History of the Sandhurst Competition

In 1967, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst presented West Point with a sword. It was to be the prize for a competition, the aim of which was to promote military excellence among the Corps as a whole. The original purpose statement read as follows - "To provide the Corps of Cadets with a challenging and rewarding regimental skills competition, which will enhance professional development and military excellence in selected soldier skills."

Between 1967 and 1975 the criteria were similar to those for the current Superintendent's Award, that is; Corps Squad participation, intramurals, physical fitness tests, drill and ceremonies and Cadet Brigade Company evaluations.

In 1975 the then Commandant, BG Philip R. Feir and the British Exchange Officer, Major Robin Hodges studied the criteria and determined that they were inappropriate. They felt that the criteria fell short of the original intent of the award which was to increase 'military excellence in the field'. More specifically they recommended that the format be changed significantly to test the cadets ability to 'move, shoot and communicate' stressing teamwork among the classes as a fundamental and essential element in the competition. Thus it was recommended to the Superintendent, and subsequently approved by him, that a competition be set up to be conducted in the spring during drill and intramural time to include the

All 36 companies provided five four-man patrols and one alternate patrol per company, with all four classes represented in each patrol. Over 864 cadets competed each year, or 20% of the Corps. The competition was conducted at Camp Buckner during 20 weekdays in April. The logistical problems of the program led to calls to move it to Summer Training and so in 1981 a major placement study took place. It concluded that the advantages of conducting it in the spring outweighted the disadvantages and also recommended that it should take place at West Point. So in 1982 the competition was run in two phases, again in April, in roughly the same format, including a navigation course on one day, set by the orienteering club, and firing the M16 sub-caliber device in the indoor range.