ARMED FORCES MARCH AND SHOOT COMPETITION CODENAMED EXERCISE ONYESHA UJUZI 2006-12-07

Armed Forces March and Shoot competition is a tri-service event that involves Kenya Army Units and a team each from KAF and Kenya Navy. The event marks end of a three year training cycle and the beginning of a new three year training period. The first tri-service competition was conducted in 2000 with KN winning, in 2003 7 KR won while this years winners were 10 Engrs Bn.

The event is one of the most challenging and those who participate and complete are held in high esteem by their peers. Memories of difficulties encountered during the training and the actual competition are told many years.

The competition is one of the tools that the Armed Forces use to evaluate the readiness of formations, units and sub units of war. To this end, the competition is designed to evaluate units in personal kit state, various military skills, night navigation and maneuver attack (marksmanship).

The goal is therefore to ensure individually, every officer and soldier is thoroughly trained on mission oriented skills before the competition commences.

The navigation part in this years exercise covered a distance of 102 Kms through one of the most difficult terrains within three nights culminating to a maneuver attack where team marksmanship was evaluated.

Several lessons were learnt from the exercise:

• Need to have excellent teamwork and esperit de corps.

• The importance of physical fitness and ruthless determination to succeed.

• Need to plan on adverse weather changes.

• Importance of sound and good leadership.

The success of the exercise is a clear manifestation of the units/formations preparedness. The competition was tough but the teams performed to their best ability.

	The Minister of state for Defence,Hon Njenga Karume having a feel of the LMG during the march and shoot exercise.