OV Caitlin’s King’s Commission

Many congratulations to OV Caitlin Sharpe (Ch 10-17), who has successfully completed the Officer Cadets’ Commissioning Course at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and joins the Royal Engineers. In addition, Caitlin had the honour of being part of the personal guard to His Majesty King Charles III, who was presiding over the 200th Sovereign’s Parade.

Following the inspection of the parade, the King presented the new Colours and Sovereign’s Banner to the receiving ensigns. The late Queen’s Colours were also marched on the parade with the officer cadets.

Speaking about the occasion, Caitlin said, “Commissioning under King Charles was a great honour. Being selected as a stick orderly for the King’s first parade as monarch was an extraordinary opportunity and definitely one of the highlights from my time at Sandhurst. Joining the Armed Forces has been a dream of mine since I first joined the CCF at 13 and I was hugely proud finally to achieve this. Sandhurst was a challenge with many highs and lows. Other than the parade, my favourite moment was winning the log race in intermediate term. My platoon went from being the worst in juniors, coming last in most events, to winning the log race, and for us it was a huge achievement. The hardest moment was Ex Allenby’s Advance in Brecon; the terrain, combined with severe sleep deprivation, made it one of the hardest things I had to do during the course. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the commissioning course and all the challenges it presented.

“After Commissioning, I will be attending my Phase 2 training with the Royal Engineers at Chatham and Minley. The best part about this job is not knowing what the future holds and for me that is exciting!”

Caitlin was heavily involved with the CCF while at King’s, so much so that for her GAP year she returned to School as a GAP Student Quartermaster for the CCF. Following this, Caitlin read Ancient History and Egyptology at Swansea University before signing up for the Army’s Officer Commissioning Course.

After the Sovereign’s Parade, the newly commissioned Officers enjoyed an evening of celebration, to which Caitlin was accompanied by OVs Edd Peckston (K 10-17) and Shannon Asplen (Ch 10-17).