5 Bde creams the opposition

Covering arcs: Members of 16 RWAR take part in the Military Skills competition at Maroubra beach. 13 Bde took trophies for obstacle course and rapid response. Photo by Michael Brooke

By Michael Brooke

GRIT and determination has won 5 Bde the 2 Div Military Skills Competition

5 Bde survived fierce competition from 4, 8, 9 and 13 Bdes to win the bi-annual competition which receives sponsorship from Returned Services Leagues clubs that have links to the five Bdes that make up 2 Div.

The competition consisted of 17 gruelling challenges including section attack using blank ammunition, a water obstacle crossing, stretcher carries, live fire exercises (LF1,2 and 6) and many other tasks plucked from Land Warfare Procedures – General 0-2-4 All Corps Field Handbook.

For the exhausted soldiers there was a lot of running, crawling, climbing, navigating and shooting as they struggled against mental and physical fatigue to overcome numerous obstacles in their path.

The most keenly contested challenge was a deliberate attack on an enemy squad in a post WWI bunker near NSW Golf Course in which one enthusiastic section commander ordered ‘fix bayonets’ prior to storming the guns.

Commander 2 Div Maj-Gen Paul Irving presented the Championship shield to Cpl Jason McArthur, Charlie Coy, 4/3 RNSWR, 5 Bde, amid thunderous cheers and applause from the other competitors.

Maj-Gen Irving said the Military Skills Competition was fiercely contested by the five teams representing their brigades who worked extremely hard to bring pride and honour to their formations and local communities.

“All the participants should be very proud of their efforts because this competition was designed to test the teams both physically and mentally and because the benchmark of being a good Australia soldier is very high,” he said.

The 5 Bde team also won trophies for construct-a-bunker, observation, teamwork, endurance, and casevac.

A euphoric Cpl McArthur said that his section worked hard for the victory attributing his section’s success to the skill sets of each member,

“I think our success here demonstrates how a team that uses the strengths of its members can overcome almost any challenge,” he said.

Participants in the competition included 4/3RNSWR (5 Bde), 2/17 RNSWR (8 Bde), 8/7 RVR (4 Bde), 12/40 RTR (9 Bde) and 16 RWAR (13 Bde).

9 Bde won the Section Attack Trophy and 8 Bde won trophies for degrees of weapon readiness, grouping, section shoot, water crossing, and all arms call to fire. 13 Bde won trophies for obstacle course and rapid response, and 4 Bde won trophies for falling plate, general military knowledge and leadership.