SANDHURST 2018 COMPETITION MANUAL HEADQUARTERS Department Of Military Instruction United States Corps of Cadets West Point, NY 10996 8 Jan 2018 1. Overview a. Sandhurst Competition Purpose: To deliver the world s premier international academy military skills competition to inspire Cadets to achieve military excellence in their chosen profession through a rigorous, physical, mental, and leadership challenge that is reflective of combat operations in terms of tempo and tasks. b. General. In 1967, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) presented USMA with a British Officer s sword. The intent was for the sword to be the prize for a competition, the aim of which was to promote military excellence among the Corps of Cadets. The original mission 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. The competition has evolved to incorporate teams from sister academies, ROTC, USMMA and foreign academies. The Sandhurst 2018 Competition will be conducted at West Point 13-14 APR 18. The competition is sponsored by the Department of Military Instruction (DMI). Captain Philip Anderson is the Officer in Charge (OIC) responsible for the event. The Commandant of The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst will be invited as the principal guest to view the competition and assist in the presentation of the awards. c. Competitors: The following have been invited to compete in the Sandhurst 2018 Competition: Ser. Academy Country Number of Squads 1 United States Military Academy USA 38 2 United States Naval Academy USA 1 3 United States Air Force Academy USA 1 4 United States Coast Guard Academy USA 1 5 United States Military Academy Preparatory School USA 1 6 Reserve Officer Training Corps USA 8 7 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst UK 2 8 Royal Military College (Canada) Canada 1 9 Royal Military College, Duntroon Australia 1 10 Offizierschule des Heeres Germany 1 11 Korean Military Academy Republic of Korea 1 12 Military Academy of Modena Italy 1 13 National Defense Academy of Latvia Latvia 1 14 Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras Brazil 1 15 Mexican Military Academy Mexico 1 16 National Defense Academy of Japan Japan 1 17 Escuela Militar de Cadetes General José María Córdova Columbia 1 18 Tadeusz Kościuszko Land Forces Military Academy Poland 1 19 Escuela Militar Chile 1 1
d. Squad Composition. a) Squads must include at least two male and two female members. The squad must consist of eleven members; 9x Primary 2x Alternates. b) Alternates will run the entire competition with their squad, each event must be completed with a nine person squad with at least one male and one female member. The Squad Leader can chose to substitute squad members at each event. c) All cadets must volunteer to take part in Sandhurst 2018. There are no restrictions on the number of times a cadet can compete during their time at their respective academy. d) There is no age limit on squad members. e) If a squad member arrives at the competition injured they will not be able to take part in the competition. 2. Execution. The competition will be conducted in four phases: a. Phase 1: External Team Recon, 01 1000 FEB 2018 1600 2 FEB 2018. All teams external to USMA are invited to attend this. Key tasks are administrative coordination, training area reconnaissance, accommodation reconnaissance and meeting USMA liaison officers. b. Phase 2: External Team Training Week, 8-12 APR 2018. This is divided into three sub phases: a) Phase 2a: External Team Arrival, 8 APR 2018. Key tasks are the successful link up with the external teams and their liaison officers. b) Phase 2b: Modern War Institute Conference, 9 APR 2018: The key task is participating in the conference Training to Win Tomorrows Wars. c) Phase 2c: External Team Training, 10-12 APR 2018. Key tasks are to ensure that external teams receive medical training, equipment familiarization, grouping and zeroing of weapons and weapons training. c. Phase 3: Competition, 13-14 APR 2018. The key task is the successful competition of the Sandhurst Competition by all teams. d. Phase 4: Award Ceremony & Equipment Return, 14-15 APR 2018. This is divided into two sub phases: 2
a) Phase 4a: 14 APR 2018. The key tasks is the competition dinner and presentation of the awards. b) Phase 4b: NLT 15 APR 2018. All equipment returned to liaison officers. 3. Coordinating Instructions. a. Timings. Ser. Time & Date Phase Event Remarks 1 01 1000 FEB 18 1 External Team Recon Starts 2 01 1150 FEB 18 1 External Teams meet Liaison Officers 3 02 1600 FEB 18 1 External Team Recon Ends 4 05 FEB 18 1 External Team Supply Request Submitted To Liaison Officers 5 08 1000-1800 APR 18 2a External Teams Arrive USMA 6 09 APR 18 2b MWI Conference 7 10 APR 18 2c External Team Training Starts 8 10 1210 APR 18 2c Order of Movement Draw Mess Hall 9 12 APR 18 2c External Team Training Finishes 10 12 1900 APR 18 2c Sandhurst Competition OPORD delivered. Sandhurst OIC 11 13 0600 APR 18 3 Competition Starts 12 13 0830-1000 APR 18 3 Distinguished Visitors Breakfast USMA 13 14 1730 APR 18 3 Competition Finishes 14 14 1830 APR 18 4 Competitors Dinner & Awards Ceremony b) Phase FRAGORDs. Each phase will receive a FRAGORD that will be released on the Sandhurst Competition Website: http://www.usma.edu/dmi/sitepages/sandhurst%20competition.aspx c) Language. English will be used for all instructions and correspondence. Translators are permitted throughout the competition for external teams whose country s language is not English. This team member will be additional to the 11 person squad and will run with the team, although will not assist in any other way other than in translation. All events will have a written order in English explaining the rules, requirements and situation for the event. An example is included in Training Guidance. d) Sandhurst Team Liaisons. External teams will be assigned Liaisons Officers. Teams will meet their liaisons during the external team recon on 1-2 FEB 2018. Liaisons will be authorized to submit support requests or requests for information on the behalf of the teams they are assigned. e) Public Relations. Teams are encouraged to bring spectators and distinguished visitors to observe the competition. All international teams must submit a foreign visitor request through their embassy in order to gain access to USMA. During the competition the primary source of information will be the Sandhurst Operations Centre, located in Eisenhower Hall. This will offer live updates on all squad s locations and advice on how 3
best to locate a site or team. There are two types of sites in the competition, restricted, and unrestricted. a. Restricted: Only personnel cleared through the Sandhurst Operations Centre will be allowed to access these sites. Authorized personnel include; team managers and distinguished visitors. b. Unrestricted: All personnel may visit these areas. Personnel must receive a safety brief at the Sandhurst Operations Centre before going to view the competition. All personnel must stay in the designated viewing areas. f) Media. A media plan will be produced by USMA HQ that will include promotion of the event. External Teams are not to invite their own media to the competition without USMA approval. USMA will not permit any external media at the event but will promulgate footage recorded during the execution of the competition. Any further questions can be directed to the Sandhurst OIC. g) Protocol Officer/ Escorts. All distinguished visitors will be hosted by USMA Protocol and escorted by USMA personnel. Teams who are interested in VIPs attending the competition are to confirm attendance to Sandhurst OIC. 4. Sustainment. a. Feeding & Accommodation. All external team squad members will be fed and accommodated by USMA. This does not include team managers and distinguished visitors who will need to make their own arrangements. Nearby accommodation can be booked at: a. Team Managers & Support Staff: 1) https://www.ihg.com/armyhotels/hotels/us/en/westpoint/zywpc/hoteldetail 2) https://www.ihg.com/armyhotels/hotels/us/en/westpoint/zywpa/hoteldetail b. Distinguished Visitors accommodation is available upon request through USMA Protocol. The costs will not be met by USMA. b. Transport. USMA will not provide transport to West Point or around the competition. Teams are strongly encouraged to hire a vehicle that is sufficient to transport their entire team. Transport will be required for all phases, including the External Team Recon. c. Weapons and ammunition. International Teams are allowed to bring their own weapons systems to the USMA for the competition. Teams bringing their own ammunition because of a requirement for different grade or caliber will bring the same 4
quantity to allow for the External Training Week and execution of the competition. International Teams will coordinate the movement of weapons systems and ammunition to the USMA through their embassy. Weapons systems employed may not exceed 5.56mm caliber or not exceed the Surface Danger Zone of the NATO 5.56mm round s ballistic performance in order to prevent the risk of fratricide. If teams encounter issues with the transportation of weapons then the USMA will make available M4s for visiting teams. Weapons used during the competition are to be equipped with iron sights. No team will be able to start the competition or the marksmanship competition with weapons equipped with any form of optical sight including non-magnifying or red-dot sights. d. Airports. Airports west of the Hudson River (Newark Liberty (EWR) and Stewart Newburgh (SWF) provide the easiest access to West Point. Access to West Point is challenging when arriving at airports east of the Hudson River (La Guardia and John F Kennedy). 5. Command & Signal a. TOC. An Operations Center will be established at Eisenhower Hall in the USMA Cantonment Area. This site will be operational from 13 0530 APR 18 until 14 1830 APR 18. The TOC will have a scoring center responsible for compiling the results. b. Radio. Frequencies and call-signs will be issued during the external teams training week. c. Real Time Tracking. Each Squad will be issued with a Solider Monitoring System for real time tracking in the TOC. One member of the squad is to wear this and ensure it is functional at all times. d. Information Management. The central point for official information about the Sandhurst Competition is located at: http://www.usma.edu/dmi/sitepages/sandhurst%20competition.aspx 5