Today on the parade square in front of Old College, Officer Cadets from the Intermediate Term are put through their paces in a Drill Competition.

As they come to the end of their second term here at the Royal Military Academy, these Officer Cadets have progressed beyond the basic level of drill training and expectations are high.

This Drill Competition is an excellent opportunity for Officer Cadets to demonstrate their skills, discipline and dedication they have acquired during their time here at the Academy. It also offers an opportunity to build camaraderie and highlights the need for teamwork.

All six platoons undertake the same sequence of inspection, static and marching drill. This not only confirms that the cadets have absorbed the instruction but prepares them for taking part in the Sovereign’s Parade in two weeks’ time.

The platoon efforts are marked by Academy staff with the assistance of an outside judge from the Household Division.

Drill is a fundamental part of an Officer Cadet’s time here at the Royal Military Academy. Despite the memories of many of our alumni who recollect that they spend most of the course on the drill square only some 5% of the current programme is devoted to drill.

Officer Cadet Donner (Borneo Company – 2016) stated

“Drill is an essential part of Sandhurst Life and accompanies every Officer Cadet throughout the Commissioning Course. Apart from the daily marching around the camp, there are some special drill events such as “Passing off the Square” in Junior Term, the Drill Competition in the Intermediate term or the Sovereign’s Parades at the end of each term. The way to a good standard is a long and hard one, accompanied by lots of ‘encouragement from the platoon Colour Sergeant to keep motivation high.”

The marks from today go towards the competition to find the Sovereign’s Platoon which is announced towards the end of the senior term.

The competition is also part of the build up for the high profile Sovereign’s Parade on Friday 11th August when the Intermediate term will form the centre ranks of the parade.

If you interested in finding out more about drill there is a section in the Tradition of Leadership book which is available to buy throught the Sandhurst trust Shop - shop.sandhursttrust.org