Page 91 - Wish Stream Year of 2018

exercise, where a series of warehouses had to be cleared of the enemy (who were dressed suspiciously like Russians), to testing our marks- manship on the range with MP5s and Glocks. In the spirit of engagement, the teams from each country were mixed up, which presented a good opportunity to have a look at how cadets from other nations perform and operate.
All the other academies follow a different pro- gramme to Sandhurst; instead of the one-year concentrated course they undertake three or four years with a university degree attached. Whilst gaining a degree alongside military train- ing seemed popular amongst the cadets, there appeared to be a difficult balance between being a student (in the classic university
Training for the ballroom dancing
sense) and an OCdt as both roles
tend to require different levels of
intensity; there is an ambiguity that
is swiftly and robustly remedied with
weeks one to five of Sandhurst, and
it was clear that the pace and pro- fessionalism of the training at RMAS
made us extremely competitive and
robust in the short 13 weeks that we
had completed. The main thing that unites both our academies is the value of service. In Estonia, there is a great sense of national pride emerging, largely due to the country’s hard-fought inde- pendence. One thing that shone through was Estonia’s deep-rooted connection and apprecia- tion for its neighbouring allies and Britain. In a speech made by their Academy’s Commanding Officer, Major Erkki Roosnurm, our military was welcomed as ‘brothers in arms’, beaten only by the Swedish who were greeted by the slightly enviable title of ‘The Vikings to the North’.
The Major went on to recite a line from their academy’s motto, ‘soldiers are human and offic- ers are simply soldiers’. This message is par-
ticularly pertinent given the perceived threat that Estonia currently faces. On arrival at the airport in Tallinn, the most prominent advertisement spaces were devoted to cyber security solu- tions instead of to headline brands. Speaking to Estonian Cadets I learnt of the assumption that every call, text or tweet was being watched or listened
to. That level of scrutiny demands the highest level of professionalism and awareness, a value that unites both of our academies and to our future roles as officers.
It was an extremely fascinating and rewarding few days. Participation in events like these seem to be particularly important in an age where Defence co-operation is becoming increasingly more cru- cial to ensure the freedom and security of our Nation and that of our allies. The experience highlighted both the challenges and opportunities that Defence Engagement presents, the ways in which different militaries can effectively draw on each other’s experiences and expertise... and the enduring requirement for remedial dance training.
It was an extremely fascinating and rewarding few days.
Multinational patrol competition
OCdt Gordon-Head on parade
SANDHURST 89