Woman instructor kicked blundering Sandhurst cadet
A HIGHLY regarded woman instructor at Sandhurst angrily kicked a trainee officer when he kept making mistakes during a field exercise.
Captain Ruth Cork, 35, paced up and down before standing over the kneeling officer cadet, steadying herself and booting him. She then told him to ‘get a grip’.
Officer Cadet Charles MacAllister did not report the assault because he ‘thought it was part of being in the Army’. His fellow cadets said they were left shocked by the incident.
Now Cork has been hauled before a court martial and fined £600 after admitting ill-treatment of a subordinate.
The Royal Engineer, who has served in Syria and Iraq, claimed it was an ‘overzealous attempt of reinforcing training’. The court martial heard she was ‘held at the highest regard’ at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Berkshire.
On March 30 last year, Cork was leading a field exercise for recruits 12 weeks into their training. OC MacAllister was acting as platoon commander – but repeatedly made mistakes while he was supposed to be delivering messages over a radio.
OC MacAllister ‘was on both knees and looked to her for guidance’ but ‘the more things he got wrong, the angrier Captain Cork got’, the court martial was told.
Prosecutor Commander Peter Barker told Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire: ‘Captain Cork was shouting at him and there came a time where she steadied herself and threw a kick at his left side as she was standing over him.
‘Witnesses describe seeing the cadet wobble and described being shocked and angry at what happened but nobody raised it at that time. Captain Cork did not apologise.’
A welfare officer later reported the incident. Cork told investigators she could not remember kicking him. The court heard cadets ‘took exception to her style of management and relations were strained’.
Barrister Matthew Simpson, defending, said a family tragedy meant Cork was under stress at the time.
Mr Simpson said: ‘As an instructor Captain Cork accepts the severity of what she pleaded to but, balancing that out... it was short-lived, out of character, a moment of madness. This was a one-off, of a relatively minor nature, and an overzealous attempt to reinforce training.’
Cork, who has more than ten years’ service, was stony-faced as
‘Frustration boiled over’
Assistant Judge Advocate General Darren Reed fined her £600 at Wednesday’s hearing.
He said the cadets deserved respect and dignity, adding: ‘You grew frustrated and allowed your frustration to boil over into a single act of violence. This was an abuse of position.’
The court was given extensive character references from top officers at the academy.
Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Morton MBE, commanding officer at Sandhurst’s New College, said: ‘I’m unequivocal in stating that Captain Cork has been an outstanding member of staff.
‘She has been a role model for officer cadets – in particular female officer cadets. Captain Cork has been and remains essential to the delivery of [training].’
Colonel Matt Quare MBE said: ‘She is an exemplar model in preparing the next generation of leaders.’
Cork plans to leave the Army next month to become a project manager at a company closely associated with the service.