Page 14 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022 CREST

Regular Commissioning Course 221
– Junior Term Reflections
CSgt C R Marr SCOTS
Ironing Board Sunday was upon us – around 270 nervous-looking young men and women dressed in suits or blazers, buzzing around Old College and keen to impress! My task: to take 30 of these individuals and set them up for success on the initial stages of their journey to become leaders of soldiers. A huge responsibility, but an equally huge privilege.
This was a massive culture shock to most, espe- cially our International OCdts, as they stood on the line with their new brothers and sisters at 0600hrs every day to sing the National Anthem.
The first five weeks is where we build the foun- dations and set the standards to be expected for the remainder of the Commissioning Course. The rest of the term focuses on planning and executing platoon level operations in addition to a plethora of academic studies.
A period of firsts for many – first time handling and firing a weapon, first time marching, first time having to clean and maintain clothing and
equipment; and for some, first time discovering that there are in fact two six o’clocks in the day!
The milestone for most in weeks 1 to 5 (not least the Colour Sergeants!) is the week five Drill Test, commonly referred to as ‘Passing Off the Square’. This is the first time I actually stood back and looked at my Platoon with real pride for what they had achieved so far, and in antici- pation of what they will go on to accomplish. The sense of professionalism, self-discipline and, most importantly, teamwork was clearly evident that day.
The remainder of the term saw a shift where I started to empower the OCdts to make many
12 SANDHURST