CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, left, and Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Forces – Iraq, land at Contingency Operating Site Marez, Iraq, Aug. 1, 2011. Mullen and Austin met with senior U.S. Division – North leadership to discuss security in northern Iraq during a tour of the Ninewa Combined Coordination Center.

(U.S. Army photo by Capt. Philip Crabtree, 4th AAB PAO, 1st Cav. Div., USD – N)

FORT IRWIN, Calif. - A U.S. Army Soldier from 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division pulls out his mission oriented protective posture during a tear gas attack for Training Rotation 14-06 at the National Training Center here, April 19, 2014. Decisive Action Rotation sat the NTC ensure brigade combat teams remain versatile, responsive and consistently available for the current fight and unforeseen future contingencies. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Paul Sale, Operations Group, National Training Center)

Pictured:

Ten Tors is one of the biggest multi-agency, tri service civil contingency exercises in Britain. It is run by more than nine hundred military personnel - almost all of them Reservists - from all three branches of the Armed Forces, led by the Army’s 43 (Wessex) Brigade with its HQ in Tidworth, Wiltshire.

The 54th running of the event this year comes just months after military personnel, including Reservists from the South West , assisted local authorities, the Environment Agency and blue-light services during the floods, carrying out a range of tasks from sandbagging to engineering.

As a military exercise Ten Tors provides the Armed Forces with an invaluable opportunity to practice these life-saving civil contingency responsibilities, to enable the military - assisted by the emergency services, including The British Red Cross and the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group - to be ready to help when they are called upon during a national emergency.

Brigadier Piers Hankinson MBE, Director of Ten Tors, is the Commander of 43 (Wessex) Brigade and was the Joint Military Commander for the South West during the flooding.

“The severe flooding across parts of the South West earlier this year clearly demonstrates the importance of such training and the ability to react to fast changing conditions and working in a multi-agency tri-service team. It also highlights the way that Reservists, who have wide ranging civilian experience and employment (from plumbers to accountants), train to operate with their regular counterparts under a One-Army ethos.”

Ten Tors:

As well as a vital high-level military exercise, The Ten Tors Challenge is also one of the biggest outdoors adventure events for young people in Britain today. In all, 2400 youngsters aged between 14 and 19 will take part in Ten Tors, with a further 300 youngsters with physical or educational needs taking part in the Jubilee Challenge.

The majority of the teams who enter Ten Tors are from schools and youth groups from Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. As usual, scores of scout groups, sports and ramblers teams and Armed Forces cadet units have accepted the challenge and are taking part.

Those teenagers taking on the Ten Tors Challenge will trek unaided over 35, 45 or 55 miles of some of the toughest terrain and highest peaks in Southern England relying on their navigational skills and carrying all their food, water, bedding, tents and other essentials as they go.

It is a feat they must complete as a team and without any help from adults and they’ll remain entirely self-sufficient during their arduous expeditions, including camping out overnight on the moor.

They do it for the challenge; to test themselves against one of the last remaining wildernesses in Britain. What they get in return for their months of hard training and commitment, as well as determination and bravery during the event itself, is an experience they’ll remember forever and the chance to learn a set of skills and values which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

It’s a rite of passage which has played a positive and formative role in shaping the lives of more than a quarter of a million people.

NOTE TO DESKS:

MoD release authorised handout images.

All images remain Crown Copyright 2013.

Photo credit to read - Cpl Si Longworth RLC (Phot)

Email: simonlongworth@mediaops.army.mod.uk

richardwatt@mediaops.army.mod.uk

shanewilkinson@mediaops.army.mod.uk

Si Longworth - 07414 191994

Richard Watt - 07836 515306

Shane Wilkinson - 07901 590723

Airmen from the 36th Contingency Response Group and U.S. Marines unload a U.S. Marine UH-1Y Huey helicopter from a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, at Tribhuvan International Airport, May 5, 2015. The 36th CRG is a rapid-deployment unit designed to establish and maintain airfield operations in a forward operating location and joined U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development led humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in support of the government and armed forces of Nepal. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Melissa White/Released)

Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group and Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s active-duty 689th Rapid Port Opening Element from Fort Eustis, Va., erect Alaskan Shelter sleeping quarters at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., on Aug. 5, 2013, as part of Exercise Gateway Relief, a U.S. Transportation Command-directed earthquake-response scenario. The two units are joining forces to stand up and operate a Joint Task Force-Port Opening, which combines an Air Force Aerial Port of Debarkation with an Army trucking and distribution unit. The aerial port ensures the smooth flow of cargo and relief supplies into affected areas by airlift, while the trucking unit facilitates their final distribution over land. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer/Released)

110815-A-FP886-064 CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Staff Sgt. Joshua Moody, squad leader with Company B from Killeen, Texas, 1-5 Calvary, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, advises an Iraqi soldier on the range during a week of marksmanship training on an Iraqi Military Post, August 16. The Iraqi soldiers are learning basic marksmanship, close quarters marksmanship, advanced marksmanship and how to enter and clear a room in an urban environment. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Crystal Hudson, 29th MPAD, USD - N PAO)

The North Dakota Army National Guard’s C-12 aircraft arrives at the Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility, in Bismarck, on Sept. 10, 2013. The aircraft brought home the final three Soldiers of a four-Soldier team of the 1919th Contingency Contracting Team (CCT) that served nine months in Qatar and Afghanistan supporting contracting operations. (National Guard Photo by Bill Prokopyk, N.D. National Guard Public Affairs Office/Released)

For more on the North Dakota National Guard, check out:

Website: www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NDNationalGuard

YouTube: www.youtube.com/NDNationalGuard

Twitter: www.twitter.com/NDNationalGuard

Copyright information: www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/pressroom/Pages/Copyright.aspx

Sand (and water, in a slurry) is pumped from nearby Moriches Inlet, as part of post-Hurricane Sandy barrier island breach closure operations Monday November 26, 2012. The barrier island breach closure work at Cupsogue County Park, which was carried out as part of the Breach Contingency Plan in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, was completed Tuesday evening November 27, 2012. (photo by Chris Gardner, New York District public affairs)

Hypnotist Chuck Milligan topples volunteers like dominoes.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Hypnotist Chuck Milligan addresses his audience with a chuckle as his hypnotized volunteers topple over like a row of dominoes in a relaxed, hypnotized state during a performance at the North Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Center at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, Jan. 17, 2011. Milligan's performance lasted nearly two hours and kept the audience engaged the entire time with laughter and role-play. The performance tour across Iraq is Milligan's third since the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "It is all about the audience," said Milligan. "The more engaged they are, the more fun they are having—the better the performance is."

(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Strayer, 109th MPAD, USD-N PAO)

Crews work to move sand, freshly pumped from nearby Moriches Inlet, as part of post-Hurricane Sandy barrier island breach closure operations Monday November 26, 2012. The barrier island breach closure work at Cupsogue County Park, which was carried out as part of the Breach Contingency Plan in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, was completed Tuesday evening November 27, 2012. (photo by Chris Gardner, New York District public affairs)

North Dakota Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Heidi Sigl, of Bismarck, N.D., is greeted by her children at the N.D. National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility, in Bismarck, on Sept. 10, 2013. Sigl along with two other Soldiers of the Guard’s 1919th Contingency Contracting Team (CCT) were welcomed home to North Dakota this afternoon by family, friends and loved ones after a nine-month long mission in Qatar and Afghanistan. (National Guard Photo by Bill Prokopyk, N.D. National Guard Public Affairs Office/Released)

For more on the North Dakota National Guard, check out:

Website: www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NDNationalGuard

YouTube: www.youtube.com/NDNationalGuard

Twitter: www.twitter.com/NDNationalGuard

Copyright information: www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/pressroom/Pages/Copyright.aspx

Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group offload equipment from a C-130 Hercules aircraft at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., on Aug. 5, 2013, as part of Exercise Gateway Relief, a U.S. Transportation Command-directed earthquake-response scenario. The 123rd is joining forces with the U.S. Army’s active-duty 689th Rapid Port Opening Element from Fort Eustis, Va., to stand up and operate a Joint Task Force-Port Opening, which combines an Air Force Aerial Port of Debarkation with an Army trucking and distribution unit. The aerial port ensures the smooth flow of cargo and relief supplies into affected areas by airlift, while the trucking unit facilitates their final distribution over land. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer/Released)

Bradley Fighting Vehicle drives off range.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Infantrymen from 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, drive their M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle off of Memorial Range after zeroing the 25mm main gun and M240B machine gun during a live fire exercise in support of Operation New Dawn near Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, July 29, 2011.

(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Quentin Johnson, 2nd AAB PAO, 1st Cav. Div., USD – N)

A paratrooper assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, conducts live fire training on Fort Bragg, Sept. 9, 2013. The White Falcons, currently part of the Global Response Force, conducted a two-week intensive training cycle designed to reinforce combat skills for the nation’s airborne assault-capable, contingency unit.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE WARRIOR, Iraq – Private 1st Class Anthony Richardson, an infantryman assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, walks with members of the Kirkuk expanded Combined Security Force during a patrol in Kirkuk City, Iraq, March 8, 2011. The eCSF is comprised of Iraqi Army soldiers, Kurdish Regional Guard and Iraqi Policemen serving together to provide security in Kirkuk province.

(U.S. Army photo by 1st Sgt. Steven Sierras, Company A, 2nd Bn.,12th Cav. Regt., 1st AATF, 1st Inf. Div.)

flashing red lights powered off modification controlled by Los Angeles Department of Transportation's Special Traffic Operations and Traffic Management Plan Contingency Engineers followed by East Wind Youth Lion Troupe Dancers on performance Alpine Street, College Street, PED XING - Chinatown Central Plaza Mid-Block Pedestrian Crosswalk Crossing traffic signal flashing yellow lights switched off and Bernard Street intersection traffic signal flashing red lights modification controlled by LADOT Special Traffic Operations during the operation of the Los Angeles Chinatown Golden Dragon Parade located at 639 to 651 North Broadway in Chinatown Los Angeles, California 90012 between two towers of Jia Apartments 甲公寓 and Cathay Manor Senior Apartments 國泰莊園老人公寓, HSBC - Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation 香港上海滙豐銀行公司 (港滬銀), Teo Chew Association Temple 潮州會館廟 and BC Plaza 百昌商場.

Note: The new current G.D.P. route travelled Southbound Broadway and made a left turn at Eastbound West Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and ENDS at a right turn into Southbound Spring Street Olvera Street for parade floats disbanding zone since February 2007 to February 2012 but now this Golden Dragon Parade route on Southbound Broadway turns right to Westbound Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and ENDS at North Hill Street overpass bridge and North Grand Avenue for parade floats disbanding zone since February 2013 to present. The former G.D.P. route was on Northbound Broadway (ended here until 2000) from Cesar E. Chavez Avenue to Bernard Street and Southbound Hill Street at Ord Street took place here until 2006.

The former G.D.P. route was on Northbound Broadway (ended here until 2000) from Cesar E. Chavez Avenue to Bernard Street and Southbound Hill Street at Ord Street took place here until 2006.

美國加州都阿爾特市市長康佳琛及他的妻子坐車上在金龍大遊行巡遊會洛杉磯中國城華埠北百老滙街及奧德街

Pictured: Okehampton Camp and 'tent city'

Ten Tors is one of the biggest multi-agency, tri service civil contingency exercises in Britain. It is run by more than nine hundred military personnel - almost all of them Reservists - from all three branches of the Armed Forces, led by the Army’s 43 (Wessex) Brigade with its HQ in Tidworth, Wiltshire.

The 54th running of the event this year comes just months after military personnel, including Reservists from the South West , assisted local authorities, the Environment Agency and blue-light services during the floods, carrying out a range of tasks from sandbagging to engineering.

As a military exercise Ten Tors provides the Armed Forces with an invaluable opportunity to practice these life-saving civil contingency responsibilities, to enable the military - assisted by the emergency services, including The British Red Cross and the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group - to be ready to help when they are called upon during a national emergency.

Brigadier Piers Hankinson MBE, Director of Ten Tors, is the Commander of 43 (Wessex) Brigade and was the Joint Military Commander for the South West during the flooding.

“The severe flooding across parts of the South West earlier this year clearly demonstrates the importance of such training and the ability to react to fast changing conditions and working in a multi-agency tri-service team. It also highlights the way that Reservists, who have wide ranging civilian experience and employment (from plumbers to accountants), train to operate with their regular counterparts under a One-Army ethos.”

Ten Tors:

As well as a vital high-level military exercise, The Ten Tors Challenge is also one of the biggest outdoors adventure events for young people in Britain today. In all, 2400 youngsters aged between 14 and 19 will take part in Ten Tors, with a further 300 youngsters with physical or educational needs taking part in the Jubilee Challenge.

The majority of the teams who enter Ten Tors are from schools and youth groups from Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. As usual, scores of scout groups, sports and ramblers teams and Armed Forces cadet units have accepted the challenge and are taking part.

Those teenagers taking on the Ten Tors Challenge will trek unaided over 35, 45 or 55 miles of some of the toughest terrain and highest peaks in Southern England relying on their navigational skills and carrying all their food, water, bedding, tents and other essentials as they go.

It is a feat they must complete as a team and without any help from adults and they’ll remain entirely self-sufficient during their arduous expeditions, including camping out overnight on the moor.

They do it for the challenge; to test themselves against one of the last remaining wildernesses in Britain. What they get in return for their months of hard training and commitment, as well as determination and bravery during the event itself, is an experience they’ll remember forever and the chance to learn a set of skills and values which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

It’s a rite of passage which has played a positive and formative role in shaping the lives of more than a quarter of a million people.

NOTE TO DESKS:

MoD release authorised handout images.

All images remain Crown Copyright 2013.

Photo credit to read - Cpl Si Longworth RLC (Phot)

Email: simonlongworth@mediaops.army.mod.uk

richardwatt@mediaops.army.mod.uk

shanewilkinson@mediaops.army.mod.uk

Si Longworth - 07414 191994

Richard Watt - 07836 515306

Shane Wilkinson - 07901 590723

Staff Sgt. Bruce Henderson, an infantryman assigned to Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, uses crossed ski poles to steady his aim Dec. 12, 2013 at the Malemute Drop Zone at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Henderson and his unit exited a C-130 Hercules Alaska Air National Guard aircraft from the tailgate with a full arctic combat load, demonstrating their unique ability to rapidly deploy troops into arctic environments in response to a variety of contingencies. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Smith/Released)

Spc. William Baker (left), an infantryman with Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 1-40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, works to secure his equipment in preparation for follow-on movement after successfully exiting a C-130 Hercules Alaska Air National Guard aircraft Dec. 12, 2013 at the Malemute Drop Zone at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Baker and his unit exited the aircraft from the tailgate with a full arctic combat load, demonstrating their unique ability to rapidly deploy troops into arctic environments in response to a variety of contingencies. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Smith/Released)

An M109A6 Paladin assigned to Charlie Battery, Regimental Fires Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee Army National Guard, conducts a movement to a new firing location during Decisive Action Rotation 18-07 at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif., May 12, 2018. Decisive Action Rotations at the National Training Center ensure units remain versatile, responsive, and consistently available for current and future contingencies. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Lisa Orender, Operations Group, National Training Center)

Sgt. Kellyn Furgiuele of the 372nd Inland Cargo Transportation Company, 275th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and Pfc. Michael Doumas of 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Sust. Bde., receive applause Oct. 12 after winning in their respective groups for the 310th ESC’s Grey Ghost Stakes Best Warrior and NCO competition at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.

Photos from the AMC Chapel ribbon cutting and one of the first services.

About the 401st:

The 401st Army field Support Brigade provides Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines, the tools and resources necessary to complete the mission. If they shoot, drive it, fly it, wear it, eat it or communicate with it, the 401st helps provide it. The brigade assists coalition partners with many of their logistical and sustainment needs. The brigade also handles the responsible disposition of equipment in Afghanistan to support evolving missions. We are the single link between Warfighters in the field, and working through Army Sustainment Command, we leverage Army Materiel Command’s worldwide Materiel Enterprise to develop, deliver, and sustain materiel to ensure a dominant joint force for the U.S. and our Allies.

For More information please visit us online:

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PALU, Indonesia (Oct. 9, 2018) - A bird's-eye view of the airport hangar in Balikpapan, Indonesia. Members from the 36th Contingency Response Group at Andersen, Air and 374th Airlift Wing from Yokota Air Base, Japan are supporting the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) humanitarian relief efforts after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Indonesia's Sulawesi Island Sept. 28, 2018. The airport is the staging ground for all humanitarian goods before being transported to Palu, Indonesia where they are received and distributed to those affected. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. JT May III) 181009-F-ZM606-076

** Interested in following U.S. Indo-Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/indopacom | twitter.com/PacificCommand |

www.instagram.com/indopacom | www.flickr.com/photos/us-pacific-command; | www.youtube.com/user/USPacificCommand | www.pacom.mil/ **

Pictured:

Ten Tors is one of the biggest multi-agency, tri service civil contingency exercises in Britain. It is run by more than nine hundred military personnel - almost all of them Reservists - from all three branches of the Armed Forces, led by the Army’s 43 (Wessex) Brigade with its HQ in Tidworth, Wiltshire.

The 54th running of the event this year comes just months after military personnel, including Reservists from the South West , assisted local authorities, the Environment Agency and blue-light services during the floods, carrying out a range of tasks from sandbagging to engineering.

As a military exercise Ten Tors provides the Armed Forces with an invaluable opportunity to practice these life-saving civil contingency responsibilities, to enable the military - assisted by the emergency services, including The British Red Cross and the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group - to be ready to help when they are called upon during a national emergency.

Brigadier Piers Hankinson MBE, Director of Ten Tors, is the Commander of 43 (Wessex) Brigade and was the Joint Military Commander for the South West during the flooding.

“The severe flooding across parts of the South West earlier this year clearly demonstrates the importance of such training and the ability to react to fast changing conditions and working in a multi-agency tri-service team. It also highlights the way that Reservists, who have wide ranging civilian experience and employment (from plumbers to accountants), train to operate with their regular counterparts under a One-Army ethos.”

Ten Tors:

As well as a vital high-level military exercise, The Ten Tors Challenge is also one of the biggest outdoors adventure events for young people in Britain today. In all, 2400 youngsters aged between 14 and 19 will take part in Ten Tors, with a further 300 youngsters with physical or educational needs taking part in the Jubilee Challenge.

The majority of the teams who enter Ten Tors are from schools and youth groups from Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. As usual, scores of scout groups, sports and ramblers teams and Armed Forces cadet units have accepted the challenge and are taking part.

Those teenagers taking on the Ten Tors Challenge will trek unaided over 35, 45 or 55 miles of some of the toughest terrain and highest peaks in Southern England relying on their navigational skills and carrying all their food, water, bedding, tents and other essentials as they go.

It is a feat they must complete as a team and without any help from adults and they’ll remain entirely self-sufficient during their arduous expeditions, including camping out overnight on the moor.

They do it for the challenge; to test themselves against one of the last remaining wildernesses in Britain. What they get in return for their months of hard training and commitment, as well as determination and bravery during the event itself, is an experience they’ll remember forever and the chance to learn a set of skills and values which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

It’s a rite of passage which has played a positive and formative role in shaping the lives of more than a quarter of a million people.

NOTE TO DESKS:

MoD release authorised handout images.

All images remain Crown Copyright 2013.

Photo credit to read - Cpl Si Longworth RLC (Phot)

Email: simonlongworth@mediaops.army.mod.uk

richardwatt@mediaops.army.mod.uk

shanewilkinson@mediaops.army.mod.uk

Si Longworth - 07414 191994

Richard Watt - 07836 515306

Shane Wilkinson - 07901 590723

Soldiers present and post the colors of the 4th Infantry Division during the division’s color casing ceremony in a hangar, Oct. 20, 2011 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq. The "Ivy Division" completed its yearlong Operation New Dawn deployment, spending a year commanding and controlling United States Division-North and Task Force Iron Horse. The 4th Infantry Division controlled approximately 49,000 square miles, covering the area between Baghdad and the Iraq-Turkey border.

KUCHING, Malaysia (April 3, 2019) – Royal Australian Army Lt. Col. Maree Derrick writes down disaster crisis management contingencies during a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief tabletop exercise at Sarawak State Library as part of Pacific Partnership 2019. The exercise allowed civilian and military officials to discuss policies and procedures for responding to various stages of natural disasters and emergencies. Pacific Partnership, now in its 14th iteration, is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Each year the mission team works collectively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nicholas Burgains) 190403-N-AZ808-1063

** Interested in following U.S. Indo-Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/indopacom | twitter.com/INDOPACOM |

www.instagram.com/indopacom | www.flickr.com/photos/us-pacific-command; | www.youtube.com/user/USPacificCommand | www.pacom.mil/ **

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE COBRA, Iraq – Soldiers with 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Division – North, and local Iraqis load various commercial products and goods onto a truck at Contingency Operating Base Cobra, Iraq, July 2011. The supplies were part of a combined humanitarian aid project to support local Iraqi families in the villages surrounding COS Cobra in support of Operation New Dawn.

(U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Randy Warren, 2/1 CAV AAB PAO, 1st Cav. Div., USD-N)

Rendering honors.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq – Spc. Mario Bravo, right, a military policeman assigned to 512th Military Police Company, attached to 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, salutes Col. Malcolm Frost, brigade commander of 2nd AAB, 25th Inf. Div., during an award ceremony at the Salie Gym on Contingency Operating Base Warhorse, Diyala province, Iraq, Jan. 23, 2011. The 512th MP Company conducted missions with their Iraqi Police counterparts in the Diyala, Salah ad Din and Kirkuk provinces during the final months of Operation Iraqi Freedom through Operation New Dawn. The 272nd Military Police Company, based out of Mannheim, Germany, will replace the 512th MP Company, which will return to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., in February.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Robert England, 2nd AAB PAO, 25th Inf. Div., USD-N)

Family members, friends, fellow Soldiers and Virginia Guard senior leaders bid a formal farewell to the Soldiers of the Virginia Beach-based 1945th Contingency Contracting Team, 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group Feb. 8, 2014, at Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach. Virginia Sen. Jeffrey L. McWaters of the 8th District, Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia, Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis A. Green, the Virginia National Guard Senior Enlisted Leader, Col. Michelle Rose, commander of the 329th RSG, Lt. Col. Michael Waterman, commander of the 529th CSSB, Lt. Col. Brent Carey, team leader of the 1944th CCT, and Capt. Bert Hankins, commander of the 1945th CCT, were among the speakers at the ceremony. The four-Soldier team will now head to Camp Shelby, Miss., for premobilization training before they head to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (Photo by Master Sgt. A.J. Coyne, Virginia Guard Public Affairs)

A Kentucky Air National Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft taxies into MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., on Aug. 5, 2013, as part of Exercise Gateway Relief, a U.S. Transportation Command-directed earthquake-response scenario. The Kentucky Air Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group is joining forces with the U.S. Army’s active-duty 689th Rapid Port Opening Element from Fort Eustis, Va., to stand up and operate a Joint Task Force-Port Opening, which combines an Air Force Aerial Port of Debarkation with an Army trucking and distribution unit. The aerial port ensures the smooth flow of cargo and relief supplies into affected areas by airlift, while the trucking unit facilitates their final distribution over land. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer/Released)

Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, Commander, U.S. Army Africa, delivers remarks at the 236th Army Birthday Ball at 11 Degrees North Community Center, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, May 28, 2011.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Austin M. May

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

More than 300 Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa service members attended the event. Hogg's speech focused on the history and importance of the U.S. Army and its role in today's Overseas Contingency Operations.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Alexander Klosterman, weather forecaster, 123rd Contingency Response Group, Kentucky Air National Guard, leads a team in assembling a TMQ 53 Tactical Meteorological Observing System (TMOS) a mobile weather station, during Exercise Arctic Eagle-Patriot 22, in Nome, Alaska, Feb. 26, 2022. Joint Exercise Arctic Eagle-Patriot 2022 increases the National Guard’s capacity to operate in austere, extreme cold-weather environments across Alaska and the Arctic region. AEP22 enhances the ability of military and civilian inter-agency partners to respond to a variety of emergency and homeland security missions across Alaska and the Arctic. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. LeAnne (Ian) Withrow

A multinational team comprised of U.S. Air Force engineers with the 36th Contingency Response Group, Joint Task Force (JTF) 505, a member of the Disaster Assistance Response Team, and a Nepalese civil engineer with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, determine the geotechnical engineering properties of the soil at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal, May 8, 2015. The team tested the soil to determine its stability following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal, April 25. The pavement evaluation tested to see if there were any significant changes to the soil beneath the runway since the earthquake. Any changes could restrict weight limitations to incoming flights in order to prevent any runway damage. JTF-505 works in conjunction with USAID and the international community to provide unique capabilities to assist Nepal. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by MCIPAC Combat Camera Staff Sgt. Jeffrey D. Anderson/Released)

A Virginia Guard Airmen from the Virginia Beach-based 203rd RED HORSE Squadron poses for a photo with employers Feb. 18 at the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach. Working with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve organization, the squadron hosted a lunch for employers to educate them about their capabilities and thank them for their support as the squadron conducts final preparations for federal active duty in Afghanistan and other locations in the Central Command area of operations. The tour on federal active duty began Feb. 17 for approximately 125 Airmen, and they will report to Fort McCoy, Wisc. in early March for three weeks of Combat Skills Training before heading overseas. The unit is expect to be mobilized for six to eight months and should be back in the United State in time for Christmas. RED HORSE stands for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers, and the unit provides a highly mobile civil engineering response force to support contingency operations worldwide. The squadron's capabilities include construction of airfields, roads, runways, vertical structures and major utility systems as well as explosive demolitions, quarry operations, material testing, expedient facility erection, concrete and asphalt paving and well drilling to provide fresh water to military and local population. (Photo by Cotton Puryear, Va. Department of Military Affairs)

Pictured: Okehampton Camp and 'tent city'

Ten Tors is one of the biggest multi-agency, tri service civil contingency exercises in Britain. It is run by more than nine hundred military personnel - almost all of them Reservists - from all three branches of the Armed Forces, led by the Army’s 43 (Wessex) Brigade with its HQ in Tidworth, Wiltshire.

The 54th running of the event this year comes just months after military personnel, including Reservists from the South West , assisted local authorities, the Environment Agency and blue-light services during the floods, carrying out a range of tasks from sandbagging to engineering.

As a military exercise Ten Tors provides the Armed Forces with an invaluable opportunity to practice these life-saving civil contingency responsibilities, to enable the military - assisted by the emergency services, including The British Red Cross and the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group - to be ready to help when they are called upon during a national emergency.

Brigadier Piers Hankinson MBE, Director of Ten Tors, is the Commander of 43 (Wessex) Brigade and was the Joint Military Commander for the South West during the flooding.

“The severe flooding across parts of the South West earlier this year clearly demonstrates the importance of such training and the ability to react to fast changing conditions and working in a multi-agency tri-service team. It also highlights the way that Reservists, who have wide ranging civilian experience and employment (from plumbers to accountants), train to operate with their regular counterparts under a One-Army ethos.”

Ten Tors:

As well as a vital high-level military exercise, The Ten Tors Challenge is also one of the biggest outdoors adventure events for young people in Britain today. In all, 2400 youngsters aged between 14 and 19 will take part in Ten Tors, with a further 300 youngsters with physical or educational needs taking part in the Jubilee Challenge.

The majority of the teams who enter Ten Tors are from schools and youth groups from Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. As usual, scores of scout groups, sports and ramblers teams and Armed Forces cadet units have accepted the challenge and are taking part.

Those teenagers taking on the Ten Tors Challenge will trek unaided over 35, 45 or 55 miles of some of the toughest terrain and highest peaks in Southern England relying on their navigational skills and carrying all their food, water, bedding, tents and other essentials as they go.

It is a feat they must complete as a team and without any help from adults and they’ll remain entirely self-sufficient during their arduous expeditions, including camping out overnight on the moor.

They do it for the challenge; to test themselves against one of the last remaining wildernesses in Britain. What they get in return for their months of hard training and commitment, as well as determination and bravery during the event itself, is an experience they’ll remember forever and the chance to learn a set of skills and values which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

It’s a rite of passage which has played a positive and formative role in shaping the lives of more than a quarter of a million people.

NOTE TO DESKS:

MoD release authorised handout images.

All images remain Crown Copyright 2013.

Photo credit to read - Cpl Si Longworth RLC (Phot)

Email: simonlongworth@mediaops.army.mod.uk

richardwatt@mediaops.army.mod.uk

shanewilkinson@mediaops.army.mod.uk

Si Longworth - 07414 191994

Richard Watt - 07836 515306

Shane Wilkinson - 07901 590723

The North Dakota Army National Guard’s C-12 aircraft arrives at the Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility, in Bismarck, on Sept. 10, 2013. The aircraft brought home the final three Soldiers of a four-Soldier team of the 1919th Contingency Contracting Team (CCT) that served nine months in Qatar and Afghanistan supporting contracting operations. (National Guard Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Steve Urlacher, N.D. National Guard Visual Information/Released)

For more on the North Dakota National Guard, check out:

Website: www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NDNationalGuard

YouTube: www.youtube.com/NDNationalGuard

Twitter: www.twitter.com/NDNationalGuard

Copyright information: www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/pressroom/Pages/Copyright.aspx

Members of the 36th Contingency Response group board a C-17 Globemaster III destined for Kathmandu, Nepal, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, May 4, 2015. The CRG will join U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development led humanitarian and disaster relief operations in support of the government and armed forces of Nepal. (U.S. Air Force photo by Maj. Ashley Conner/Released)

A U.S. Airman from the 36th Contingency Response Group moves palletized cargo using a forklift at Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal, May 4, 2015. The CRG joined U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development led humanitarian and disaster relief operations in support of the government and armed forces of Nepal. (U.S. Air Force photo by Maj. Ashley Conner/Released)

Pictured:

Ten Tors is one of the biggest multi-agency, tri service civil contingency exercises in Britain. It is run by more than nine hundred military personnel - almost all of them Reservists - from all three branches of the Armed Forces, led by the Army’s 43 (Wessex) Brigade with its HQ in Tidworth, Wiltshire.

The 54th running of the event this year comes just months after military personnel, including Reservists from the South West , assisted local authorities, the Environment Agency and blue-light services during the floods, carrying out a range of tasks from sandbagging to engineering.

As a military exercise Ten Tors provides the Armed Forces with an invaluable opportunity to practice these life-saving civil contingency responsibilities, to enable the military - assisted by the emergency services, including The British Red Cross and the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group - to be ready to help when they are called upon during a national emergency.

Brigadier Piers Hankinson MBE, Director of Ten Tors, is the Commander of 43 (Wessex) Brigade and was the Joint Military Commander for the South West during the flooding.

“The severe flooding across parts of the South West earlier this year clearly demonstrates the importance of such training and the ability to react to fast changing conditions and working in a multi-agency tri-service team. It also highlights the way that Reservists, who have wide ranging civilian experience and employment (from plumbers to accountants), train to operate with their regular counterparts under a One-Army ethos.”

Ten Tors:

As well as a vital high-level military exercise, The Ten Tors Challenge is also one of the biggest outdoors adventure events for young people in Britain today. In all, 2400 youngsters aged between 14 and 19 will take part in Ten Tors, with a further 300 youngsters with physical or educational needs taking part in the Jubilee Challenge.

The majority of the teams who enter Ten Tors are from schools and youth groups from Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. As usual, scores of scout groups, sports and ramblers teams and Armed Forces cadet units have accepted the challenge and are taking part.

Those teenagers taking on the Ten Tors Challenge will trek unaided over 35, 45 or 55 miles of some of the toughest terrain and highest peaks in Southern England relying on their navigational skills and carrying all their food, water, bedding, tents and other essentials as they go.

It is a feat they must complete as a team and without any help from adults and they’ll remain entirely self-sufficient during their arduous expeditions, including camping out overnight on the moor.

They do it for the challenge; to test themselves against one of the last remaining wildernesses in Britain. What they get in return for their months of hard training and commitment, as well as determination and bravery during the event itself, is an experience they’ll remember forever and the chance to learn a set of skills and values which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

It’s a rite of passage which has played a positive and formative role in shaping the lives of more than a quarter of a million people.

NOTE TO DESKS:

MoD release authorised handout images.

All images remain Crown Copyright 2013.

Photo credit to read - Cpl Si Longworth RLC (Phot)

Email: simonlongworth@mediaops.army.mod.uk

richardwatt@mediaops.army.mod.uk

shanewilkinson@mediaops.army.mod.uk

Si Longworth - 07414 191994

Richard Watt - 07836 515306

Shane Wilkinson - 07901 590723

An aerial porter from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group marshals cargo at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., on Aug. 5, 2013, as part of Exercise Gateway Relief, a U.S. Transportation Command-directed earthquake-response scenario. The 123rd is joining forces with the U.S. Army’s active-duty 689th Rapid Port Opening Element from Fort Eustis, Va., to stand up and operate a Joint Task Force-Port Opening, which combines an Air Force Aerial Port of Debarkation with an Army trucking and distribution unit. The aerial port ensures the smooth flow of cargo and relief supplies into affected areas by airlift, while the trucking unit facilitates their final distribution over land. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer/Released)

Decisive Action Rotations at the National Training Center ensure units remain versatile, responsive, and consistently available for current and future contingencies. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Lisa Orender, Operations Group, National Training Center)

PABRADE, Lihtuania --U.S. Army Europe Contingency

Command Post fire support officer Maj. Bryan Schotts

leads an After Action Review of the Saber Strike exercise June 13,

2013. Saber Strike 2013 is a U.S. Army Europe-led, multinational,

tactical field training and command post exercise occurring in

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia June 3-14 that involves more than 2,000

personnel from 14 different countries. The exercise trains

participants on command and control as well as interoperability with

regional partners and is designed to improve joint, multinational

capability in a variety of missions and to prepare participants to

support multinational contingency operations worldwide. (Photo by U.S.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Victor Aguirre)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq – An Iraqi Air Force Helicopter launches simulated missiles at an objective at Khor Al Zubair, April 28, during Operation Lions Leap, the largest joint-military exercise in Iraqi Security Forces history. The one-hour exercise, which utilized Iraqi Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces assets, demonstrated the progress that ISF have made in the last several years of working with U.S and other Coalition Forces. (Photo by Sgt. James Kennedy Benjamin)

Paratroopers of the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, conduct live fire, urban operations training on Fort Bragg, Sept. 9, 2013. The White Falcons, currently part of the Global Response Force, conducted a two-week intensive training cycle designed to reinforce combat skills for the nation’s airborne assault-capable, contingency unit.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)

Nepalese army soldiers and U.S. Air Force 36th Contingency Response Group Airmen work with Republic of Singapore Air Force members to unload relief supplies from an RSAF C-130 Hercules May 9, at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Nepalese army and Airmen worked together to process 537,816 pounds of cargo in a 24-hour period from 13 aircraft delivering relief supplies delivered in response to a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the nation April 25. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Melissa B. White/Released)

A paratrooper assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, charges up the stairs of a building during live fire training on Fort Bragg, Sept. 9, 2013. The White Falcons, currently part of the Global Response Force, conducted a two-week intensive training cycle designed to reinforce combat skills for the nation’s airborne assault-capable, contingency unit.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)

WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE DIRECTOR GENERAL, NATIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (NEMA), MUHAMMAD SANI SIDI AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE HANDING OVER AND VALIDATION TABLE TOP SIMULATION EXERCISE OF THE NIGERIAN CIVIL AND MILITARY PANDEMIC INFLUENZA RESPONSE PLANS AND THE MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO CIVIL AUTHORITIES DISASTER CONTINGENCY PLAN AT THE TRANSCORP HILTON ABUJA 14TH - 22ND, NOVEMBER 2013.

PROTOCOL.

It is my pleasure and honor to formally welcome you all to this important event of the opening ceremony of the unveiling of the National Influenza Pandemic Disaster Response Plan and the Military Pandemic Disaster Contingency Plan by NEMA, the United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and other stakeholders. This event also involves the Validation Table Top Simulation Exercise and the Development of 5-year Strategic Work Plan events for emergency response stakeholders in Nigeria. In this regards, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and indeed the Federal Government and the good people of Nigeria stretches their arms of fellowship and solidarity to welcome His Excellency, the USA Ambassador to Nigeria, officials of AFRICOM, the Centre for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and all the relevant arms of the United Nations here present. The Agency sincerely appreciates all your efforts towards the success of this very important exercise.

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, going down memory lane, in 1918, the world experienced the Spanish influenza pandemic that claimed over twenty (20) million lives. The figure as it were, was more than the total number of deaths recorded in the course of World War 1. The current global alert of a possible influenza pandemic likely to be caused by a novel virus makes it imperative for every nation to prepare in advance its response mechanisms for such a catastrophe. While it is obvious that no nation is immune to disasters and pandemic crises, it is equally alarming that such emergencies are not restricted by international boundaries or frontiers. This, therefore, calls for conscious planning, and response preparedness and enhanced international cooperation as signified by this very important event we are witnessing today.

Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen, you will recall, that in October 2011 at the Eko Suites, Victoria Island Lagos, the USAFRICOM and the Center for Disease and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine in partnership with NEMA conducted a Pandemic Disaster Response Table Top Simulation Exercise; “the Draft Pandemic Influenza Disaster Response Plan”. This plan was earlier drafted by the Federal Ministry of Health, National Stakeholders and other relevant arms of the UN system based in Nigeria at Kaduna by 2009. The exercise was followed up by an after-action review meeting which was conducted to make necessary corrections to the Draft National Influenza Pandemic Disaster Response Plan from lessons learnt and was immediately followed by a meeting to draft the Military Pandemic Disaster Contingency Plan in Abuja 28th – 29th November, 2012. This exercise was also preceded by the drafting of the Military Support to Civilian Authorities Disaster Contingency Plan that also took place in Abuja 15th – 18th April, 2013. A validation meeting of the three plans was then carried out by very senior strategic officers of NEMA, the Defence Headquarters, the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Washington DC between 23rd – 27th September, 2013. Today’s presentation and validation exercise marks the successful accomplishment of this tortuous but onerous task that is critical to our national preparedness and disaster resilience.

NEMA in line with its mandate of coordinating disaster management in Nigeria is always willing to provide the leading role for a coherent, integrated and coordinated mechanism that enhances unity of purpose and synergy amongst its stakeholders. In this regards, the provision of the mechanisms for epidemiological information, integrated communication strategy and a well articulated emergency response as contained in the Pandemic Response Plan being presented today by USAFRICOM is quite commendable. You will all agree with me that failure to develop such response plan can be disastrous for any nation; the outbreak of pandemic influenza will not only lead to illnesses and death of persons but also impact negatively on all aspects of national well-being and translate into broader negative socio-economic consequences. Needless to add, that the vulnerable groups which in most cases are usually the aged, women and children are more likely to be at a higher risk and thereby facing greater consequences arising from the outbreak of pandemics. Similarly, the limited awareness to disaster risk reduction information in developing countries like ours has further compounded the challenges associated with pandemic influenza thereby making today’s exercise quite apt, timely and imperative.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, let me use this opportunity to express my gratitude to USAID, the USAFRICOM, the UN system and all other National and International partners and collaborators that have committed their valuable time and resources to ensure the successful accomplishment of the Pandemic Response Plan. May I, specifically, convey my sincere appreciation to the Honourable Ministers of Health, Defence, Foreign Affairs, the Chief of Defence Staff, His Excellency, the American Ambassador in Nigeria and all the distinguished guests here present including members of the press that graced this occasion despite your tight schedules. Permit me to also to express my sincere gratitude to our national partners especially the Military, the Nigeria Police, the NSCDC, the Federal Fire Service, the State SEMAs, the academia and several others too numerous to mention here for the continuous unflinching support and solidarity. For our International partners, I wish to once more sincerely thank you for tasking yourselves to ensure the successful accomplishment of this endeavor and travelling long distances to witness the presentation to the Pandemic Response Plan. This indeed is a rare demonstration of a sustainable international cooperation and solidarity to make the world a more resilient and safer place for all of us.

Thank you all and God Bless.

Maj. Ryan Adams (left), airflow operations officer for the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group, and Lt. Col. Bruce Bancroft, 123rd operations officer, monitor scheduled airlift missions from a mobile command post at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., on Aug. 5, 2013, as part of Exercise Gateway Relief, a U.S. Transportation Command-directed earthquake-response scenario. The 123rd is joining forces with the U.S. Army’s active-duty 689th Rapid Port Opening Element from Fort Eustis, Va., to stand up and operate a Joint Task Force-Port Opening, which combines an Air Force Aerial Port of Debarkation with an Army trucking and distribution unit. The aerial port ensures the smooth flow of cargo and relief supplies into affected areas by airlift, while the trucking unit facilitates their final distribution over land. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer/Released)

Pictured:

Ten Tors is one of the biggest multi-agency, tri service civil contingency exercises in Britain. It is run by more than nine hundred military personnel - almost all of them Reservists - from all three branches of the Armed Forces, led by the Army’s 43 (Wessex) Brigade with its HQ in Tidworth, Wiltshire.

The 54th running of the event this year comes just months after military personnel, including Reservists from the South West , assisted local authorities, the Environment Agency and blue-light services during the floods, carrying out a range of tasks from sandbagging to engineering.

As a military exercise Ten Tors provides the Armed Forces with an invaluable opportunity to practice these life-saving civil contingency responsibilities, to enable the military - assisted by the emergency services, including The British Red Cross and the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group - to be ready to help when they are called upon during a national emergency.

Brigadier Piers Hankinson MBE, Director of Ten Tors, is the Commander of 43 (Wessex) Brigade and was the Joint Military Commander for the South West during the flooding.

“The severe flooding across parts of the South West earlier this year clearly demonstrates the importance of such training and the ability to react to fast changing conditions and working in a multi-agency tri-service team. It also highlights the way that Reservists, who have wide ranging civilian experience and employment (from plumbers to accountants), train to operate with their regular counterparts under a One-Army ethos.”

Ten Tors:

As well as a vital high-level military exercise, The Ten Tors Challenge is also one of the biggest outdoors adventure events for young people in Britain today. In all, 2400 youngsters aged between 14 and 19 will take part in Ten Tors, with a further 300 youngsters with physical or educational needs taking part in the Jubilee Challenge.

The majority of the teams who enter Ten Tors are from schools and youth groups from Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. As usual, scores of scout groups, sports and ramblers teams and Armed Forces cadet units have accepted the challenge and are taking part.

Those teenagers taking on the Ten Tors Challenge will trek unaided over 35, 45 or 55 miles of some of the toughest terrain and highest peaks in Southern England relying on their navigational skills and carrying all their food, water, bedding, tents and other essentials as they go.

It is a feat they must complete as a team and without any help from adults and they’ll remain entirely self-sufficient during their arduous expeditions, including camping out overnight on the moor.

They do it for the challenge; to test themselves against one of the last remaining wildernesses in Britain. What they get in return for their months of hard training and commitment, as well as determination and bravery during the event itself, is an experience they’ll remember forever and the chance to learn a set of skills and values which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

It’s a rite of passage which has played a positive and formative role in shaping the lives of more than a quarter of a million people.

NOTE TO DESKS:

MoD release authorised handout images.

All images remain Crown Copyright 2013.

Photo credit to read - Cpl Si Longworth RLC (Phot)

Email: simonlongworth@mediaops.army.mod.uk

richardwatt@mediaops.army.mod.uk

shanewilkinson@mediaops.army.mod.uk

Si Longworth - 07414 191994

Richard Watt - 07836 515306

Shane Wilkinson - 07901 590723