No campus like it
Tough. Challenging. Rewarding. That’s student life at the Royal Military College
Outside of the classroom, cadets must participate in at least 100 minutes of physical activity each week. Some play on one of the university’s 11 varsity teams, which compete in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport association; others play in highly competitive intramural leagues, where they represent their squadrons in sports ranging from water polo to indoor ball hockey. Students are assigned to one of 13 squadrons prior to coming to RMC, and they not only play on the same teams with members of their squadron, but also live with one another in residence for the entire four years.
For cadets looking for the ultimate athletic challenge, there is the elite Sandhurst Military Skills Competition. Only 15 cadets out of an undergraduate student body of 1,100 are chosen to compete in the event, held recently at the prestigious West Point military academy in New York state, yet anyone can participate in the training. Last April, the two-day event featured 48 teams, including one from the National Military Academy of Afghanistan. During the competition, each squad performs a series of martial tasks on the 14-km course, which must be completed in less than four hours. Some highlights from the most recent competition included a zodiac boat course, a combat swim in full gear and a four-metre wall that cadets had to climb in 45 seconds without the use of a rope. RMC cadets don’t just show up to Sandhurst—they clean house. They’ve won the competition four of the past five years. “We train hard for it and have a reputation to uphold,” says Bouchard, who will captain next year’s team.
Although the Sandhurst military competition is reserved for a select number of students, all cadets participate in extensive military training exercises. Instead of a summer vacation at the end of their first year, cadets take part in up to 11 weeks of training at locations across Canada, depending on whether they are in the navy, army or air force. There, cadets get exposure to the nuances of life in the field. They participate in military exercises using real weapons, eat rations and try to function on only a few hours of sleep.
In the summers that follow, cadets receive formal military and language training, and they gain on-the-job experience for specialized military occupations. But that’s just part of their education. “You learn a lot about yourself and the people around you,” says Bouchard, recalling a 12-day field exercise he took part in at the end of his second year, when he was in charge of planning and executing a night assault mission on a heavily guarded facility. “On day one you see the best of them and on day 12 you see the absolute worst side of them,” he says of his comrades. “But that is where you see the true leaders, those who step up to the plate.”
Producing determined, capable leaders like Bouchard is what RMC is all about. His life, along with the lives of the men and women he serves with, depends on it.
Nice to see an article about my alma mater. It’s a tough four years, no doubt, but the education and life skills you get are invaluable.
Free education and a salary. Why didn’t my guidance counsellor tell me.
I think it’s amazing to see people so young and so dedicated to our country and to each other. I only wish I had the ability to do what these people do.
Its pretty simple, the military isn’t cut out for everyone. You can’t go half-ass. If you really want to prove yourself then sign up, see if you can last.
i wish i had gone to RMC instead of Dal. I’d have a job!
Why is the college still referred to a “royal”. That word is meaningless and gives credibility to the family who got rich by 155 years of robbery and murder. It’s time to call it a REAL name like the Canadian Military College.
I go there and I love it. I recommend it to well-rounded individuals who are up for a mental/physical/emotional challenge
Stu, Canada is still part of the Commonwealth, no matter how you or others may feel about the history of Canada; thus, “Royal” is still part of the name. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of Canada’s past as a colony of Britain (which is shared by many other nations such as New Zealand), and I understand the desire to be our own nation, separated from our colonial past. However, in order to be proud of the Canada we live in today, we must accept the history that got us here. There’s nothing that anyone can do to change it, and the name that RMC was given when it was founded in 1876 reflects our historical ties to the Queen. Without nations like Britain and France pushing to colonize Canada, it would be a very different nation today. For me anyway, I feel proud that I swore allegiance to serve the Queen of Canada, it feels significant and reflects the one of the traditions that makes up RMC.
A) I highly doubt that any students at the college would be willing to part with the name after 132 years of being called the Royal Military College of Canada
B) Canadians got rich by robbing the natives of their land and culture. That doesn’t mean that I love Canada any less. It’s history – it’s in the past – it has no effect on today. Get over it.
C) The title ROYAL Military College of Canada was given by Royal Assent of Her Majesty of CANADA, Queen Victoria in 1877. Having been granted by the Canadian Sovereign, it is therefore a CANADIAN title.
Is “ROTP” the abbreviation for the “Registered Officer Training Program”? I checked RMC’s website and it says “Regular Officer Training Plan” is “ROTP”. Are they the same thing?
The article failed to mention RMC’s faboulous IT department CAVS/CIS. Those folks have done some amazing work with what little they have. BZ to them.
How quickly we forget. In a cost-cutting move, the Liberal government of Chrétien closed down the “other” founding group of Canada’s military college in 1995, i.e. the Collège Militaire Royal de St-Jean that had opened in 1952. At that time, francophone groups strongly protested yet anglophone groups outside Québec were relatively quiet.
RMC’s budget increased by bucketloads, of course, and English-Canada remained content with the decision until 2008, at which point they noticed that they had difficulty recruiting francophones. Plus ça change, plus c’est pareil…
Im applying this year to RMC, and i’ve been very passionate about it since I was 13. It will be my first year next year and reading this article has never made me want anything more then to go right now. There is no other university in the world that I would rather go to!