There is the usual air of excitement at the Academy this week - with the Seniors commissioning on Friday.  Most will fit in a short bit of leave before heading off on their first attachment followed by their Troop or Platoon Commanders Course.  The Juniors are preparing to head off on their week of Adventurous Training which ranges from Mountain Climbing to Potholing but all will return with a qualification in that sport to then hopefully use to take their soldiers away.  The Intermediate OCdts will head off at the weekend on their own Expeditions - organised entirely by themselves, which include countries in 5 different continents.

The Academy also has a new Guardroom which is situated nearly opposite the swimming pool.  The old Guardroom is, as I type, being pulled down and the area will be grassed over.

We must also apologise for this Newsletter being slightly late in the month - we had new overhead lighting put into our office last week and were therefore 'pushed out' - but it does now mean that we can see our computer screens past 1530hrs!

Leadership Encounter Evening - Tues 5 June

We are extremely pleased to announce that the Global Chief Executive Officer of Orange, Sanjiv Ahuja, will be coming to speak to us for our next Leadership Encounter Evening on Tues 5 June.  Sanjiv is a very well known figure in the business world and has lectured widely about Civilian Leadership.  Please click >>here to sign up.

Leadership Encounter Evening - Tuesday 3 April

We all had a fantastic night last Tuesday - Major General John Cooper gave us a very candid talk on what he terms as leadership 'complexities' both in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We all learnt some extremely interesting facts and now feel more aware of what some of the difficulties are that our Military Commanders of all ranks and ages face on operational tours having to cope amongst many other things with different cultures, religions and backgrounds.  Because of the popularity of the event we held the drinks and curry in the Indian Army Memorial Room which certainly seemed to go down well with our members - maybe we will move there permanently!

Please find below the list of all the Summer Term Commissioning Course speakers - all members and their guests are very welcome to attend:

Voice of Experience Lecture - 14 May - General Sir Redmond Watt KCVO CBE will be coming to speak to the Senior OCdts on Monday 14 May at 1800hrs in Churchill Hall.  If you would like to attend this lecture please email Jules on jules.mccoll@sandhurstfoundation.org. 

Challenges of Civilian Leadership I - 15 May - Oliver Shepard will be speaking to the Intermdiate OCdts on Tues 15 May at 1800hrs in Churchill Hall.  If you would like to attend this lecture please email Jules on jules.mccoll@sandhurstfoundation.org.

Kermit Roosevelt Lecture - 22 May.   General Richard Cody, Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army will be coming to talk at this most prestigious lecture.  The event will take place in Churchill Hall and all members are welcome to attend please email Jules on jules.mccoll@sandhurstfoundation.org.

Stress in Combat - 31 May.  Major Wight-Boycott will be speaking to the Intermediates on Thurs 31 May at 1800hrs in Churchill Hall. If you would like to attend this lecture please email Jules on jules.mccoll@sandhurstfoundationi.org.

Challenges of Civilian Leadership II - 11 June.  John Steele will be talking to the Seniors on Mon 11 June at 1800hrs in Churchill Hall.  If you would like to attend this lecture please email Jules on jules.mccoll@sandhurstfoundation.org.

Moral Dimension of Leadership - 26 June.  Kate Allen will be talking to the Intermediate OCdts on Tues 26 Jun at 1800hrs in Churchill Hall.  If you would like to attend this lecture please email Jules on jules.mccoll@sandhurstfoundation.org

Voice of Experience - Do the Tools do the Job? - 23 July.  Major Jon Swift RRF will be talking to the Juniors on Mon 23 July at 1600hrs in Churchill Hall.  If you would like to attend this lecture please email Jules on jules.mccoll@sandhurstfoundation.org.

EVENTS AT RMAS

RMAS Show Jumping Competition - 26 May.  The Show Jumping Competition will be on Saturday 26 May starting at 1000hrs.  All are welcome to attend - please let the Foundation know.

Heritage Day.  Please note that Heritage Day will be on Sunday 17 June - all members and their guests are very welcome to attend.

World Pace Sticking Competition - 29 June.  The World Pace Sticking Competition will be taking place at the Academy on Friday 29 June, starting at 1000hrs.  There will be a Food Tent and a Bar available.  Please inform the Foundation if you would like to attend

Shakespeare by The Lake - 6 July.  This year the performance will be 'As You Like It'.  The gates will open at 1700hrs and the performance will begin at 1930hrs.   Please bring your own picnic.  Tickets are £15 for adults and £10 for children.  There are only 350 tickets on sale.  Tickets can be purchased from Major Lizie James-Park by calling on 01276 412116 or email so2g1@rmas.mod.uk.

Charity Polo Day - 12 July.  The RMAS Charity Polo Day will be held on Thursday 12 July.  The first match will begin at 1400hrs - all members and their guests are welcome to attend please let Jules know.

Foundation Dinner Night - 28 July

This year's Foundation Dinner Night will be held on Saturday 28 July.  Last year proved to be a great success and this year we would like to see an increase in numbers.  The four course meal will be held in the Indian Army Memorial Room.  The Academy Band will be playing during the event and a raffle will aslo be held (the after dinner speaker will be announced soon).  The dress will be black tie.  Tables seat 10 so please feel welcome to invite as many guests as you like.  Tickets are £50 each.  Accommodation can be arrranged at the Academy.  Tours for guests can also be arranged on the Saturday or Sunday.  All guests are welcome to attend Chapel on sunday morning - so why not make a weekend of it.  To attend the Dinner Night please click >>here.

Members Book Reviews.  We have a book written by Donald E Vandergriff called Raising The Bar.  The book is about 'Creating and Nurturing Adaptability to Deal with the Changing Face of War'.  Major Donald Vandergriff, US Army, retired in 2005 following 24 years of active duty as an enlisted Marine and Army Officer.  Vandergriff is a recognised authority on the US Army personnel system, Army culture, leadership development, soldier training and, in the early 21st century, the emergence of asymmetric warfare, aslo known as 4th generation warfare.  The US Army Capabilities Integration Center hired Vandergriff to contribute toward the evolution of Army leader development programs and to reccomend changes that will prepare the Army's leadersa nd soldiers for the future. I would very much like one of our members to write a review on it - please let me know if you would be willing to and I will put a copy in the post to you.  The review will go into the next edition of the Journal.

Articles/Pictures for next Wishstream/Journal.  We have already received several articles from members for inclusion in the next edition and are always keen to receive more.  We are happy to accept articles on any issues - please either email or post them to Jules.  We are also keen to receive any photos that you might have from either your time here at the Academy or whilst serving.  Please ensure that the names and occasion are written on the back of each photo and these will be returned to the sender.

FORCES PENSION SOCIETY - We have been asked by Malcolm Farrow, Assistant General Secretary to the Forces Pension Society, that if any of our members who are members of the Forces Pension Society could please make sure that they have your latest email address in order to update their database.

Zambezi Promotion - One of our members, Iain Moodie, would like to recommend the Zambezi Safari Travel and Safari Company (Zamsaf).  He has used Zamsaf twice to Zimbabwe where they provided an honest, very competitive service with a thorough knowledge of Africa.  They are a company made up of Africans with a number of ex-professional safari guides in their employ.  Unlike other safari companies that Iain looked at for his honeymoon, Zamsaf took his ideas, confirmed the feasability/quality and provided him with a very competitive price for his honeymoon.  Their knowledge was exceptional and they delivered a very personal service.  Please do take a look at their website www.zambezi.co.uk  Zamsaf have offered all our members a 5% discount to the land cost on any safari, honeymoon or trip to Africa.

2007 Foundation Programme - please click >>here to view the programme for 2007 - this is constantly updated with new events.

The Sandhurst Shop  - 'Serve to Lead' Boxers, Socks and Ties - all for sale.  For further details on prices and to order please click >>here.  We now have the Sandhurst Foundation cufflinks in stock. To order please click above.

Jules McColl
Sandhurst Foundation Secretary