After commissioning from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, officers attend the Platoon Commanders' Battle Course in the Infantry School in Brecon, Wales. This equips them with the skills necessary to command a platoon on operations.

An officer's first appointment will be as a platoon commander in the battalion. This will either be in Brunei or in Shorncliffe, Kent.  In Brunei the main training focus is on jungle warfare as part of the British Army's only in role jungle trained battalion.

The platoon commander will be spent long periods in the jungle, honing skills such as tracking, ambush and patrolling, and getting to know his men.  However there is also plenty of time for sport, and many other activities on offer in South East Asia. There will also be a spell in Nepal learning the language under the keen tutelage of the Gurkha Education staff.

After the initial period as a platoon commander, officers will normally have a short spell away from the battalion, either with a British Regiment, in Nepal, or potentially with Special Forces. This is to broaden experience and gain an understanding of the wider Army.

This is normally followed by a period in command of a specialist platoon within the battalion, in roles such as reconnaissance, mortars or anti tanks. The next step then takes the officer up a level of responsibility, normally as either operations officer or adjutant where he will be responsible for much of the coordination of the key activities undertaken by the battalion, both at home and on operations.