How often do cadets get breaks from their course at Sandhurst?

Answer 1

The British Army's Commissioning Course at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst lasts 44 weeks: 3 terms each 14 weeks long, plus a couple of "spare" weeks for admin/ contingencies etc..

Sandhurst is an officer training school, not a military university. Most cadets (90%) have been to university before arriving at Sandhurst, & the purpose of the Academy is to prepare potential officers to command/ lead soldiers. It's an intensive course which uses Infantry platoon command/ leadership as the basic medium for teaching potential officers the essentials of the profession of arms. There is little time for breaks from training: essentially, once an Officer Cadet is "in the pipeline" s/he has very limited "time out" of the system until the end of the course.

During Term 1 Officer Cadets never really leave the Academy, except on training exercises. The first 5 weeks are particularly intense - a highly compressed/ pressurised introduction covering everything soldier recruits cover in 14 weeks of basic training (The "Common Military Syllabus - Recruit"): it's tough, & in order to get everything done Officer Cadets get minimal sleep. The underlying principle is that you can't be a good "Chief" until you know how "the Indians" feel!

Weeks 1-5 are designed to inculcate basic attitudes/ values, & weed out those who are poorly motivated and/ or lacking the requisite guts & drive, but who managed to pass the Army Officer Selection Board. Generally AOSB does a good job selecting the right people, but no system is perfect, & inevitably there are always a few who really can't "cut it", or who decide that the Army life is not, after all, for them. Usually cadets are allowed out of the Academy for the weekend after completion of week 5. The rest of Term 1 focuses on teaching/ developing essential military skills (eg weapon training, navigation, fieldcraft, signalling, first aid etc.), plus principles & practice of leadership.

Term 2 is a bit more relaxed: cadets don't have to move "at the double" at all times, & the training focuses on leadership, tactics, war studies, communications etc more than just endless PT, drill, inspections, & basic soldiering skills. Nevertheless, the typical working day is around 16 hours, & necessary preparation time eats into the remaining 8 hours! However, when not required for training (ie a few weekends from Saturday lunchtime until Sunday evening) cadets may be allowed to leave the Academy - unless, of course, under some disciplinary sanction, & if not required for a Sunday "Church Parade".

Term 3 is "synoptic" - the focus is on the broader strategic/ political context of military operations, & on drawing together all the "threads" of training from Terms 1 & 2 into a coherent whole related to current operational requirements.

During Term 3 cadets may leave the Academy at weekends unless required for training: there are, however, many exercises during the final term which run over weekends, so such opportunities are limited!

In reality, the Commissioning Course is so intense/ time consuming that few cadets have the opportunity to take more than a few (3-4 maybe) overnight Saturday/ Sunday breaks away from the Academy during the entire course.

There are two 4 week leave periods after Terms 1 & 2. However, it is important to appreciate that Officer Cadets are expected to spend much of these "leave" periods participating in "Adventure training"/ undertaking expeditions (usually abroad) which they're expected to organise themselves. Such activities must be approved by the Academy, fully documented etc, & failure to complete them means failure - no commission. In the British Army training system the preparation, planning, & completion of such "independent" activities is regarded as a vital part of the process of developing "officership".

After commissioning, "newly minted" 2nd Lts will probably get 10-14 days leave, after which they report for specialised training for whichever arm or service they've commissioned into - eg Infantry officers must complete the 12 week "Platoon Commanders' Battle Course" at the Infantry School.