Transcript No Slide Title

Officer Selection, Education and
Training in the British Army
The Sandhurst Experience
Lt Col (retd) Jim Storr PhD
Contents
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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
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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
Thank You
Introduction
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Aim
Approach
Attitude
How many Miliradians (mils) in a circle?
2 x π x 1,000 ≈ ?
Contents
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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
Brief History (1)
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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
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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)
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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
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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
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
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Up to 37 years (+)
Full pension at age 55
• LE Officers
• TA Officers
Who Do We Want? (2)
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Leadership
Intellect
Maturity
Numbers
– Per year
– In Army
• Women
Contents
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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
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 lowquality 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
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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
What Do We Do With Them?
• Single commissioning course for almost
all Regular Army direct entrants (not LE)
• 12 months. Mixture of:
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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
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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
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
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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
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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
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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
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?