Sight not lost on great gains

Corporal Bob Embery (left) and Flight Sergeant Geoffrey Price enjoying their sport of rogaining.

By Michael Weaver

BEING lost is not something that Corporal Bob Embery and Flight Sergeant Geoffrey Price take lightly.

In fact, they take their sport of not getting lost quite seriously and during the past 10 years have been among the best in NSW.

Their sport is rogaining – a somewhat shortened term for an endurance field navigation exercise using a map and compass covering up to 200 square kilometres in mountainous country, held in mid-winter regardless of weather conditions.

This year marked 10 years of involvement for CPL Embery (No. 36 Squadron) and FSGT Price (No. 23 Squadron) in the NSW Navigation Shield Rogaine competition, run by the NSW Volunteer Rescue Association.

The pair was also awarded trophies to mark their decade of dedication to the sport.

The 29-hour event attracted more than 140 teams and was held near Lithgow. It is designed specifically to test police, professional and volunteer rescue organisations and Defence personnel, where it also serves as an interservice event.

CPL Embery and FSGT Price first used rogaining as a means of training when they were both part of the now defunct Land Rescue Team at RAAF Base Richmond.

This year, Flight Lieutenant Brenda Hamlet (No. 23 Squadron) was recruited to the team which finished second in class two and was again the highest scoring Defence team by a significant margin.

However, the team could not compete in class one or be eligible for the interservice trophy as a team of four is required.

FSGT Price said the event requires teamwork, planning, navigation skills, endurance and fitness.

“This year, the ADF has withdrawn rogaining from the official list of interservice sports and as a consequence, some ADF teams had little or no support,” FSGT Price said.

“Over the years, the team has mostly finished in the top four places outright and has always been the highest scoring ADF team, bettering others from elite Army units.”

Three members of the team also qualified for the black navigators badge (the highest award for the event) and received three of the first five badges ever presented.

“To navigate on foot using just a map and compass and the ability to work your way efficiently around I see as a basic military skill.”

FSGT Price is also keen to see this skill maintained in the military and welcomes anyone else interested in having a go.

“I’d love to see more RAAF teams enter,” FSGT Price said.

But be warned, if you ask for directions, don’t expect anything more than “they went that way”.

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