New College, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (
RMAS), commonly known simply as
Sandhurst, is the
British Army officer initial training centre. The Academy is the
British Army equivalent of the
Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth,
Royal Air Force College Cranwell and the
Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.
The Academy's stated aim is to be:
All British Army officers, including late entry officers who were previously
Warrant Officers, as well as many from elsewhere in the world, are trained at Sandhurst. Nearly 10 percent of British cadets are female and nearly 10 percent of all cadets come from overseas.
The Academy opened in 1947 in the former Royal Military College (RMC) at Sandhurst. It straddles the counties of
Berkshire and
Surrey; the county border marked by a small stream known as the Wish Stream - after which the Academy journal is named. Primarily, the Academy is situated in College Town, a suburb of
Sandhurst, and partly in the outer region of
Camberley town. The nearest railway station is
Blackwater, Hampshire.
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) develops leadership in cadets by expanding their character, intellect and professional competences to a level demanded of an Army Officer on first appointment through military training and education. The core objectives reflect the three key elements in the training and education of the young officers: the moral, the intellectual and the physical. It was descended from two older institutions, the Royal Military Academy (RMA) and the Royal Military College (RMC). The Commissioning Course is the first stage of officer training and education. Its main purpose is to develop an officer with the generic leadership qualities to lead soldiers both on and off operations. The course is accredited by various academic and professional institutions.
Sandhurst, unlike some other national military academies such as
West Point in the
United States, the
École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in
France, is not a university. Eighty-five percent of entrants are university graduates, but this is not an absolute requirement. This is illustrated by
Prince William and
Prince Harry; one a graduate, the other not.
History
The RMA Sandhurst was formed in 1947 from a merger of the
Royal Military Academy in
Woolwich (which trained officers for the
Royal Artillery and
Royal Engineers from 1741 to 1939) and the Royal Military College (1801-1939) at
Sandhurst. Following the ending of
National Service in the UK and the closing of the Mons Officer Training School in
Aldershot in 1972, the RMAS became the sole establishment for male initial officer training in the British Army
.
The Royal Military College opened its doors in 1802, although a Staff College on the same site opened 2 years earlier
. Coincidentally this was the same year as both
Saint-Cyr and
West Point. RMAS is an amagamation of the RMC and the
Royal Military Academy and can therefore claim a history stretching back to 1741
.
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Collection contains displays the history of the
Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, The Royal Military College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. The collection includes the Royal Military Academy's gentlemen cadet registers, historic archive, uniforms, paintings, photographs and other artefacts. Visits are by appointment only
Selection
Potential officers are identified by the
Army Officer Selection Board situated in
Westbury in
Wiltshire.
Courses
The Commissioning Course lasts 44 weeks and must be successfully completed by all British regular army officers (with some exceptions) before they receive their commission. It is usually followed by a further training course specific to the
Regiment or
Corps the officer will serve in. A shorter commissioning course is run for professionally qualified officers (e.g.,
doctors,
dentists,
nurses,
lawyers, vets and
chaplains). This shorter course, lasting ten weeks, is known colloquially as the
Tarts and Vicars course.
Another short course is Module 4 of the
Territorial Army (TA) Commissioning Course (TACC) which lasts three weeks. The TACC consists of four training modules; the first three are conducted under the supervision of RMAS at TA
Regional Training Centres, with Module 4 of the Officers' training and assessment being conducted at Sandhurst. This training typically takes 2 years to complete. Upon completion, Officer Cadets become
Second Lieutenants in the TA or
Officer Training Corps (OTC).
Sandhurst also runs a variety of other courses for officers including the Late Entry Officer Course (LEOC).
RMAS has a renowned academic faculty staffed by civilian researchers with expertise in Communication and Applied Behavioural Science, Defence and International Affairs and War Studies. The noted academics and authors
John Keegan and
Richard Holmes were both members of the faculty.
All officer cadets who complete the full Commissioning Course are eligible for a variety of civilian accreditations such as a
City and Guilds of London Institute Licentiateship in Leadership and Associate Membership of the
Chartered Management Institute.
Organisation
The 149th Sovereign's Parade in front of Old College.
In overall charge of the RMAS is the Commandant, usually an officer of
Major General rank, while the
Academy Sergeant Major (AcSM) is the most senior individual
warrant officer in the British Army (only
Conductors of the
Royal Logistic Corps rank higher than the AcSM, but there are several of them at any one time). The main RMAS commissioning courses start in January, May and September of each year. Each new intake numbers approximately 270 cadets, each of whom joins a
company. The commissioning course is split up into three terms, each lasting fourteen weeks, and on each course cadets are put into one of three companies. There can be as many as ten companies within the RMAS at any one time, each commanded by a Major and named after a famous battle in which the British Army has fought. The company names vary but are currently :
- Dettingen Company—the Short Courses mentioned above (for Territorial Army and Professionally Qualified Officers) are operated sequentially, and are each known as "Dettingen Company".
Within a company are three
platoons each of thirty officer cadets, commanded by a Captain and supported by a
Colour Sergeant. Unlike West Point, RMAS entrusts the majority of officer training to
SNCOs. Dettingen Company is divided along the same lines as the regular intakes, though smaller courses may consist of only two platoons.
There is also a "rehabilitation" platoon—
Lucknow Platoon. It looks after cadets who are injured during training, with a view to preparing them to re-enter the commissioning course or processing those who are medically discharged.
Regular Army
A small number of regular army units are based at the RMAS to provide support for the colleges and their training:
- Gurkha Demonstration Company (Sittang): This is a company-sized unit drawn from all units of the Brigade of Gurkhas, to provide an opposing force in battle training for the cadets.
- 44 Support Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps: This is the RMAS's permanently based transport, logistic and signals support unit.
- Until 1984, the RMAS had its own band - The RMAS Band Corps, the smallest Regiment in the British Army. Music is now provided by a variety of Corps of Army Music bands on rotation.
Awards
Each Commissioning Course has awards granted to outstanding cadets.
Sword of Honour
The Sword of Honour is awarded to the British Army Officer Cadet considered by the Commandant to be, overall, the best of the course.
Queen's Medal
The Queen's Medal is awarded to the British Army Officer Cadet who achieved the highest scores in military, practical and academic studies.
Overseas Sword
With the other two awards being for British Army Officer Cadets, the Overseas Sword is awarded to one of the many cadets sent by foreign armies. The Overseas Sword goes to the Overseas Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the course. It was previously known as the Overseas Cane.
Duke of Westminster's Sword
The
Duke of Westminster's Sword is awarded to the officer cadet considered by the Commandant to be, overall, the best of the TA Commissioning Course.
Alumni
Sandhurst is prestigious and has had many famous alumni. There are so many famous generals and
VC winners that a fair and representative list would be immense. Despite
urban myths to the contrary,
Idi Amin and Colonel
Muammar al-Gaddafi did not attend the RMAS
. Note, this list contains a number of 'students' who did not complete the course. Some of the foreign royalty were not, for example, commissioned.
Royalty
Commonwealth realms
Albania
Kingdom of Bahrain
Brunei
- Prince Azim, the son of the Sultan of Brunei, quit the Academy after one week in October 2008.
Greece
Jordan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Spain
Swaziland
Tonga
Thailand
UAE
Aristocracy
Politicians
Churchill
Authors and poets
Actors
TV Writers
Musicians
Sportsmen
Explorers
Archaeologists
Chefs
Businessmen
- Paul Brown, CBE: Chief Executive, Commercial Radio Companies Association
- Hamish Bryce: Chairman, Independent Age; Non-Executive Director, Henderson Strata plc; Chairman: Thorn Lighting Group plc (until 1997) (Royal Engineers)
- Vitoon Visutipol: Chief Executive Officer of The Thai-Setakij Insurance Public Company Limited, Bangkok,Thailand. Director of The Siam Mineral and Resources Co.Ltd. Bangkok, Thailand.
Clergymen
Black sheep
Lineage
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Royal Military Academy Sandhurst | width="25%" rowspan="2" align="center"|
Royal Military Academy | width="25%" align="center"|
Royal Military Academy |-
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East India Company Military Seminary |-
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Royal Military College |-
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Mons Officer Cadet School |-
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Women's Royal Army Corps College
