Page 7 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021 (Crest)

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair” to quote Charles
Dickens; who can sum up my reflective feelings of Junior Term far better than myself!
Driving through the imposing barriers of Sand- hurst on Day Zero, I was full of excited nerves and anticipation. Arriving with no prior army experience, the first few weeks were a complete whirlwind. Old College began my ever-evolving transition from civvy to soldier. This consisted of a blur of about-turns, hairspray, carbs, fablon, burpees, cam-cream, ironing and never-ending army acronyms I still constantly fail to remember.
Our term was rather disrupted by the world’s nemesis: COVID. Unfortunately, our path was not as smooth as we had initially hoped for, being the first Platoon into Zayed Lines - the desig- nated isolation lines. Of course, with sleeping coming at a premium over the first few weeks, we revelled in the luxury of later starts and earlier finishes. Zayed Lines presented us with many challenges we imaginatively needed to over- come, such as utilising a used yoghurt pot as a coffee mug, or washing our clothes via wet and
OCdt Lievesley
dry drills in the shower. The novelty soon wore off when we subsequently went back into isolation a second time. However, although COVID turned our schedule upside down, the staff went above and beyond to deliver the exceptional training Sandhurst is renowned for; something our Pla- toon was hugely thankful for.
Despite the restrictions imposed upon us and the wider country, we did manage to fit in a COVID-safe girls meet-up with the rest of our intake, which was a real highlight for us all. It was a chance to meet the other girls and natter away at our hearts content about all the things we were worried about, far away from the boys.
For me, the highlights of last term were being put into command roles, because it allowed for the theory to be put into practice and confirmed the steep learning curve which is Junior Term. Being under pressure to achieve successful attacks in the field whilst in a role of responsibility forced you to demonstrate the large amount of theory we’d (luckily) digested.
I have also loved the academics taught along- side the course, and have taken my role as
Impressions of Juniors
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