RAWALPINDI: An 11-member Pakistan Army team that won gold medal in Cambrian Patrol competition in Wales last month, called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the GHQ in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
The team had won gold medal in the event, dubbed as the world’s toughest patrolling contest, which was held in the United Kingdom from October 8 to 22.
The army chief appreciated the team for their commendable performance, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
This is the sixth time Pakistan Army has won gold at the competition overall and their fourth victory in a row.
A total of 134 teams from 31 countries participated in the two-week long competition. The Pakistani team comprised brave soldiers of a battalion of Northern Light Infantry from Gilgit-Baltistan.
Cambrian Patrol is mission and task-oriented patrolling exercise of 48 hours, during which participants cover 60 kilometres carrying 25-kilogramme weight.
It is physically challenging and arduous exercise, which concentrates on teamwork for achieving the mission held in the most unforgiving mountainous terrain of mid-Wales, UK, amid tactical and technical challenges, testing leadership, self-discipline, courage and determination of the participants.
The competition began in 1959, when a group of Welsh Territorial Army soldiers designed a weekend training event featuring long-distance marching over the Cambrian mountains and culminating in a shooting match on the Sennybridge training area.