Young people not as tough any more? Sandhurst Commandant offers choice response
The Commandant of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst has had a few words to say about the quality of today's young men and women.
"I get to do quite a lot of public speaking often to civilian audiences and sometimes they like to tell me that the young of today aren't what they used to be, that they're not as tough as they used to be," explained Major General Nick Cowley.
"And I have a very sophisticated answer for them – I tell them they're talking bollocks."
Civvies talking bollocks
"They're talking bollocks because that's not what I see. What I see going around our camps are young people who want to serve, young people who want to lead and young people who are willing to fight for their countries."
Maj Gen Cowley was speaking at the awards ceremony following the 2026 Sandhurst Military Skills Competition, an international event run by the US Army at West Point, better known as the Sandhurst Cup.
He told the competitors: "The Sandhurst Cup is the ultimate expression of that will, that desire and the unbelievably high standards that the young people in our Army have.
"So from all of the spectators, all of the chain of command who've had the privilege of watching you compete over the last couple of days, I want to finish by thanking you and giving you a big round of applause for doing an incredible job here."
Nations united
This year's Sandhurst Cup saw military teams come to the military academy in New York State from countries including the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Brazil and the Philippines.
Maj Gen Cowley explained the importance of forging close ties between nations, and gave examples of his own experiences.
"A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to be able to buy my grandfather's medals at an auction," he said.
"And when they arrived, they came in a small shoe box. And as I opened the box, what I found in there was not only his Second World War medals, but also a diary from when he had been captive by the Germans in Europe.
"And as I read through the diary, it spoke about his time in captivity. And right at the very end he says 'I then saw the best sight of my life, and that was a US tank with a US flag flying as it approached the front gates of the prisoner war camp'."
Building bonds matters
The former commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team added: "So what we're doing here today, forming bonds between our nations, matters. Seventy years later, I was under US command as part of the global War on Terror in Afghanistan.
"After I was injured, my life was saved by a joint US UK surgical team. So what you're doing here today, building these bonds really matters.
"And as the dark clouds of war once again hang over Europe and the Middle East, I would argue it matters more now than it has done for many generations.
"We know that we are never going to build the trust we need once we're in contact. It's too late by then.
"So it's things like this competition that brings us all together that builds that trust that's so important. And we know there's nothing our enemies hate more than us coming together as partners and as allies and as friends."
Why the "Sandhurst" Cup?
The competition takes its name from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which presented a sword to West Point in 1967.
The annual Sandhurst Military Skills Competition takes place at the US Military Academy in the spring of each year.
It's undergone multiple changes since it began in 1967, yet the focus remains on testing the competitors' military and leadership skills and fostering camaraderie through competition.
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