Teams from four countries test
their stamina in competition at Tuzla
By Sandra Jontz,
Bosnia bureau
Ivana Avramovic / Stars and Stripes
Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, carry a sand-filled "weapon
cache" across the finish line in a segment of the "March and Shoot"
competition. |
TUZLA, Bosnia and Herzegovina — For soldiers, the sweat and pain
of competition were just plain fun.
They might have taken a lickin’, but kept on tickin’ during
Monday’s third annual March and Shoot competition held in Tuzla, a northeastern city
in Bosnia and Herzegovina near Eagle Base, headquarters for American peacekeepers.
“This is a real butt-kicker,” hollered Chief Warrant
Officer 2 Todd Peterson, from Task Force MedEagle, as he crested a steep hill about
one-third of the way through the 12-kilometer course.
And that was the easy part.
Ten teams competed against one another in four categories for the
grand prize of being the best in their region.
Teams were from Russia, Poland, the United States and Bosnia.
First, they competed in a march on a rugged dirt road that wound
itself for 7.4 miles, beginning at the Husein Kapetan Gradascevic Bosnian military base
and ending at the Pasa Bunar shooting range.
At two checkpoints along the way, the soldiers tested their strength
and stamina by toting ammunition boxes filled with sandbags weighing 88 pounds and running
660 feet, half of that uphill.
Next, they carried stretchers topped with 187 pounds of sandbags for
the same distance.
Ivana Avramovic / S&S
Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, meet up with a farmer and his
cow while walking up a hill as part of the March and Shoot competition at Tuzla. |
The competition ended with 10 soldiers, armed with only five live
rounds apiece, aiming for targets 330 feet away.
When all the running, hoisting and shooting was done, the U.S. Army
teams had not placed in the top three. All three winners hailed from Bosnia.
The first-place overall trophy went to the team representing the 2nd
Corps Federation Military from Tuzla. This team also earned first-place honors for both
completing the 12-kilometer course in the best time — 59 minutes — and shooting
down the 10 targets in a mere 35 seconds.
Second place went to the 1st Corps Federation Military from Sarajevo,
followed by the 3rd Guard Federation Military from Vitez.
Local residents gathered on the hillsides surrounding the firing
range to peek at the awards ceremony and shout out hoorays for the winning soldiers.
“Indeed, it’s a great day to be a soldier,” Maj. Gen.
Walter L. Sharp, commanding general of Task Force Eagle, shouted into a microphone at the
awards ceremony.
The competition instilled more than just pride among the competitors,
Sharp said. The multinational aspect of it taught soldiers to cooperate with troops of
other nationalities, which in turn earned them trust and respect from Bosnian citizens.
Back to August stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from July, 2001
Stories from June, 2001
Stories from May, 2001
Stories from April, 2001
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
