Page 9 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022 CREST

It was the middle of week three when a member of our Platoon left Sandhurst, and it was around this time that the doubt started to creep into eve- ryone. Trying to adapt to the new structure of life is a bend or break moment for everyone. People start to question if this is what they really want and ask others whether they felt the same. A common saying is to ‘play the game’: it’s all part of the process, play the game, and you’ll come out the other side. No matter how
of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I found myself standing in line at a service station, and I bumped into an OCdt that lived across the hall from me by complete chance. After giving him a quick nod, I expected my Colour Sergeant to kick open a service door and berate me for standing in line for food when I should have been polishing my boots.
much you are prepared, how well
read up you are on an experience,
it will never be a substitute for
the real event. OCdts start to ask
themselves the question: is the
constant marching, ironing, and
running from place to place, worth
sticking around for? To them and
those to come after us, I say yes.
If Sandhurst’s’ product is what
you want to be, then stick the course. If you feel like you are failing, push on, you are not the ones who decide if you pass or fail, the standard does, so keep going. Unless they come to you and tell you that you are done, it’s over, keep running – you’re not out of the race yet.
As the weeks moved on beyond the initial pres- sure to make sure our boots were polished and our shirts ironed, the Platoon received their first taste of life in the field. It was on Ex SELF RELI- ANCE where we felt what it meant to be on the ground, marching out into the woods, building a shell scrape, and learning to embrace the cold whilst staring out into the dark forest waiting for the enemy to try and infiltrate our small harbour area. We fought the wind and the rain to keep sleeping bags dry, the Platoon built itself, seeing who was first out of their bag to relieve a sen- try, who helped build others’ cover just before stand to and who was willing to lose precious rest to help another that was struggling with their administration. There we learnt what to prioritise and where we were lacking. It’s one thing to try it in a classroom, but out in the field, the lessons really come to life.
Going through school, there was always a build- up to the last week of term, right before the sum- mer holidays, six weeks of nothing. Week five at Sandhurst personifies that experience, having earned it by passing off the drill square. Every- one is eager to go on their Academy Weekend. It’s that anticipation that makes the weekend so exhilarating. You finally get home, see your loved ones, and relax; truly relax. You have no worries
Writing this at the end of week six, I found myself fully immersed in the flow of training, finally thinking: I’m getting there. Like all things though, we are all still learning, taking two steps forwards, and then being told off for missing something key and having to take that step back to revaluate before moving forwards, again.
I still can’t define what an Army Officer is, but slowly as the weeks go on, I find myself putting together the pieces of what my interpretation of an Army Officer may look like. Each of us will have differing perspectives, and each of us will have varied careers once we do commission, but what is clear is the foundation on which they are built; the Values and Standards of the British Army. I have no idea what the rest of the Commissioning Course will involve, but I trust in myself that the lessons I will learn will enable me to move, two steps forwards, one step back. Always moving forwards.
Writing this at the end of week six, I found myself fully immersed in the flow of training, finally thinking: I’m getting there.
SANDHURST 7