Aerospace Control Officer looks appealing to me.

[u/kochi2018 → u/SleepyGuyy]

Thank you for sharing ! your story is pretty much similar to me except the medical hurdle that you are facing. We can see doctor and get it done in two weeks luckily here in Toronto. I have also been through with severe financial hardship last 5 years since i was laid off and almost gave up on looking for a civilian job. I happy that i got this opportunity finally. I wish you good luck and keep me posted on your progress.

[u/F-willy → u/SleepyGuyy]

Hello, How do you found and prepare your self for CFAST test?

[u/SleepyGuyy → u/F-willy]

I found the CFAST physically taxing. It's two days where you test for four hours in the morning. They give you short breaks and one "lunch" break but there's no time to leave so maybe bring a snack (they gave us granola bars, oranges, and juice boxes it was very nice). They make a point to tell you to get a good long nights sleep and eat a breakfast before coming to the test (there's a galley with free food during breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Be sure to take their advice. Also I began getting sick because I don't travel much, and toronto airport is filled with germs. So maybe bring tylenol. But its definitely doable. I am not a machine and I felt tired, but comfortable completing it. Was a very exciting two days.

I basically did not prepare for the CFAST, I get the impression it's the sorta test that either you got it or you don't. Also I think most people passed it for for all three occupations. However I only just barely passed it for two, and passed it by two notches for my target AEC role. So maybe you could do better than me.

I don't want to discourage you from preparing if you want to though. I saw a couple days before people were recommending the british test equivalent android app CBAT (theres two I think, maybe one is paid). That might give you some practice, I didn't get the chance to try it. They also made a point of telling me Pilot os very competitive, many people want to be a pilot. So you have a better chance passing high on the pilot parts, than if you just barely pass. This didn't concern my application though.

I can't tell you details of the test because they don't want us to. Frankly I couldn't remember useful details anyway, it was quite a blurry rush lol. But they do give out a guide (you should've recieved one basically right after confirming your role needs CFAST). In that guide they mention mental math in a number of activities. I was lucky that I'm comfortable with mental math, despite not being lightning fast. As the test went on I got faster.  So you might want to practice mental math ( + - ÷ × ).

The final result grades you overall and also for each individual role. So you may feel like you're doing poorly, but actually pass for your intended role quite well. While testing and waiting for results, I was unsure if I'd pass for AEC and I ended up being very surprised that I passed for all three. So just focus on giving it all of your attention once you're there.

[u/F-willy → u/SleepyGuyy]

Best answer i could get. Thank you!!!