Page 9 - The Wish Stream Year of 2020 Crest

“Play the game.” For many officer- cadets-to-be, nervously contacting old family friends or former university pals for last-minute tips ahead of Ironing Board Sunday, those three words became very familiar. They’re a simple, yet all-encompassing trio that cut right to the core of what it is to be at Sand-
hurst. They’re also intensely problematic.
Fortunately, losing the Great Game of Camberley isn’t as dramatic as in others. In Game of Thrones losing meant death, whilst in the Great Game across Central Asia between the British Empire and Russia it meant a shift in global power poli- tics and a fundamental change in history as we know it. No, fellow Cadets: whilst
OCdt Cooper
There’s an element of black humour, and a dis- tinctly British optimism in ‘playing the game’. It harks back to the origins of the British Army’s officer corps; Wellington’s nod to the playing fields of Eton at the Battle of Waterloo ought to be familiar to us all. Its primary effect is to de- escalate the drama of an apparently fraught situation. I became curious with ‘playing the game’ whilst thinking about dust. Dust was a fiend, mysteriously (re)appearing on surfaces that I wiped only moments ago, and of which the Colour Sergeant seemed to have unlimited supply in his back pocket. Luckily, at Sandhurst, dust is just dust, and I would hope that each and every British Army officer will be remembered for
your world may feel as though it’s falling apart whilst your room is being annihilated during inspec- tion, the consequences of los- ing here are not quite as severe. Then again, that doesn’t mean that they’re far off – and they’re also not as straightforward as you might think.
Whilst your world may feel as though it’s falling apart whilst your room is being annihilated during inspection, the consequences of losing here are not quite as severe
something far more interesting than that one show parade in Week 6 of Juniors.
But for that reason, ‘playing the game’ when it comes to dust can also be problematic. After the steps of Old College at the end of Week 44, dust becomes something else: the range of an enemy weapons system, a potential pollutant in the water that you want to supply to a village, or a vehicle registration plate that’s affili- ated to a criminal gang. Whether you are an aspiring infantry commander,
I’ll be the first to admit that I hated
the rigorous room inspections of
Weeks 1-5: “why are your maga-
zines not evenly spaced?” (I spent
15 minutes worrying about getting my tooth- brush facing the right way, Colour Sergeant), “Did you iron this with a brick?” (no Colour Ser- geant, but your sarcasm has been noted), or “Did you even bother to check the skirting board behind the bed of the person three doors down from you – and why on earth not, Cooper?” (You’re right Colour Sergeant, I am jack Col- our Sergeant). You know the drill, and I’m sure you can relate to that small voice in the back of one’s head questioning why I signed up to this in the first place. One would initially hear: “just play the game” from a deflated duty student in the aftermath of the Platoon’s lockers being strewn across their floors, and later, following a raft of sheepish appearances at 2100hrs in the Guardroom.
engineer, or intelligence officer, dust becomes something potentially life-changing for the peo- ple with whom you work. In today’s world the truth is in the detail, and the dust that we find as junior officers on operations can, and will, affect national policymaking at the highest levels.
Most importantly, dust doesn’t just change, it becomes ours. Unlimited liability means that we’re not just responsible for finding and getting rid of dust, but also for providing explanations when we fail to find it. My go-to line during Weeks 1-5 was: “no excuse, Colour Sergeant.” Initially it felt safe in its honesty – its nobility even – and the acknowledgement that I wasn’t winning this fight. That was all well and good for a time, but I came to realise by ‘playing the game’ here, I was
The Great Game, Dust, and Unlimited Liability
SANDHURST 7