4 July 2010

Psychometric tests for bomb disposal experts

Psychometric tests are helping to save lives in Afghanistan and are being used during the recruitment and training of soldiers tasked with one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

During an intensive five-year training programme, bomb disposal experts from the Royal Engineers and the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) take around 200 psychometric tests and psychological tests. These are designed to weed out those who cannot cope sufficiently with pressure and candidates are only allowed to fail three of the exams they sit.

The number of bomb disposal experts killed in Afghanistan reflects just how dangerous the job is and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are the biggest threat to troops serving there.

On a daily basis bomb disposal teams have to make life and death decisions as the attempt to defuse both IEDs and conventional munitions - and the strain can take its toll.

In an interview with the BBC, one officer compared the task with an extreme game of chess and describes how a sophisticated bomb maker can lure you in with one device only to target you with a second.

There's a tremendous sense of vulnerability. You're considering where they may have placed a second device and whether a sniper has you in his cross-hairs. You've got to think about all these possibilities, he added.

 

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