CIOR's Military Competition (MILCOMP) is a true test of combat effectiveness and this year’s competition in Sofia saw 129 competitors from 17 countries battling it out for the top prize through thunder, lightning, rain and sunshine. 43 teams of three athletes demonstrated advanced leadership, courage, physical fitness and a broad spectrum of military skills over the three-day competition. A Novice UK team was third overall and once again the UK ladies proved their mettle and took first place in the Female Competition.
The Military Competition consists of pistol and rifle shooting, land and water obstacle courses, military navigation (orienteering) and a Law of Armed Conflict test. The scoring is biased towards shooting, then navigation and then the obstacle courses. There is also usually a first aid event but it had to be cancelled this year as a result of inclement weather.
Day One saw the teams take to the range to shoot the Bulgarian Makarov Pistol and the AK47 Rifle with iron sight. The Pistol competition was on a 25 metre range, the Rifle on a 200 metre range. The competitors fired precision targets and then on rapid fire.
The competitors had had a chance to zero the weapons the day before, but that could not prepare them for the heavens opening, their sights filling with rain and targets being blown away. Proceedings were delayed, which unfortunately meant the first aid competition had to be cancelled, but there was still time for the competitors to take the Law of Armed Conflict theory test.
Had the first aid event taken place the competitors would have been part of a multinational task force asked to go to the site of an explosion, issued with a weapon, a helmet and a first aid kit. As well as practical skills of administering first aid, the 12-minute scenario tests competitors in securing the disaster area, identifying casualties’ states of consciousness, establishing an airway, checking for breathing and circulation, triaging casualties, and leadership and communication skills. Competitors are required to adhere to the Geneva Convention and establish whether or not the casualty is a prisoner of war. The scenario tests practical application of the Law of Armed Conflict.
The winners of the shooting competition were Germany 4. Canada 1, a female team, won the Law of Armed Conflict test, followed by Germany 4 in 2nd and Sweden 1 in 3rd.
Day Two is the most spectacular, with teams taking on the mighty land and water obstacle courses. The 500 metre land obstacle course has 20 set obstacles of set dimensions in a set order at a set distance apart. Obstacles include a 5 metre rope ladder, a 2 metre deep pit, trip wires, balance beams, tunnels, assault walls between 1 and 1.9m metres high and a chicane. The form of the course is left to the discretion of the organiser, depending upon the area available, and the ground underfoot must be firm. The course in Sofia was around a track, on gravel not especially forgiving.
The 50 metre water obstacle course has 5 set obstacles including a high table, a floating rig at water level, and poles above and below water. The prize for the second day is awarded to team with the fastest combined time across both the land and water obstacle courses and this year the winners were Canada 2.
Day Three tests land navigation, with competitors setting off on an orienteering course with a target completion time of 1 hour 40 min. The Chairman of the Military Competition, Major Ian Webster (UK), said the course in the Sofia was the most testing course he has ever seen, “very technical and undulating, almost vertical”.
Competitors’ navigation skills are challenged using aerial photography, sketches and diagrams as well as maps. Military skills such as grenade throwing and distance judging are also tested along the course. Sometimes there is also an element of surprise such as a zip wire or abseiling. This year the winning team on Day 3 was Germany 3. One of the team members, 1st Lieutenant Matthias Blaschke, was competing in his 19th CIOR MILCOMP!
In a prize giving ceremony at the National Palace of Culture the Best Sportsmanship prize was awarded to Germany 4 in recognition of the athlete Captain Sven Granse who fell from the 5 metre ladder, breaking a collarbone, yet still completed the land and water obstacle courses and the orienteering event.
Finland 1 won the Guest category, for teams from countries that are not full members of NATO. The winners of the International category were International 4, comprising Major Andy Mason RMR from the UK, an athlete from France and one from Canada. International teams are formed from the Reserves each nation brings in case of injury, to give them a chance to compete. Names are drawn from a hat into teams of mixed nationalities.
The remaining teams were divided into Novice, Experienced, Veteran and Female categories. In the Novice competition, for athletes competing for the first time, UK 4 came 1st, UK 1 came 2nd and Bulgaria 5 came 3rd. In the Experienced category, for competitors in their second or third year of competition, the winners were Germany 5.
France 1 took first place in the Veterans competition, for teams who have competed, or who have a member who has competed, four or more times. The Female title was retained by the UK, followed by Canada 1 in 2nd and Norway 2 in 3rd. The UK team consisted of Capt Claire Sapwell, a physiotherapist, and 2Lt Amy Teasdale and O/C Natalie Paterson, medical students at Queen’s University, Belfast. Pity there was no first aid competition as we may have seen another medal there!
The Overall winners were France 1, which included athlete Captain Eric Chabin who has won the top prize 6 times. Germany 5 was second, and UK 4, a Novice team consisting of Officer Cadets Janek Szkoda, Robin Hold and Chris Sykes-Popham, was third. It is believed this is the first time in the last two decades a Novice team has been in the Top 3. Excellent work lads.
Major Webster concluded “Elliot Hillman, a competitor last year who went on to join the regular British Army has just been awarded the Sword of Honour at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for being the best cadet in his class. In third place was another of our competitors from last year, Ollie Gray. Elliot said that the advanced practices of marksmanship learned from the coaches, and the discipline and fitness that training for MILCOMP instils in the competitors, helped him achieve the Sword of Honour.
“MILCOMP takes your military skills to a totally different level and CIOR also incorporates the benefits of intercultural experience – many friendships are forged amongst the reserve forces of NATO and its partners. If I were to find myself working with a previous MILCOMP participant on operations I would have every confidence in them. The continual challenge from our allies in the competition environment raises standards.”
Training for the 2010 competition in Stavanger, Norway begins in the autumn in Aldershot. If you are a member of the Reserve Forces (any rank/rate) and would like to participate, contact the UK Reserve Forces Association Secretariat on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information.
Lt Laura Harrison RNR
