Exercise Cambrian Patrol is a continuous 48-hour, long-range reconnaissance patrolling competition which is run annually within the Cambrian Mountains (Mynyddoedd Cambria) of Mid-Wales.

The competition, open to regular, territorial and international teams is considered one of most arduous and prestigious military competitions, testing candidates' leadership, field craft, discipline and both mental and physicals stamina.

Set up over 40-years ago by Welsh territorial soldiers, teams of eight are required to cover over 40km carrying an average of 55-75lbs over the most unforgiving Welsh terrain in less than 24-hours.

Teams are required to pass a number of 'stands' on their patrol, each testing a different aspect of soldering e.g. shooting, first aid and casualty evacuation, recognition of aircraft, vehicles and equipment and tactical river crossing.

Each patrol is set within the context of a narrative which often involves teams having to escape and evade capture, interact with friendly and not so friendly civilians or resistant groups. Teams are tested on everything they encountered on the Patrol during a debrief upon reaching the finishing point.

Points are added or deducted depending on time and conduct whilst on the patrol and medals or certificates are rewarded depending on score. Exercise Cambrian Patrol is one of the most challenging and rewarding exercises one can partake in and is the closest thing to Special Forces selection many people will experience.

This year 102 teams participated in the Patrol with only six gold medals won, four of those being awarded to British teams. Completing the course is a feat in itself with many regular army teams and specialist patrols teams failing to finish.

This year it was recorded that over 40 percent of the teams failed to finish the full duration of the competition.

Below is an account written by Ocdt A Aitken and Ocdt D Wallis, of C Coy, WUOTC, describing their experiences as members of one of the WUOTC teams taking part in Cambrian Patrol 2011.

Wales Universities' Officer Training Corps entered two teams into the 2011 Patrol (the only reserve unit to do so), and both completed the competition successfully with a Silver medal, and a Certificate of Merit (gained if the course is completed). The competition started in the early hours of the morning where the patrol was dropped off at a location with supplies lasting only 48-hours. Every member had to carry in excess of 60lbs, including their weapon, food, ammunition, and general equipment needed to survive. From this point onwards the competition began. The patrol commander received a set of orders and taskings from which we had to go and meet the agents and enemy who would help or hinder us along the 64km route.

We set off on the first task, which was a close target recce to secretly gather as much information about the enemy location as possible. After walking 20km, in full kit and over arduous ground, we had to remain fully aware and tactical, noting down all the information gathered. Immediately there was a continued march to get to the next agent for the morning.

'You keep looking at the green glow of your watch in the pitch black, and keep trying to see the horizon for sunlight, the night march was endless' is how one member described this phase of the competition.

From this point, the challenges set to us became more and more of a mental challenge as well as a physical one. Not only have we been alert and aware for 26-hours, we had the river crossing to contend with. The agent gave our patrol the issue that the bridge has been mined and therefore could not be used. The only other option was to swim the 80m gap to reach the other side. One of our patrol members described the ordeal... 'You enter the water and immediately freeze, you are kicking your legs and it just feels as if the opposite bank isn't getting closer!' Once finishing this demanding stand we were given only a few minutes to get back into dry clothes and exit the area towards the new task.

After the icy coldness of the river crossing the patrol then continued on to another close target recce, except this time without the cover of darkness to aid concealment. It was about this time that the weather began to close in and the Brecon Beacons served up some traditional torrential rain and wind. For half the section this meant shivering in a defensive forward rendezvous point, while for the others it meant creeping through the wet woodland to try and identify the target. After this there was an interesting stand compiled of a meet with an agent posing as an Argentinean Colonel. He requested that we help him identify a cache of captured weapons. We saw this as an opportunity to question the agent and his accomplices for any information they may be harbouring.

In the spirit of Cambrian Patrol the next, and arguably the hardest, challenge followed suit immediately- the night march- up a large hill in the now torrential rain. Only by forcing one foot in front of the other can you get through the dense bog, but the patrol members came through with barely a complaint. Next came the Prisoner Of War stand, a realistic set up in which the team must search, question and detain simulated prisoners of war in adherence to the Geneva Convention-ensuring their safe treatment. This was an intense stand with a fair amount of shouting and chaos to restore order to the scene! Another short march lead us to the assault stand, which it’s fair to say was the one we were excited about! With Combat Body Armour fitted and live GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun) bullets whistling overhead we launched an assault on a compound of buildings. After tirelessly clearing each one we moved on to our final phase.

At the last stand, we met another agent who informed us that our patrol commander was 'injured' and needed evacuating - we promptly placed him on a lightweight stretcher and commenced the evacuation. The route was along an undulating road 1km long - no easy task considering he was the heaviest person on our patrol, weighing about 16stone with equipment! The competition ended with a patrol debrief (in a nice warm room for once!) in which we collated all the information we have gathered over the last 48-hours. It was then for the examiners to decide our marks! Eventually, the experiences ended with the welcome bus ride back to camp. All in all, a fantastic exercise!'

By and large the two WUOTC teams did a fantastic job in their completion of the Cambrian Patrol 2011. WUOTC were the only reserve/TA unit to enter two teams and despite the B team losing a man due to injury, they were nevertheless awarded a certificate of merit, with the A team being placed in the top third to achieve a silver medal. When comparing Wales OTC to the surrounding competition, their efforts and the results they accomplished are startling. Along with being the fastest team to complete the 1km strecher race and proportionately having the least number of teams drop out, they accomlished all this with good humour and high spirits. We can only hope we achieve the same standard of team work and professionalism next year!