Post on 25-Dec-2015
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?
• What do we do with them?
• What do we get as a result?
• Summary and Conclusions
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?
• What do we do with them?
• What do we get as a result?
• Summary and Conclusions
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?
• 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 – 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?
• 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 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?
• 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: – 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 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
• 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?
• 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?