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Military Competitions that 153 Rec Coy REME Participate
in “ Do you want to join the team” ?
Exercise Cambrian Patrol is an annual international military exercise that involves its participating units covering a 40-mile (65 km) course in less
than 48 hrs while performing numerous types of military maneuvers and patrols placed throughout the rugged Cambrian mountains and swamp
lands of mid-Wales.
The competition consists of teams of eight men or women patrolling across some of the most difficult terrain. It's a test of leadership, self-discipline,
courage, physical endurance and determination. The exercise usually starts with teams arriving at a rendezvous before having their equipment
checked to make sure they have everything required. Missing equipment will be replaced by dead weight and will mean points will be deducted.
From there the team leader will be taken to orders while the rest of the team set up a quick hide, start their battle prep and prepare to receive orders
i.e., prepare a model of the ground which will be covered during the patrol. Many of the teams that enter do not finish, those that do earn one of four
distinctions; gold medal, silver medal, bronze medal, or passing.
Competition shooting in the British Army started in 1874 with 'non-central' matches on unit ranges. The 'Army VIII' was formed in the same year,
its purpose was to select a team for Inter-Service matches organized by the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The Army Rifle Association (ARA) which was founded in 1893, became the governing body of service shooting. It was formed to encourage interest
in service shooting to "promote interest in small arms shooting for service purposes by means of collective competitions, matches being framed to
induce practice in methods which le[a]d to increased efficiency on the battlefield. By the 1970s, all three services had established their own
competitions and associations, the army's going under the name of 'Regular Army Skill at Arms Meeting' or RASAM, (also known as 'RASAAM' -
[Regular Army Skill At Arms Meeting]). As part of constant up-dating, the event's name was changed to the 'Army Operational Shooting Competition'
in 2009.
Figure targets were first used in 1908. The electric target range (ETR) came on stream in 1967. A moving target match was introduced in 1974 with
two infantry night shooting matches being competed-for initially in 1982. Firing in respirators and a 'march and shoot' competition was introduced in
1986. Casualty recovery and the carrying of 15 kilogrammes of personal equipment was brought in 2009.