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

Officer Selection, Education and Training in the British Army

The Sandhurst Experience

Lt Col (retd) Jim Storr PhD

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

Contents

• Introduction

• Brief History

• Who do we want?

• Who do we get?




Thank You

Introduction

• Aim

• Approach

• Attitude

• How many Miliradians (mils) in a circle?

2 x π x 1,000 ≈ ?

Contents

• Introduction

• Brief History

• Who do we want?

• Who do we get?




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

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

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

Contents

• Introduction

• Brief History

• Who do we want?

• Who do we get?




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

Who Do We Want? (2)

• Leadership

• Intellect

• Maturity

• Numbers – Per year

– In Army

• Women

Contents

• Introduction

• Brief History

• Who do we want?

• Who do we get?




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

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’

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.

Who Do We Get (4)

• University OTCs: 20-25%

• School cadet corps

• Overall ≈ 40% have some previous military experience

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

Contents

• Introduction

• Brief History

• Who do we want?

• Who do we get?




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 ...

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

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?

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:

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)

Branch Training

• Branch-dependant

• 3 to 8 months

• PQO (‘CMDVLP/N’) officers:

Contents

• Introduction

• Brief History

• Who do we want?

• Who do we get?




What Do We Get As A Result? (1) - Graduates

• ‘Train for certainty, educate for uncertainty’

• Better prepared intellectually – South Georgia

• A graduate career

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

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

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.

Contents

• Introduction

• Brief History

• Who do we want?

• Who do we get?




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?

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

Questions?

Documents

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