Our special forces have unexpectedly brought us some good news. We are speaking about the legendary 3rd Separate Special Forces (Spetsnaz) Regiment based in Kropyvnytskyi. Recently the team formed of the Regiment’s fighters came back from the Great Britain where the guys participated in a prestigious annual contest titled Cambrian Patrol. “World’s toughest patrolling test” is probably the hardest among the major field competitions as Britons themselves admit; this year the Cambrian Patrol mobilized to participation more than 130 teams from 28 countries, about a thousand of British fighters among them. To start the report, the Ukrainian team won silver medals and lost only to Pakistani guys who have been winning gold for the fourth time in a row.
«On the 19th of October we started in a 48-hour competition. The first stage was an initial one: they checked our leadership and navigation skills. The second phase included active tasks like tactical work in action, storming of buildings, evacuation of wounded and demining. Some teams withdrawn in the course of it. Within 48 hours total we made about 80 km in full ammunition including 45 kg backpacks. The competition was held in Wales. As the result, we got 76 points, and it was the biggest score among the participating teams. Then we had a briefing where the teams explained their tactics and methods», – the Ukrainian team’s head, Alex call sign, tells.
And this was a very undersized and humble report on all the challenges our team had to face. As in general the competition incorporated a variety of different activities like 48-hour mountain racing in a storming weather with no sleep; work with agents and “locals”; neutralization of terrorists and release of civilian hostages; interrogation and handling captives; demining and chemical attacks training; mining and work in small autonomous groups; special communication skills and forcing mountain water barriers with +6 C temperature; clearance of settlements; scouting and demining; providing of first medical aid to people with traumatic amputations. Our guys coped with all these tasks at their best.
This was one of the challenge’s tasks our guys had to complete
«The routes were extremely hard. Nothing could be seen as it was raining all the time; deep in the mud; rockfalls and landslips; mountain streams and waterfalls. It was exceedingly hard. The tasks were difficult as well. Besides, we had to strictly stick to the Geneva convention rules while providing medical aid and working with captives».
Not a Ukrainian but just a decent foreign participant
But we would emphasize another side of the contest: the Ukrainian team was participating Cambrian Patrol only for the second time. Yet even the last year when our team was performing for the first time, our guys managed to assuredly win bronze medals. Bronze then and silver today – we do like the trend and even hope for the better the next year. Actually, we positively believe in their potential and not doubting their skills for a second. We have been knowing the guys for quite a long period of time: despite their complete autonomy and self-sufficiency, some time ago we had the possibility and honour of supporting these troopers with a considerable amount of equipment.
Special good fellows met and greeted the winnera at the airport
During the violent 2014-2015 years, even despite their elite status, the guys faced the same circumstances the rest of Ukrainian military encountered: austere shortage of logistics and even lack of special outfit. So volunteers had to handle the situation on their own and equip our fighters, only thanks to shared efforts and at the expense of the sympathetic people’s donations. Then People’s Project was sending to our special forces tactical uniform kits and various extra ammunition; firearm cases and footwear; inventories and devices, from thermal imagers and optics to special communication gear. Only in our «First People’s Special Trooper» project’s report you can find 34 positions sent to this very regiment, and there were much more of those in our other projects. And we are extremely contented to know that these well-equipped guys have become living legends, literally!
After all, we take care not only of special forces alone but of the rest of military units as well. We are genuinely interested in both their best results in prestigious international competitions and the stingiest performance in combat operations against the enemy. That’s why we are doing our best to equip all the units applying for People’s project’s assistance, in accordance with the latest trends of military science and technology. And you can participate this process in person: within the «Rapid Response» project we accumulate donations to purchase all necessary equipment for our military. Join us, as together we are making our Army stronger!
