Forty-eight teams of military cadets from schools from not just all over the U.S. but all over the globe spent a weekend at West Point to participate in the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition.

“Sandhurst is the premier military skills competition in the world," said Maj. Connor Downs, who helped design the 2024 edition of the yearly compeition. "The teams compete in various military skills, from tactical combat casualty care to straight physical fitness events.”

The competition features cadets from military academies in the U.K., Chile, and Norway, just to name a few. Matilda Warde-Aldan is a cadet at Britain's Royal Military Academy; she's spent her first time in the U.S. at West Point for Sandhurst.

“Just try and keep up with the boys; I’ve met many of the A-team, which is great," she said of her goals at the compeititon. "And I’m just really hoping to be able to prove myself and push myself.” 

This year's Sandhurst was tightly-contested; West Point's Black Team won by just two points over Canada's Kingston team. Cadets say that the two-day event is grueling and tests both the mental and physical limits of the competitors, but it's up to squad leaders like West Point cadet Jacob Faver to keep the team going.

"It's really mentally tasking but the physical pain is just kind of on the backburner," he said. "Once the relief comes and you see your team and you've seen how well you performed the last few days, it just makes it all go away.”