A parade for Territorial Army Officer Cadets receiving their commissions was held on 1 October at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) at which HRH The Earl of Wessex was Inspecting Officer.
An MoD source said this was the first time that a member of the Royal Family had inspected a Territorial Army Commissioning Parade, and comes just months after the Future Reserves 2020 study recommended increasing the resourcing and manning of the Territorial Army, and integrating it more closely with the Regular Army.
Sixty six Officer Cadets paraded of whom 48 were with the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC), the youngest aged 19 and the oldest 35.
Vigilance learnt that the best overall cadet passing out receives The Duke of Westminster Sword, and this went to Officer Cadet James Westlake, 30, of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) which recruits in the City and Greater London area. Born and brought up in New Zealand, James has been in the TA for 2½ years and hopes to go on operations soon. When not in uniform he is an Accounts Director at a creative advertising agency.
Another HAC soldier is Oliver Smiddy, aged 31 from London. He has been in the TA for 6 years. A journalist, he deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as part of the fire support team attached to the Scots Guards.
A member of Cambridge University UOTC, 2Lt Irene Klymchuk, 27, who was born in the Ukraine but moved to New Zealand aged 12 also commissioned last week. She is a member of the TA Pool of Linguists and her ‘day’ job is as an IT Project Manager at Rolls Royce.
Defence Team gathered that the Officer Cadets began their training process 18 to 24 months ago. Some started with little or no military experience, whilst others served in the TA or UOTC for a number of years. The scale of their achievement should not be underestimated.
The TA Commissioning course at RMAS is an arduous and intensive 3 weeks course to assess and prepare the individuals both mentally and physically to become a TA officer. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Surrey is where all Officers in the British Army are trained to take on the responsibilities of leading soldiers