Croatian soldiers take part in “Spur Ride”
The Traning Range “Bemowo Piskie” in Poland from 22 to 24 January 2019, hosted the “Spur Ride” competition organised by the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) of the Tennessee National Guard of the United States held a contest “Spur Ride” involving eight Croatian soldiers.
The Traning Range “Bemowo Piskie” in Poland from 22 to 24 January 2019, hosted the “Spur Ride” competition organised by the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) of the Tennessee National Guard of the United States held a contest “Spur Ride” involving eight Croatian soldiers.
“Spur Ride” is a traditional competition of US cavalry units, and successful competitors win aspur as a symbol of belonging to the Cavalry. The competition tests soldiers’ physical and mental abilities of the soldiers and the rules are defined by the commanders of the cavalry units.
The participants competed in shooting with various personal weapons, bomb throwing, the administration of first aid and placing calls for MEDEVAC and orienteering marches at day and night time, carrying the required 16-kilo personal equipment. They were allowed a few hours night sleep in a bare tent at -10̊ in a scarce tent set in the snow, they had only a couple of night hours. In the morning they engaged in a simulated attack on the camp and took the physical readiness test carrying the protective mask.
The physical abilities test was followed by a history test tailored to each participating nation, assessing knowledge, precision and speed. The performance was monitored by the instructors of the 278 th Armoured Cavalry Regiment.
Private Andrej Mujan, a member of the 2nd Fire Squad of the MRLS Battery is the best performing of the eight Croatian participants- Following the traditional ceremony of assignment f the certificates and spurs Pvt Mujan stated: “It has been team work success. Without mutual support and assistance I wouldn’t do that well”.
According to the rules of the US. Cavalry the best performing participants wear spurs on boots on Fridays, which Private Andrej Mujan will do too for the time of his service in the area of activity in Poland.
The Croatian soldiers of the 3rd HRVCON belong to the Poland Batlegroup to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence, alongside the U.S., UK, and Romanian soldiers. The Battlegroup Poland is a multinational combat group assigned to the 15th Mechanised Brigade Gizycko, with the aim of joint practicing and enhancing interoperability among NATO nations.
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