Sandhurst Royal Military College

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Located in Berkshire, England on Terra, Sandhurst Royal Military College (also referred to as the Royal Sandhurst Military Academy, Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and the Holy Order of Sandhurst)‎ is one of the longest continually active military academies in human history.

History

Founded and in near-continuous use from the days of pre-Space Flight Terra, after Michael Cameron graduated from the college, Sandhurst became to be considered the best and most prestigious military academy in the Terran Hegemony and later the Star League, the pinnacle of the Star League Defense Forces so-called "War Triad" with the War Academy of Mars and the Military Academy of Aphros.

Falling into ComStar hands after Operation Silver Shield in 2788, the college was converted into a training school for the Order's newly founded intelligence agency ROM in 2811 and served as such until the reign of Primus Hollings York. Forming the ComStar Guards and Milita in response to the Necess Kurita Affair, York convinced the First Circuit to relocate the ROM training center and approve a million C-Bill revitalization to transform it into modern military complex in 2933 as the Holy Order of Sandhurst. Championing its reconstruction, York would be later assassinated during the corner-stone-laying ceremony for the rebuilt Sandhurst , with his successor Adrienne Sims ordering him buried in the church floor of his beloved pet project.

The revitalised Sandhurst served as the primary training facility and command headquarters for ComStar's military forces until Terra fell to the Word of Blake during Operation Odysseus in 3059. Sandhurst was a primary target of the Blakist forces and its cadets would prove to among the strongest resistance to the invading forces. Save for reinstating the indoctrination classes the Secular ComStar halted and more stringent security precautions, the Blakists operated Sandhurst almost identically.

Much like the Blakist take-over of Terra, Sandhurst would also be the site of intense fighting during Operation SCOUR in 3079. The Alys Rousset-Marik led task force of the 12th Atrean Dragoons, 7th Donegal Guards. the Devil's Brigade and the Com Guard Fifth Army would finally defeat more than a dozen different Blakist formations after a month of bitter fighting.

As with many Terran based facilities, the control of Sandhurst would fall to the Republic of the Sphere at the conclusion of the Jihad, the rebuilt facility serving to train troops for the Republic Armed Forces.

Atmosphere

While Sandhurst taught a wide range of combat skills like many academies, originally at the instigation of Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht the ComStar and Blakist controlled college also taught cooperation and interdependence between service arms to try and break inter-branch rivalries, ultimately instilling in the Com Guards and Word of Blake Militia a thoroughly combined-arms method of operation.

Under pre-Reformation ComStar and the Word of Blake, the school also included an indoctrination course to teach students the philosophies of the Blessed Blake. No matter the student's skills, failure in this course resulted in ejection from the college.

Graduation

The ComStar and Blakist controlled Sandhurst graduated its cadets as Acolyte to be assigned to a Com Guard or Blakist Militia unit. Officer trainees were promoted to Acolyte after two years of study before eventually graduating at the rank of Adept a year after that.

Bibliography

• 20-Year Update
• ComStar (sourcebook)
• Field Manual: ComStar
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• The Star League