An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July / August 2023 www.military.ie/magazine 12 | BY LT ALEX MCNAMARA PHOTOS BY LT ALEX MCNAMARA The Gainey Cup 1 ACS AT THE US ARMY INTERNATIONAL SCOUT COMPETITION 2023 T he Irish Defence Forces Cavalry Corps secured an invitation to the biannual International Scout Competition (The Gainey Cup) in Fort Benning, Georgia. Hosted by the Comman- dant of the United States Army Armour School, the competition (named in honour of Command Sergeant Major (Retd) William 'Joe' Gainey), regularly includes scout squads selected from all the U.S. Army Divisions and U.S. Army Cavalry formations, and also Allied Nations. Encompass- ing a week of physically and mentally demanding events, the Gainey Cup showcases the competence, physical and mental stamina and competitive spirit of Cavalry Scout Troopers serving in formations that perform Reconnaissance and Security. Gainey Cup winners are recognised as the best scout squad in the world. Twenty two, 6-man teams from around the U.S., and 4 international teams, were tested in every aspect of the scout skill set with events focusing on reconnaissance and security, naviga- tion, stealth infiltration and exfiltration, observation, target positive identification (PID), team communication, U.S. Army doctrine, physical endurance, stress shooting, LFTT, call for fire and vehicle identification. The competition, conducted over a 6 day period, had teams engage in 15 events testing over 55 military skills. In March this year, the 1st Armoured Cavalry Squadron team consisting of Squad Leader Lt Alex McNamara, Team Leader Sgt Kevin Conlon, Scout Cpl Anthony Sheehy, Scout Tpr Gabri- elius Garbencius, Scout Tpr Declan Behan and Scout Tpr Oisin Duffy began an intense training programme designed and overseen by their coaches, Comdt Thomas Tooher and RSM James Scanlon. With this be- ing the first time a team from the Defence Forces would compete, the landscape of training encompassed a large array of skills to ensure the team arrived ready for any scenario that the U.S. Army Armour School staff could devise. The restricted prepa- ration timeframe presented to be a challenge from the outset. However, with the assistance and guidance from the ARW, and under the mentorship of a senior ARW CS, the team was put in its best possible position to not just participate but to compete. In addition to this the team was assisted in their training by many other units within the DFTC, notably The Cavalry School, The Artillery School, CIS group, IWW and the DFPES. Arriving at Fort Benning late on 23rd April, the team began an intense four day training program. During the course of the four days the team familiarised themselves with six new weapon systems, U.S. Army doctrine, communications equip- ment, call for fire procedures and scout reports. This was all completed whilst acclimatising to the unrelenting Georgia heat (upwards of 35(+) plus with humidity of 80%), with morn- ing physical training sessions. The 28th April saw the commencement of the pre competi- tion team sequencing. As a result of the team performance over four sequencing events, teams would be given the opportunity depending on place, to self-select the specified order of competition events. Event One pitted all teams against another in a combined score range practice. Using the M4 weapon system, teams engaged 40 pop up targets, changed multiple magazines, whilst adopting different firing positions in a 3 minute time- frame. Event Two began early in the morning with a 5 mile Recon run. At the end of the 5 mile run, teams were asked a number of questions in relation to the route. Sequencing Event Three was a fifty question U.S. military doctrine and vehicle identification exam. Finally, Event Four was a stress shoot that saw squads conduct a manoeuvre live fire event to evaluate their individual strength, endurance and ability to accurately engage threats in a time constrained environ- Team member performing a gruelling robe climb on the obstacle course The Team after completing the sequencing events Orders prior to route recon event

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