A “Sandhurst for soldiers” is to be created, the head of the Army has announced, in what he said will be the biggest shake-up of military leadership in over 200 years.
A new academy for non-commissioned officers (NCOs) will be launched next year to give soldiers an academic understanding of the military, akin to how their commissioned counterparts are trained.
As a result, it will be possible for critical decisions to be made at the lowest level of the military.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff, said the initiative marked “the most significant step in professionalising military leadership since the Royal Military College was founded in 1801”.
Sir Patrick, who will stand down as the head of the Army next year, used his keynote address to the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition in London on Tuesday to set out his vision for the “renewal of the British Army”.
He said the British Army NCO Academy, which will come into force in 2024, will “maximise the potential of every soldier and equip our NCOs with the skills they need to meet the demands of the modern battlefield”.
Within the Army an NCO is a senior soldier, who can rise to the highest rank of Warrant Officer Class 1, typically reached after 18 years of service.
They are junior to officers, who have a commission, a formal document of appointment signed by the monarch that affords them a position of authority.
Senior defence sources close to Sir Patrick told The Telegraph that the new “Sandhurst for soldiers” will be part of “a cultural change to how we train NCOs”.
“We want to increase the professionalism of our NCO cadre because the battlespace is becoming more complex and we need to devolve command and responsibility to the lowest levels for people to make huge decisions, because these can’t always be made by officers,” they said.
“These need to be made on the ground, quickly. We need to ensure they are trained, equipped and prepared to the required level.”
The sources added that the way officers and soldiers are currently trained means a greater focus is on the academic education of officers.
