Paul Nanson - Stand Up Straight: 10 Life Lessons from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

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First published in the United Kingdom by Century in 2019

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ISBN 9781473576858

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The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (. Officers who have graduated from Sandhurst include: Sir Antony Beevor, James Blunt, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Michael Morpurgo, astronaut Tim Peake CMG, Heather Stanning, Nicola Wetherill, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Other nations choose to send their personnel to Sandhurst for officer training because it is recognised as a world-leading military training academy.

Paul Nanson is a British Army officer who serves as Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and General Officer Commanding Recruiting and Initial Training Command. During more than thirty years in the British Army, he has served in The Troubles, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, the Iraq War, and the war in Afghanistan, which saw him appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for distinguished services. In his tenure at Sandhurst, he has established the Centre for Army Leadership, one of the worlds premier centres for army military leadership.

To all the soldiers who we, as officers, are privileged to serve.

I look at my watch for the fifteenth time in as many minutes. Still one hour and a half to go The flashes in the distance show where our artillery is hard at work preparing for the upcoming attack. They illuminate the vehicles either side of my own, Scimitar and Spartan reconnaissance tanks waiting patiently for the order to advance. We are in Forming Up Place Green on the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Its February 1991, and I am in charge of a platoon of twenty-four men.

Forming Up Place (FUP) Green marks for us the beginning of the ground offensive stage of Operation Granby, more commonly known by its US title, Desert Storm, the operation to liberate Kuwait. The journey to the FUP has involved weeks of preparation and training. A long and complicated move from our base in Germany, through staging posts in the Saudi desert, to training areas and finally through the American forces who had carved a way through the enemys minefields for us. The FUP marks the place from which we will launch our advance towards our first objective, Brass, an Iraqi artillery position. My platoon is the reconnaissance platoon, tasked with leading the battlegroup comprised of various units from our own battalion and other regiments and finding the enemys positions.

Another look at my watch and still an hour to go. Time to think as I listen to the chatter of the two soldiers who share my tank. Time to think and time to fear. Fear of the unknown, of the unexpected, and fear of failure. What happens if I am the one who, when the time comes, lets the rest down? What if I fail as a leader? This is the first time any of the platoon has been in combat and I am their 25-year-old leader. Leadership has suddenly become very real; a poor judgement or a wrong decision from me and my men might die.

The radio suddenly comes alive and Lance Corporal Bruton looks across at me and says, Time to go, boss. I give the order to advance on the platoon radio and, as twelve tanks start to move slowly out into the desert, the fear fades away and is replaced with a quiet confidence, born of belief in those men around me, in those who lead me and in my own capability. I wont fail because I have been trained by the best and at the best leadership academy in the world.

Camberley is a long way from the Iraqi desert. Its actually quite easy to miss the Academy as you drive down the A30 through the town centre. The only give-away is the stone gatehouse set back from the road. Once through it, you are into acres of parkland and lakes, dominated by a series of stately buildings, the grandest of which is Old College with its iconic pillars and parade square.

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) came into being because British Army officers were failing. Prior to the nineteenth century, if you had the requisite money, the connections or the right background, you could simply buy rank, and command and lead men. One very far-sighted officer, General Le Marchant, decided the British Army needed to properly train and educate young men to lead, so he built the RMAS. Sadly, he never saw it opened he was killed in the battle of Salamanca but since 1812, Sandhurst has been developing world-class leaders, and to this day possesses something of a mystique around the world. Its often asked how we create such fine leaders out of young women and men, some as young as nineteen years old, so that they are capable of making difficult and mature decisions in some of lifes most demanding environments.

By the time complete their training, and graduate or pass out by marching up those famous Old College steps, they have attained a confidence that radiates from their very being. A sense of quiet self-belief that they could be airdropped anywhere in the world and they would quickly learn what was happening on the ground, problem-solve, make informed decisions, and deal with almost any situation thrown at them.

Our graduates have gone on to be world leaders in a whole host of fields, but they all share an affinity their world-class Sandhurst training. Notable British Sandhurst alumni include: Sir Antony Beevor, James Blunt, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Michael Morpurgo, Tim Peake CMG, Heather Stanning, Nicola Wetherill, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The creator of James Bond, author Ian Fleming, also attended but did not complete his Commissioning Course.