Page 23 - Wish Stream Year of 2019

RMAS/AMAN Visit, Sandhurst Trust
The top of a 10m diving platform offered spectacular views over Brazil’s officer train- ing academy, the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras (AMAN). Sports fields, a huge equestrian centre, Officer Cadets out running, ranges, vehicle parks, endless palm trees, and the academy itself all lay spread out in front of us in a valley beneath the Agulhas Negras (‘Black Needles’) mountains. We were on a week-long Defence Engagement visit between RMAS and AMAN where we would live among their OCdts and explore the academy. But
OCdts Digby and Eldridge
lery, engineers, communications, ordinance or quartermaster – and subsequently live and work within their branches. Brazilian OCdts enjoy exercises in the mountains, the jungle, and on rivers, in which they have access to most of the equipment used in the field Army: artillery pieces, tanks, and so on. OCdts are also able to com- plete arduous courses such as parachute or jun- gle training whilst at the academy.
There are many differences with RMAS. Train- ing is delivered solely by officers,
first? The 10m jump. For the Bra-
zilian OCdts, this is an annual test
of physical courage. Determined
to prove ourselves in front of the
waiting crowd, we jumped. Only
when we heard the cadets after
us shouting mottos in Portuguese
did we regret not yelling ‘God
Save the Queen’ as we leapt into the pool.
Tests of bravery are common at AMAN, a 4-year academy where OCdts earn a degree along- side their commission. First years complete a generic infantry-based course which includes some gruelling field exercises in the punishing heat and quirky tests like a cross-country horse race, in which injuries are common. Second years choose a ‘branch’ – infantry, cavalry, artil-
and NCOs are uncommon (and out- ranked by the OCdts in any case). OCdts live in large dormitories where comradeship makes up for the lack of working facilities. The academy is strictly hierarchical; junior cadets are deferential to senior years and haz- ing is common. The food is extremely
basic and runs out surprisingly often, resulting in dogfights for the last scraps of chicken, beans and rice. To top it all, the academy is completely alcohol-free. Socials, however, are common and roughly half the academy gathered weekly to watch Game of Thrones. We were hosted impeccably by two Brazilian OCdts and made firm friends at AMAN. The Commandant, Gen- eral de Brigada Gustavo Henrique Dutra de Menezes, also took a keen interest in our visit.
For the Brazilian OCdts, this is
an annual test of physical courage.
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