Page 104 - RSDG Year of 2021 CREST

110 EAGLE AND CARBINE
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Staff Sergeant A Grieve
In January of 2020 I attended the RMAS Cadre for those aspiring to be Pl CSgts/SSgts in cadet facing roles at RMAS. The Cadre is 4 weeks long with various command roles, lessons and tests that enables someone like me to run a platoon of aspiring OCdts through the year long course. From the 60 that started the Cadre there were 32 that successfully completed it and were invited to return to the Academy as instructors. The Commissioning Course is split into 3 terms: junior, intermediate and senior, with the spilt over two physi- cal locations. Old College for Juniors and then New College for Inter’s and Seniors. Think of it like 2 sepa- rate units: both have Commanding Officers, Adjutants and Regimental Sergeant Majors. The aim of the col- leges is to take that brand new arrival off civvie street into the Junior Term and commission an officer at the end of the Senior Term.
Upon completion of the Cadre I started my RMAS journey as a SSgt in the Dismounted Close Combat Wing supporting platoons in the colleges. In real- ity, this meant I was in charge of taking ranges and coordinating the exercises for a Senior term platoon. Although an amazing experience, it was not the train- ing a platoon in a direct role that I was looking for- ward to. I was fortunate to arrive at RMAS and join the Regimental Team of Lt Col Turpin (Sandhurst Gp COS) and Sgt Taganekurukuru (RMAS CIS Wing Instr). Having even one member of the Regiment at RMAS is rare but three is unheard of and we have been sure to capitalise on our presence.
2021 started with me moving from the Dismounted Close Combat Wing to Junior term in Old College and picking up a Platoon on ‘Ironing Board Sunday’. This is the first day of the Junior term, when brand new cadets arrive at RMAS and meet the training team for the first time - a real baptism of fire - and I remember seeing a lot of scared and confused faces (not much has
changed to be honest) whilst shouting at them to hurry up from across the parade square. We had a tough cou- ple of days ahead of us to get everyone PCR tested in time to start the course properly and begin the process of turning our civvies into young officers
The first 5 weeks is a bit of a shock to the system for both Officer Cadets and Permanent Staff, 0530 wake ups with the platoon lined up in the corridor to sing the National Anthem and drink a litre of water, fol- lowed by day long training until the obligatory 2200hrs personal study period. The first term is the most intense part of the course for cadets and is where they learn almost all their basic individual skills and drills and have the incorrect drills learned elsewhere trained out. The first five weeks ends with the drill test, following which, pre-COVID, they would have earned a well-deserved long weekend. In our case, due to COVID, they got to enjoy 48hrs without pressure but remained gated within the confines of RMAS. The remainder of the Junior term saw elements of the Sovereign’s Banner competition events (course inter- platoon competition) including Ex LONG REACH. Ex LONG REACH is the exercise that will bring a wry smile to all commissioned officers and a grimace from all OCdts. A gruelling 48-hour patrol that cadets do during week 10 of their course; it is not for the faint hearted and is a lot like Ex CAMBRIAN PATROL. It involves long distance patrolling to checkpoints with both military and academic stands where cadets are tested on what they have learned so far, all under the watchful eye of the Permanent Staff. The Junior Term finished with a small amount of drill and some Regimental Visits. For SCOTS DG the Regiment hosted eight OCdts, who returned with the biggest smiles and nothing but praise. A message that has since spread amongst intakes that SCOTS DG run excellent visits and will only take the highest calibre. Huge thanks to Capt Humphries and Lt Lambert for all of their involvement.
The Intermediate Term started in May with a change of platoons and Permanent Staff around the intake. This meant the staff had 30 new faces to learn and appoint- ments to distribute. I was not initially convinced by the motive of the change but now having completed the course I understand the importance of more than 2 sets of eyes looking at a particular cadet. The first half of the term is collectively known as ‘The Hateful 8’ due to the back-to-back 8 weeks of ranges and field exercises. Time goes fast but everyone is pretty tired by the end. Just in time for a week of intake lectures