Applying For Sandhurst

I asked the R IRISH, they said 20% of themselves are from the ROI. A good idea would be to buy Callsign Hades by Patrick Bury, he was 100% Irish and went through sandhurst.. after passing, he was working alongside lads from the Shankill area. There's a few chapters on Sandhurst, the rest is a tour as an officer with Ranger Company. Best of luck lad.

feeney92 wrote: »

alri i just had a few questions you lads might be able to help me out with, preferably people who have served n the british army and were in the same shoes as me. im irish and im applying for sandhurst. ive heard a lot of "rumours" that the irish dont get treated very well in the british army, i will be applying for the royal irish and the irish gaurds...just wanted to get a few outside and unbiased opinions. my da thinks its great and obviously my mas tryna discourage me! sound lads!

Just some experience - when I went to the Army Careers Officer in NI, I was discouraged from applying to the Irish Guards and Cav (the RDG)- was asked "are you interested in discussing polo in the mess or have an uncle in the regiment" - if not, probably not your cup of tea is what I was told. Not too sure whether I was deemed "unsuitable" at a glance for such units, but the BA seem to place a greater emphasis on "fitting in" to a regiments ethos etc and the ACA didn't think I should bother.

Was interested in R Irish as well, told give it a go, but keep in mind its a single BN regiment and they can only offer a certain number of places every year. The Rifles and Royal Regiment of Scotland were "pushed" in my direction as being quite similar in "outlook" shall we say for infantry and the royal arty for supporting corps. I never pursued it any further though, so couldn't give you anything further, although they will pay for you to travel over and go and visit units to get a feel for what they are like, if you would like them and they would like you etc. There were also various corps days - such as Firepower Demos by the Infantry on Salisbury Plain etc.

The Army Careers Advisor stated that a high percentage of those he sponsored to the AOSB came from south of the border these days.

Best bet is to go to arrse.co.uk and ask over there and get in touch with the army careers officer in belfast if this is the route you want to go down.

Being Irish makes no difference at all with your training or service. You will be treated exactly the same as everyone else unless you are either weak in certain areas or try and act the big man and know it all. These types get picked on no matter where they are from. Also the British Army sence of humour is unique and everyone will get some stick at some point but its not personal. You will be called Paddy, Mick or even Bogger. If your red headed expect to be called Ginger Mick or similar, if you stand out in any other way you will get called names. Its normal in the BA, you just suck it up and give it back.

Sandhurst also trains officers from many different countries so you would probably have Jamacan, Arab, African and even Asian candidates in your intake. They will get almost exactly the same treatment from the lads so you are not alone.

The Guard's are a unique element of the BA, they still hold onto their imperial regimental traditions which is why you got that responce. To be in the guards you really need to be invited and to have a second income as monthly mess bills can be higher than a LT monthly salary. You can still buy a commision into the guards which makes it very difficult to fail Sandhurst.

There are 2 boardsies that went off to sandhurst last week. I'm sure when they get a second they will PM you

feeney92 wrote: »

alri i just had a few questions you lads might be able to help me out with, preferably people who have served n the british army and were in the same shoes as me. im irish and im applying for sandhurst. ive heard a lot of "rumours" that the irish dont get treated very well in the british army, i will be applying for the royal irish and the irish gaurds...just wanted to get a few outside and unbiased opinions. my da thinks its great and obviously my mas tryna discourage me! sound lads!

Ah, you WILL need to brush up on your, ahem, communication skills - especially in the written English department. Unless, of course, you're just trying to be 'one of the lads' here. The occasional use of capitals - where appropriate, as in Irish, British, I'm - will often work wonders.

In Sandhurst that will NOT work. Remember that many nations send their very best to the RMA - you'll be competing with them every day you are there.

Arrse is a great site for more up to date information, but be prepared to be slaughtered there. Don't worry, it's par for the course. Imagine being Canadian/Irish AND a red-head, AND Jewish AND left-handed. Couldn't be much worse, unless you're from Tallagh, too...

Good luck.

tac

goldie fish wrote: »

...The regiment either wants you or it doesn't.

absolutely, loathe as i am to justify anything that the HD does, the Regiment comes first - anything that doesn't fit into the ethos of a Regiment, and that would therefore affect its moralé and ability to fight, is a bad thing. i watched the same programme as you, and you can imagine my views on some of the sights we both saw and words we both heard, but i'm absolutely certain that the Regiment must be the final arbetor of who is going to fit in and who isn't.

i enjoy jumping on the outrage bus about 'fcuking donkey wallopers' as much as the next man, but the truth is that someone who went to a HD Regiment, but who didn't 'fit in', would not enjoy it, and would become very, very bitter.

fortunately, i went council - where i fit right in!

Lemming wrote: »

...I'm near certain that I watched a documentary on Sandhurst years ago too; back in the mid-90s but for the life of me cannot find head nor tail of it so I'll chalk it all down to having an extremely vivid & inventive imagination as a teenager; that or I got dropped once too often ...

Guns 'n Roses?

it was about girlies at the factory - that may have been the thing that piqued your teenage interest... the bloke in the last series was going to HCav - i've no idea if he eventually went there, or indeed even if he eventually commisioned - not Guards.

personally this is why i'm uncomfortable with the idea of these programmes - this officer is forever going to be 'that chodd off the TV', and he will have found the soldiers he's supposed to lead will have a pre-conceived view of him that will be difficult to shake off. doable in a garrison situation, impossible if he went straight off to Afghanistan and got 'dumped' on a Pln. having seen his 'exploits on TV, they would be straight off the CSM to say 'look, sorry, i'm not going to war with that bloke, he's going to get me killed'. the programme has put this bloke in an impossible situation, and i wouldn't be surprised if he left quite early because his career has been blighted as every unit he walks into is going to say 'oh yeah, that dishonest bloke off the TV'...

fitness is one thing - you can prove that in a morning, but he was cast as both dishonest and useless, and you can't disprove that very quickly.

OS119 wrote: »

the current Commanding Officer of 3(?) PARA is Irish, and a former member of the FCA.

Major General Arthur Denaro is Irish, he commanded an SAS sqn, commanded his Cavalry Regiment in the Gulf War, commanded 5 (Infantry) Division, and was Commandant the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Don't forget Blair Mayne, either.

tac

krissovo wrote: »

To be in the guards you really need to be invited and to have a second income as monthly mess bills can be higher than a LT monthly salary. You can still buy a commision into the guards which makes it very difficult to fail Sandhurst.

Purchase of comissions ended in the early 1870s (can't remember the date).
It's a job the same as anyone else's these days, but there does tend to be a higher proportion of wealthier officers and private school types than in the ranks. As you might expect. Education tends to favour the wealthy a little more than at home.

feeney92 wrote: »

Did u get this info off a reliable source?? Because i was talking to a British Soldier on the website and he says the take on 800 Officers a Year and they take in 3 times Yearly, January May and September

both are true.

we've had very large numbers of good candidates, and we've got three years worth (ish) of candidates stacked up. however, people change their minds, they get injured, they find out about 3 PARA (Mortars) and they run for the hills - so places within those nine or so CC's will come up, some of which will go to people currently placed on later courses, and some will go to new applicants. so while the list is 'full', its always changing, and so its always worth applying.

feeney92 wrote: »

Should I apply just the once or the 3 times yearly do you reckon???

That's not how it works, you only apply once. If you're interested you'll get in touch with the careers office in Belfast and arrange an interview with the Army Careers Advisor (Officer) or simply ACA. He's a retired colonel but it's more a chat about the army, the application process and what arms you think you might like to join. If you're still interested he'll arrange for you to attend the Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) Briefing. Pass that and you'll be invited to attend AOSB Main Board. Pass that and you've earned a place at Sandhurst. Throughout the process you'll also visit branches of the army you're interested in, these are called familiarisation (Fam) visits or potential officer (PO) visits. I haven't explained a lot of these terms or what they entail because frankly you can google them and find out for yourself. Also check out http://www.arrse.co.uk/

feeney92 wrote: »

he says the take on 800 Officers a Year and they take in 3 times Yearly, January May and September

The second part is correct but it's normally around 650 per year and the army is about to downsize by about a fifth so I imagine the amount of places at Sandhurst will decrease accordingly.

The Master of Disaster wrote: »

That's not how it works, you only apply once. If you're interested you'll get in touch with the careers office in Belfast and arrange an interview with the Army Careers Advisor (Officer) or simply ACA. He's a retired colonel but it's more a chat about the army, the application process and what arms you think you might like to join. If you're still interested he'll arrange for you to attend the Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) Briefing. Pass that and you'll be invited to attend AOSB Main Board. Pass that and you've earned a place at Sandhurst. Throughout the process you'll also visit branches of the army you're interested in, these are called familiarisation (Fam) visits or potential officer (PO) visits. I haven't explained a lot of these terms or what they entail because frankly you can google them and find out for yourself. Also check out http://www.arrse.co.uk/


The second part is correct but it's normally around 650 per year and the army is about to downsize by about a fifth so I imagine the amount of places at Sandhurst will decrease accordingly.

What he said. Passing AOSB basically gives you a no obligations "Admit One into Royal Military Academy Sandhurst" ticket from the date you pass, until you reach the upper age limit, provided you can still meet the physical requirements when you enter. So you could pass AOSB in 2012 and go in 2014 or 2015 if your still eligible to go.