Officer Training

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) Regular Commissioning Course is 44 weeks long and spit across 3 terms. Junior Term, Intermediate Term and Senior Term.

Training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst lasts for 44 weeks, broken down into three 14-week terms. Between each term, there are adventurous training exercises and 2-3 weeks of leave.

• Term One (Junior) focuses on basic military skills, fitness and decision making.
• Term two (Intermediate) continues the development of leadership skills and has a major academic component. Officer cadets select their future corps or regiment at this stage.
• Term Three (Senior) puts the Officer Cadet's new skills into practice on complex and demanding training exercises in the UK and overseas.

The Commissioning Course is accredited by various academic and professional institutions.

Junior Term (Accommodated in Old College):

• Basic Soldiering Skills
• Weapon Handling
• Navigation & Map Reading
• Living in the field
• Sports
• Drill – Week 5 Passing off the Square
• Battlefield Casualty Drills
• ALERT
• Exercise Longreach
• Tactical Exercise

Intermediate Term (Accommodated in New College):

• Live Firing Ranges
• Artillery Target Training (Virtual Battle Suite)
• Battle Camp
• Intro to CBRN
• Log Race
• Defence Exercise
• Battle field Exercise (Normandy Scholar)
• Role Fitness Test
• Inter Collegiate Games / Tri Partite Games
• Introduction to sword drill
• Sports
• Bayonette Fighting
• Obstacle Course
• Navigation

Senior Term (Accommodated in New College):

• Tailors Day
• Urban Operations
• Grenade Weapon Handling Test
• Endurance Event
• Exercise Dynamic Understand
• Stabilisation Exercise
• Sports
• War gaming
• Navigation Exercise
• Inter Platoon sport competition
• Exercise Dynamic Victory
• Regimental visits
• Regimental Selection Boards
• Commissioning Parade

The course (Commissioning Course Short) takes eight weeks to complete and is based directly on the Regular Commissioning Course. It is split equally into four modules. It is an intense, challenging course designed to teach the fundamentals of soldiering and develop Officer Cadets as leaders.

Someone who holds an Army Reserve commission will have learned a wide range of valuable leadership and managerial skills that can also be used in the civilian workplace. For that reason, many employers actively support employees who wish to become Army Reserve Officers.

Reservist Officer Cadets (OCdts) can choose to obtain modules independently such as one per year or combine modules to fit their availability for example completing all the modules in one continuous 8 week block. The Modules run each term alongside the Regular Commissioning Course with an additional 1 week range module available post commissioning. OCdts attending the CCS will be accommodated in Victory College.

Module A:

• Navigation
• Weapon Handling
• How to admin in the field
• Tactical Exercise A

Module B:

• 25m Ranges
• Tactical Exercise B

Module C:

• Role Fitness Test
• Communications and Applied Behavioural Sciences 
• Tactical Exercise C 

Module D:

• Tactical Exercise D
• Commissioning Parade 

Module E:

• Qualification

The Professionally Qualified Officer (PQO) course at Sandhurst is for new British Army Officers who hold professional qualifications, such as doctors, vets, lawyers, dentists, nurses, physiotherapists and chaplains. The course is designed to familiarise PQOs with military life and to prepare them for operational deployment.

The course (Commissioning Course Short) takes eight weeks to complete and is based directly on the Regular Commissioning Course. The focus is on officership, command and leadership, and the syllabus includes field training, physical training, weapons training and, of course, drill. When not out in the field PQOs will find themselves in the classroom, learning, for example, about global security, aspects of leadership psychology and the history of warfare.

Module A:

• Navigation
• Weapon Handling
• How to admin in the field
• Tactical Exercise A

Module B:

• 25m Ranges
• Tactical Exercise B

Module C:

• Role Fitness Test
• Communications and Applied Behavioural Sciences
• Tactical Exercise C 

Module D:

• Tactical Exercise D
• CCS Commissioning Parade 

Module E:

• Range Safety Qualification

With an illustrious history stretching back more than 200 years, it has moulded generals, heads of state and captains of industry – many of whom are drawn from foreign military organisations who want their officers to be the best.

The academy continues to be a global centre of excellence for leadership to this day and has in recent times trained officers from over 90 different countries.

RMAS welcomes over 50 International Officer Cadets per term to attend either the Regular Commissioning Course or the Commissioning Course Short. 

Having completed a long career working up through the ranks senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs) can be recommended for promotion. 

If successfully selected they will attend RMAS to complete the 4 week Late Entry Commissioning Course (LEOC).