Sandhurst Company Commander: What I REALLY look for in Officers | Robin White

The first step onto the parade square feels like stepping into a myth. Then the kit list hits, the pace spikes, and you realise leadership is a team sport. Dan sits down with Robin White—infantry officer, veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and former Sandhurst company commander—to pull back the curtain on what actually makes a good officer when the plan breaks, the radios crackle, and you’re on the clock.

Robin traces his path from family legacy to scholarship board, through a battalion hardened by Basra, and into the messy reality of learning in public. Two corporals asking to critique his orders. A mis‑landed helicopter forcing a river crossing on the fly. Mentoring the ANA alongside a Danish battlegroup, managing language gaps and competing priorities. A 36‑hour IED clearance cut short when a high‑threat engineer commander lost his legs and a Danish interpreter was killed. And the day a single shot hit his hand as the ANA led out—proof that what matters most is how your team responds when you need them.

Back at Sandhurst, Robin shaped future officers around four simple pillars: betterment, fellowship, sincerity, enjoyment. He explains why choosing a regiment starts with the soldiers you’ll lead and the mess you’ll live in, not a glossy posting list. He shares where cadets often go wrong—ego at the start line, switching off when not in appointment—and what separates the standouts: volunteering as runners and recce support, building models, absorbing feedback, and helping others improve. Commissioning isn’t the finish line; it’s the waypoint before real leadership begins.

If you’re eyeing AOSB, grinding through exercises, or about to take your first platoon, this conversation gives practical, hard‑won advice you can use today. Be a sponge. Ask for help. Look after your people before you need them. And find the joke in the mud—it keeps you human when it counts.

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