Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army officer initial training centre. The Academy is the British Army equivalent of the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, Royal Air Force College Cranwell and the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.

The Academy's stated aim is to be "the national centre of excellence for leadership". All British Army officers, including late entry officers who were previously Warrant Officers, as well as many from elsewhere in the world, are trained at Sandhurst. Nearly 10 percent of British cadets are female and nearly 10 percent of all cadets come from overseas.

The Academy opened in 1947 on the site of the former Royal Military College (RMC) at Sandhurst. It straddles the counties of Berkshire and Surrey; the county border marked by a small stream known as the Wish Stream - after which the Academy journal is named. Primarily, the Academy is situated in College Town, a suburb of Sandhurst, and partly in the outer region of Camberley town. The nearest railway station is Blackwater, Hampshire.

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) develops leadership in cadets by expanding their character, intellect and professional competences to a level demanded of an Army Officer on first appointment through military training and education. The core objectives reflect the three key elements in the training and education of the young officers: the moral, the intellectual and the physical. It was descended from two older institutions, the Royal Military Academy (RMA) and the Royal Military College (RMC). The Commissioning Course is the first stage of officer training and education. Its main purpose is to develop an officer with the generic leadership qualities to lead soldiers both on and off operations. The course is accredited by various academic and professional institutions

In overall command of the RMAS is the Commandant of the Academy, usually an officer of Major General rank, while the Academy Sergeant Major (AcSM) is one of the senior warrant officers in the British Army, junior only to Conductors of the Royal Logistic Corps[citation needed], but there are several of them at any one time.

The main RMAS Commissioning Courses start in January, May and September of each year. Each new intake numbers approximately 270 cadets, each of whom joins a company. The commissioning course is split up into three terms, each lasting fourteen weeks, and on each course cadets are put into one of three companies. There can be as many as ten companies within the RMAS at any one time, each commanded by a Major and named after a famous battle in which the British Army has fought. The company names have changed over the years, and are currently :

Gaza Company
The Somme Company
Ypres Company
Alamein Company
Burma Company
Normandy Company
The Falklands Company
Imjin Company
Malaya Company
Waterloo Company
Dettingen Company — the Short Courses mentioned above (for Territorial Army and Professionally Qualified Officers) are operated sequentially, and are each known as "Dettingen Company".
Within a company are three platoons each of thirty officer cadets, commanded by a Captain and supported by a Colour Sergeant. Unlike West Point, RMAS entrusts the majority of officer training to SNCOs. Dettingen Company is divided along the same lines as the regular intakes, though smaller courses may consist of only two platoons.

There is also a "rehabilitation" platoon — Lucknow Platoon. It looks after cadets who are injured during training, with a view to preparing them to re-enter the commissioning course or processing those who are medically discharged.

[edit] Regular ArmyA small number of regular army units are based at the RMAS to provide support for the colleges and their training:

Gurkha Demonstration Company (Sittang): this is a company-sized unit drawn from all units of the Brigade of Gurkhas, to provide an opposing force in battle training for the cadets.
44 Support Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps: this is the RMAS's permanently based transport, logistic and signals support unit.
Until 1984, the RMAS had its own band - The RMAS Band Corps,[13] the smallest Regiment in the British Army. Music is now provided by a variety of Corps of Army Music bands on rotation.