WITH a total of 2583 points (75.97%), the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) finished ahead of Bolivia, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, and Colombia at the recently concluded, ‘Amazon Military Command International Patrol Competition’, which was conducted at the Jungle Warfare Training School ‘CENTRO DE INSTRUCAO DE GUERRA NA SELVA (CIGS), Manaus, Brazil, from August 20-25.CIGS established in 1964 is known internationally for high quality jungle training. Since then, it has graduated more than 6,000 Brazilian troops and troops from throughout the world, who would have travelled to Brazil to take part in the Centre’s specialised jungle training courses.

Teams from Brazil’s Amazon Military Command, the North Military Command, the Brazilian Navy and Air Force, as well as teams from Canada, China, East Timor, Germany and Mexico, also participated in the competition, with China winning the competition. Each team comprised of 10 members.

The immersive five-day competition saw the teams competing in more than 20 events, including shooting from a moving platform, team shooting, as well as seven events relating to anti-smuggling, anti-illegal logging and annihilation operations, in the jungles of Manaus. Tested three times daily and also at nights, teams were challenged to execute military jungle tactics and apply the relevant knowledge in the jungle environment.

The GDF team comprised: Lieutenant (Lt) Lionel Medford (Observer), Lt Simon Gordon, Warrant Officer Class Two Cleveland O’Brien, Sergeants Michael Holder and Cornelius Messiah, Lance Corporals Deon Gilead and Stevie Petrie, and Privates Rod Jeffery, Sean Williams, Timothy Adams and Euclid Wright.

Guyana has traditionally subscribed to jungle courses with more than 40 Officers and Ranks trained at that institution. Guyana ranks fourth among foreign nations to have sent the most troops for training there. (GDF)