Royal Military Academy Sandhurst - Organisation

Organisation

In overall command of the RMAS is the Commandant of the Academy, usually an officer of Major General rank. The commissioning course is split up into three terms, each lasting fourteen weeks (referred to as the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Divisions, identified by differently coloured lanyards). Basic army training is covered in the first five weeks which, by reputation, are the most gruelling (cadets' families are encouraged to support the cadets' morale by maintaining home contacts). The main RMAS Commissioning Courses start in January, May and September of each year. Each intake numbers approximately 270 cadets, each of whom is assigned to a platoon within one of three companies. Platoons are commanded by captains, with a colour sergeant who takes the main burden of day-to-day training, especially during the first term (unlike West Point, RMAS entrusts the majority of officer training to Senior Non-Commissioned Officers). 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 or campaign 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
• Blenheim Company
• Waterloo Company
• Inkerman 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".

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.

Cadets who fail to meet the required standard, or who have been injured, may be "back-termed", that is, "asked" to repeat the previous term and joining a later intake, or to repeat the whole course.

Cadets nominate two regiments or corps that they seek to join, although in practice this may be influenced by their instructors, if particular strengths or weaknesses or aptitudes are seen to be important. In the middle term, interviews are held and final selections are made by the recruiting regiments and corps; there is competition for strong cadets by the units and, conversely, by cadets for prestigious or specialised units. Exceptionally, some cadets may have confirmed places in regiments before the formal selections or even before starting at Sandhurst.