During Academy recess, with the staff and cadets enjoying a well-earned rest, the Sandhurst Trust team have been busy running events in Old College including tours and corporate events.

During the first week of September, we were pleased to host Connections UK who held a three day War Gaming Conference in Old College and Woolwich Hall. This event was especially important as the first face-to-face conference after two years of scaled-down, remote events. The event saw a mix of military wargame users; military wargaming practitioners (designers and analysts); and academics. For the uninitiated, wargaming conjures up images of model soldiers being moved across a board. However, the ‘games’ were more scenario or strategic planning with all possible permutations of a given situation being modelled.

The theme of this year’s conference was "bringing on the next generation, and helping practitioners cross the ‘practitioner desert’" and saw 240 delegates from as far afield as Japan and Canada meet and share three incredible days at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. 

The timing of the conference dovetails with the initiative by the Secretary of State for Defence to embed wargaming throughout the UK Ministry of Defence; increasing capacity and capability. This initiative reflects similar efforts around the world, and the increasing adoption of wargaming and serious gaming techniques across governments (in NATO and in non-defence contexts).

Varied Programme of Seminars

In addition to  practical seminars that offered valuable insights and panel discussions that fostered engaging debates there were hand-on workshops to enhance skills, and gameplay sessions to add an element of fun and interaction.

During the evening, delegates were provided with the opportunity to delve into the rich military history of the Academy and its alumni with a Sandhurst Trust tour led by our director.

The conference ended with a keynote speech by Andrew Sharpe, Director CHACR entitled “ Wargaming lessons arising from contemporary operations”

What is War gaming?

Wargaming, often associated with military simulations, extends far beyond warfare scenarios.  It encompasses a diverse range of fields, including business strategy, geopolitics, historical analysis and more.  At its core, wargaming involves the creation of complex scenarios, the formulation of strategies , and the testing of hypotheses in a controlled, yet dynamic, environment.

About Connections UK 

Connection UK’s mission is to advance and sustain the art, science and application of wargaming with the aim to help bring together two main audiences:

• People that have something to say about wargaming in order to help build / generate / broaden the community.
• People that want to use wargaming to help understanding in order to find out if it is appropriate for their needs.

Corporate Bookings

Rooms within the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst are bookable via the Sandhurst Trust for an array of corporate functions including; conferences, board meetings, workshops and private dinners.

Visit our website to discover the array of facilities on offer here at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst or to discuss booking your next event please contact Debi on events@sandhursttrust.org.

Please note that due to the unique environment, history and security of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, we are a very popular choice for events.

To avoid disappointment, we suggest working on the following lead times:

• Large events over 100 – 6 months notice
• Smaller events up to 50 - 3 months notice