Grit,skill put to test to find the best sappers,at CME

Naik Parthiban M and Lance Naik Anthony Samy of the 4 Engineer Regiment of the 9 Corps won lasting 72 hours of adrenaline rush.

“This competition has long been in the planning stage and as an ongoing process,we plan to conduct it every January. This is the first-of-its-kind competition in the country and tests the professional,mental and physical capabilities of sappers. We are working on translating the performance of sappers in this competition for betterment of their careers,” said Lt Gen M C Badhani,Engineer-in-Chief who presented prizes to the winners,all of whom coincidentally belong to the Madras Sappers.

The competition was initiated at the corps level and teams that topped the intra-corps competition represented their corps at the Best Sapper race. The 30 participants were made to go through gruelling competition that included engineering tasks such as recce of a water channel using improvised swimming aids,radio telephony procedures,field engineering practical tests,setting out bridges,route march and so on. Five teams were knocked out on day one. “The point-to-point navigation at night was the toughest task. With the help of a GPS and compass,we were to travel from one point to the other in a specified time,” said Parthiban.

The second day started with a 20-km cross-country run followed by rifle shoot and demolition using explosives,mine-laying and breaching. The contestants not only cooked their own food,but also performed tasks even overnight leaving almost no time for relaxation or sleep. Three teams were eliminated by the end of day two leaving seven for the third day that saw practical tests,bridge-designing,helipad designing and so on.

A 10-km run-back with Individual Protection Equipment (IPE) and combat dress topped the endurance test of the participants who lasted. “Their endurance was tested to the fullest. With an IPE,it becomes difficult to run even 200 metres,but these men ran about five km,” said one of the officers. The tasks were designed in increasing order of difficulty culminating in various battlefield scenario. A cash prize of Rs 1 lakh went to the winning team,the second team got Rs 50,000 and the third Rs 25,000.