Page 95 - Wish Stream Year of 2017

So, how did the team perform? The RMAS Cadets put on a great performance, with mem- bers from every delegation commenting on their professionalism and ability to practically apply the law to situations. In the end, 1st place went to a cadet from the United States Air Force Academy, OCdt Debbage was awarded 2nd place and a cadet from the United States Naval Academy came 3rd.
While the competition was the primary aim of the week, there are few better opportunities to develop international interoperability at such early stages of a future officer’s career. There- fore, the entire week facilitated and encouraged the cadets to relax and engage in the evenings
When the Junior Cadets arrive, dragging brand-new ironing boards through old historic lines, there is an awareness felt of what is being walked into; a sense that finally it is time to step into the stories we’ve all heard told.
“You’re off to Sandhurst? Remember: when the CSM points at you with his pace stick and asks what piece of shit is on the end, don’t reply with ‘nothing on this end, sir,’!”
with cultural displays and dinner nights out in the historic San Remo town.
The week was an overwhelming success; the Cadets performed well and their new-found knowledge is already being passed on to their peers through lessons, presentations and gen- eral guidance on course. The entire team learnt a great deal about LOAC and the other acad- emies, and developed a strong network to move forward into their future roles. Special thanks must be given to the Sandhurst Trust and the Commandant’s Fund for their outstanding sup- port to the team to enable us to compete at this exceptional event.
What’s in a Story?
OCdt Ruth Gardner
Old College mess hall where the one-toothed tiger has watched kings, generals and inebriated cadets kicking up a ruckus, to the guardrooms that have been witness to bizarre processions of punishment and perfectly ironed beds lining up through the decades. Finally, we are intro- duced to Barossa, where lost cadets fall into bog, through bush, bracken and brier, under the Wishstream, or else manage to escape entirely and wander Camberley with an assault rifle.
Aware of the path upon which we tread, we Jun- ior Cadets are eager to add our own
“Joining Sandhurst? Better keep those Lieutenant Colonels well supplied with party rings and pink wafers!”
A cadet collapsed on stag and it was cold, wet and frightening.
tales to the tapestry; to make sure that everyone knows that we too trod here. When 2 Section slaughtered 3 Sec- tion with SA80s, smoke and a central assault, the reality was cold, wet and deeply embarrassing. But then it was a story. A cadet collapsed on stag
“Sandhurst? Start practising your
leopard crawling; we once spent
five hours crawling the parade
square after OCdt Doyle about-turned on the Colour Sergeant’s brightly-bulled boots. The pullovers gave us green scabs for weeks after!”
and it was cold, wet and frightening. But then it was a story, greedily collected and shared in the bar, at scoff and through the corridors, until it sunk into the walls and became another part of a landscape filled to the brim with cadets being wet, cold and unlucky. Naturally, as the stories are repeated they expand, morphing into new shapes until they are nearly unrecognisable but far more enjoyable. Quad bikes transform into Challenger 2s, Chinese restaurants fall to burning rubble, and a buried cocking handle spins into
Sandhurst is well mapped out in our minds long before we set a single step into Old College. We usually already know the latest dits, the last intake’s tales, the memories of those now gone from the service and, of course, the lasting leg- ends. We walk from the parade square where sleeping kings ask advice from statues, through
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