4 months later
Jim was throttling down the motorway in his new Skoda Monte Carlo that his father, Mark had bought him for his achievements in the AOSB six months previously. The Skoda was a small car, but boy did it have a lot of punch with the clutch. Jim noticed the familiar word 'Sandhurst' written on an overhead billboard that stretched over the motorway as if it was a bridge; he knew he was close.
Twenty minutes had passed, and Jim found himself at the gates of the legendary palace. On a stone perched neatly adjacent to the road had the noticeable 'Sandhurst Military Academy' engraved on its face. Jim continued past the gates and down the long straight road towards the well known Sandhurst Palace, with the defining Napoleonic howitzers facing outwards and the identical clear white pillars that stood tall. He continued down that road until he came to the reception building, where he dismounted from his Skoda Monte Carlo and entered the premises. He was greeted by a female corporal in service dress, who escorted him to the billets, and post that, he was then escorted to the stores where he was issued all of his uniform and essentials. This was the first big adventure that Jim had undertaken, and he already loved it. His escort took him on a very brief tour of the grounds before finishing at a very large room with easy chairs, where a very happy Anthony was sat waiting in a chair. 'Hey there Jim, how are you doing eh? Been a long time hasn't it' said Anthony, whilst standing up to give Jim a hug. Before they could sit down and catch up, another young lad, around the same age as Jim and Anthony walked in carrying two large suitcases. He seemed a bit shy to start off, but he made a good first impression by introducing himself to the two lads. 'Hi there, I'm Tom, pleasure to meet you two'. The lad said. 'Hi mate, I'm Jim and that's Anthony', Jim responded promptly. The three lads spent the next 20 minutes loitering and introducing themselves to their fellow peers in the room. A very short and stocky officer wearing the rank slide of a Lieutenant Colonel walked in, along with two young Lieutenants trailing behind him.
'Good morning all' the short but stocky man said, with his deep and loud voice. 'I would personally like to welcome every single one of you to the Sandhurst Military Academy, I can already sense some fine leadership in this room! Shortly, we will round up all of you Officer Cadets up and get you sorted into your training platoons, but in the meantime, please help yourself to another cup of tea and biscuits.' After the Colonel's brief speech, the room filled with chatter again. Jim, Anthony and Tom raced over to the drinks table and grabbed as many biscuits as they could carry, and they all started to make their way over to the group of lads that were gathering by the door. Once everyone was accounted for, the group of Officer Cadets were led out into another room, where they were split up into platoons. Fortunately, Jim and Anthony managed to wriggle into the same platoon, but Tom was sectioned off to another, which was very disappointing for the pair. Now that the lads had been sorted into more-or-less even groups, each platoon was led out individually by a member of staff and taken to their sleeping areas. They were surprisingly comfortable and welcoming, and the pair thought that there wouldn't be any better place to spend the next 44 weeks training to command members of the finest armed forces in the world.
