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Ex Cadet 20973 Joe
Box Participates in International Military Pentathlon
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Canadian competitors in the Interallied
Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR)
International Military Pentathlon Competition,
which was held this year at Camp Elsenborn,
Belgium, from 3-5 August, practice their
technique for clearing obstacles in the NATO
standard obstacle course – one of the
challenging events in the pentathlon. |
The Competition
The competition, which was held August 3-5 and
involved 53 teams from 20 countries, consisted
of five events: pistol shooting, rifle shooting,
land obstacle course, water obstacle course, and
orienteering.
During the first day of competition, the
reservists tested their shooting skills using
the host country’s weapons.
“Belgians use the Browning 9mm pistol – so we
lucked out there,” says Captain Box, a navigator
at 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron in Sidney,
B.C., who tied for third place in the overall
competition in pistol shooting – an event that
involved both precision and rapid shooting of
targets at a range of 25 metres.
The first day of competition also included a Law
of Armed Conflict and Combat First Aid
competition. Competitors wrote an exam testing
their knowledge of international military law
and first aid, then demonstrated their knowledge
in a simulation that required they disarm
someone while respecting the rules of modern
conflict, and give first aid to the wounded.
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Dumouchel-Connock
Day two
of the international competition pitted the competitors
against two obstacle courses. The NATO standard land
obstacle course involved 20 obstacles set out in specific
sequence over 500 metres. Each obstacle is a true measure of
athleticism and fortitude, as each one requires the
competitor put out maximum physical effort to successfully
challenge it. Competitors have to sprint to each obstacle
to get enough momentum to get over it, and must drop safely
from high obstacles such as assault walls.
“That
obstacle course makes you more tired than you have ever
been,” says Capt. Box. “It makes your lungs rasp and your
muscles hurt. It’s very intense – and every person was
suffering from something because of the intensity of the
workout and its impact on the body.”
The
water obstacle course was equally challenging. Dressed in
combats, competitors had to swim 50 metres while clearing
four obstacles such as beams and rafts.
The
final event – the orienteering race – was held on the last
day of the competition. Teams had to find several dozen
checkpoints scattered along a 15 km route using a variety of
navigational aids, including: road maps, orienteering maps,
aerial photos, blind bearing techniques, contour line maps.
Competitors had to orient themselves quickly using a
navigation aid then run to the next checkpoint to get
further instructions or taskings.
“This
was my favourite part of the competition because you didn’t
know what was coming up next and you had to be ready for
everything,” says the air reservist. “It was like finding a
treasure – then you’d be given another task and have to
think really hard while running really hard in the bushes.”
Competitors were further challenged by a variety of military
tasks that had to be accomplished throughout the 15 km
orienteering race. They threw dummy grenades, crossed rope
bridges, crossed rivers in assault rafts, and traveled from
the top to the bottom of a dam on a zip line.
Équipe
CIOR Canada Team 2005 participated in these events with
three teams of three people – novice team (first year of
competition); experienced team (second to fourth year of
competition); and veteran team (five or more years of
competition. A woman’s team usually competes as well – but
because of lack of numbers, the one female competitor joined
women from other countries to form an international woman’s
team.
The
final results for the 20 competing countries is still being
tabulated.
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Capt Joe Box (centre), an Air Reservist and
navigator at 443 MH Squadron, poses with two
teammates. The three reservists represented the
Canadian Forces in the Interallied Confederation
of Reserve Officers (CIOR) International
Military Pentathlon Competition, which was held
this year at Camp Elsenborn, Belgium, from 3-5
August. |
The Training
Training for the competition was tough. To be
selected as a member of the Équipe CIOR Canada
Team 2005, interested reservist had to show that
they could run 8 km in 34 minutes and swim 50 m
in 33 seconds. Those selected then went to
St-Jean, Québec, for a grueling six-week
training camp.
“We would get up, shoot for a few hours, then do
the land obstacle course in Farnham to practice
technique and run it for ‘lactic acid
training’,” says Capt. Box. “In the afternoon,
we would go to the track to do sprints, timed
runs and heart rate monitoring. Then we’d swim
2 km in the pool wearing clothes and we’d
practice for the water obstacle course. That
training camp was brutal. Team members trained
six days a week.
“They kept us exhausted all summer during
training,” explains the air reservist. “So when
we got to Belgium, we felt very strong during
the competition. It was a very rigorous and very
focused summer.”
Those interested in
participating in next year’s competition, which
is being held in Rome, can obtain further
information by visiting the team’s website:
www.cior.ca. |
All photos for this article taken by Lt. Sonia
Dumouchel-Connock
Back to Issue #22 |
