1. Officer Selection, Education and Training in the British Army The Sandhurst Experience Lt Col (retd) Jim Storr PhD

2. Contents Introduction Brief History Who do we want? Who do we get? What do we do with them? What do we get as a result? Summary and Conclusions

3. Contents Introduction Brief History Who do we want? Who do we get? What do we do with them? What do we get as a result? Summary and Conclusions

4. Thank You

5. Introduction Aim Approach Attitude How many Miliradians (mils) in a circle? 2 x π x 1,000 ≈ ?

6. Contents Introduction Brief History Who do we want? Who do we get? What do we do with them? What do we get as a result? Summary and Conclusions

7. Brief History (1) All-volunteer army; career soldiers RMA Woolwich (1741) RMC Sandhurst (1801) RMA Sandhurst (1947) Branch training from 1945 RMCS Shrivenham (1946) Eaton Hall OCS until 1961; Mons OCS until 1971 Never static since 1945

8. Brief History (2) 1960s: a few graduates 1971-3: End of the 2-year course –Separate courses –Most (non-graduate) officers 8 months –Career officers 4 extra months –Graduate officers 4 months only (≈ 30-40%) 1985: system failing non-graduates

9. Brief History (3) Traditional Universities (pre C20) ‘Red Brick’ Universities (early C20) ‘White Tile’ Universities (1960s) (former) Polytechnics –Mostly from 1960s –Until 1992 Standards About 50% of school age go to higher education

10. Contents Introduction Brief History Who do we want? Who do we get? What do we do with them? What do we get as a result? Summary and Conclusions

11. Who Do We Want? (1) Short Service Commission –3-8 years –Platoon commanders x 2 Intermediate Regular Commission –Up to 16 years –Immediate pension –Company commanders and staff officers Regular Commission –Up to 37 years (+) –Full pension at age 55 LE Officers TA Officers

12. Who Do We Want? (2) Leadership Intellect Maturity Numbers –Per year –In Army Women

13. Contents Introduction Brief History Who do we want? Who do we get? What do we do with them? What do we get as a result? Summary and Conclusions

14. Who Do We Get (1) 80-85% graduate, ≈ 10% non-graduate, ≈ 5% serving soldiers ≈ 40% from private school system ≈ 55% from ‘grammar schools’ –(formerly selective from age 11) Perhaps 5% genuinely working-class

15. Who Do We Get (2) Private schools generally do better at A- level; but: The top 100 schools by A-level result are almost all current or former ‘grammar schools’ ‘Grammar School’ students traditionally do better at university than those from private schools; ‘ 3 ‘A’s from Eton is better than a poor degree from Luton Poly’

16. Who Do We Get (3) RMAS: (now) relies heavily on former polytechnics Deduction: –Many of those who in the 1970s would have entered at age 18 now go to a low- quality university first.

17. Who Do We Get (4) University OTCs: 20-25% School cadet corps Overall ≈ 40% have some previous military experience

18. Who Do We Get (5) ≈ 5% are graduates in War Studies ≈ 10% politics, IR or similar Perhaps 30% science or engineering graduates: –Maintenance engineers 100% graduate –Engineer Corps (‘RE’) strong preference for civil, mechanical or perhaps electrical engineering graduates; etc Education officers 100% graduate, + teaching qualification

19. Contents Introduction Brief History Who do we want? Who do we get? What do we do with them? What do we get as a result? Summary and Conclusions

20. What Do We Do With Them? Single commissioning course for almost all Regular Army direct entrants (not LE) 12 months. Mixture of: –Recruit training –Ceremonial –Generic officer training (leadership etc) –Ceremonial –Sport –Ceremonial –Education –Ceremonial –Ceremonial...

21. Sandhurst Platoon and company structure –1 x Capt, 1 x SNCO per platoon –Specialist (military) wings: weapon training, signals etc –CSMs, RSMs, AcSM Academic Departments (2-4?) –War Studies, IR, Communication Skills, Military Technology Support and administrative functions

22. The One-Year Course Intended primarily to benefit 18-year-olds –Negative impact of serving soldiers –Problem largely now gone away Graduates from OTCs found course highly repetitious; a waste of time Time spent on ceremonial always creeps upwards Sandhurst reinvented itself in its own image Best use of time and money?

23. Graduate Entrants 3 years’ university from age 18 –Wide range of (civilian) universities & degrees May have had a ‘gap year’ Army pays some students’ university fees All command a platoon (or similar) as their first job in a battalion Seniority and pay:

24. Pay Non-Graduate: £15,824 initially £24,615 on leaving Sandhurst £29,587 3 years later Graduate: £24,615 initially Average UK graduate starting salary is about £25,000 £29,587 on leaving Sandhurst (1 year later)

25. Branch Training Branch-dependant 3 to 8 months PQO (‘CMDVLP/N’) officers:

26. Contents Introduction Brief History Who do we want? Who do we get? What do we do with them? What do we get as a result? Summary and Conclusions

27. What Do We Get As A Result? (1) - Graduates ‘Train for certainty, educate for uncertainty’ Better prepared intellectually –South Georgia A graduate career

28. What Do We Get As A Result? (2) - Quality No lack of quality 95% 2 outstanding officers: both brigadiers; both SF; neither graduates Soldier entry: –Do better than might expect (highly motivated) –Rare stars (eg: staff of CGS) –But ‘Regular soldier’ culture

29. What Do We Get As A Result? (3) – LE Officers 6-15 years’ commissioned service. Small number become lt cols Experience and maturity Continuity ‘Highly routine’ staff jobs Top 10-20% are better than the average cadet Lack of initiative and sometimes failure to take responsibility

30. What Do We Get As A Result? (4) – Disadvantages of Graduates Only 3 years as a 2lt/lt Expensive platoon commanders Old Can be arrogant Less military experience when company commanders Many university degrees of no direct, and little indirect, value.

31. Contents Introduction Brief History Who do we want? Who do we get? What do we do with them? What do we get as a result? Summary and Conclusions

32. Summary and Conclusions (1) There are several advantages in having a graduate entry A single, mixed, graduate/non-graduate course works best for us Graduates are not always the best A whole year at Sandhurst?

33. Summary and Conclusions (2) The SNCO structure at Sandhurst has some shortcomings Three years spent at a poor university, or three years spent in a battalion? Sweden needs to consider what would work best in Sweden

34. Questions?