TRAIL OF VICTORY was the second of five events at the 14th Annual Warrior Competition (14AWC) for Special Operations Forces at KASOTC in Jordan, reports Bob Morrison.
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TRAIL OF VICTORY, unlike the TOP SHOT event held the previous day which only involved a single shooter representing each of the competing teams, saw 38 five-man squads tabbing and shooting against the clock.
In simple terms the Task set for TRAIL OF VICTORY was to “move as a team along designated route, navigate and complete all stations” against the clock during daylight conditions in full individual event uniform consisting of:
- Combat Top and Combat Pants / Trousers
- Combat Boots ~ NOT athletic shoes / trainers
- Ballistic Helmet
- Combat Tactical Load Bearing Vest with Level III Front and Back Plates.
- Ear and Eye Protection
- One 5.56mm Assault Rifle
- Six 5.56mm Rifle Magazines
- One 9mm Pistol
- Four 9mm Pistol Magazines
- One Hydration Bladder / Canteen ~ filled with water prior to Start
- One Rucksack per team member
Additionally one 0.308 Sniper System and one Rangefinder had to be carried by each team and one filled Sandbag, to be carried in the Rucksack / Daysack from Start to Finish, was issued per team member at the Start Point. The route distance and distances to targets during the sniper engagement were Unknown and the time limit to complete the entire Event was two hours.
Teams were expected to show up at the designated Event Holding Area a minimum of 30 minutes prior to their team’s notified start time to allow equipment issue and checks and to compensate for any teams falling out prior to the Start, but without there being too many bodies needlessly hanging around in this admin area. I have covered several Annual Warrior Competitions since 2014, and without doubt this year’s was definitely the best organised and from my perspective everything seemed to run like clockwork.
On the command of “Standby, Standby – Go!” from the Senior Event Coordinator, the teams in order of draw (notified late the previous evening at the end of the Team Leaders’ Briefing) began their movement with twelve minute intervals between Start Times. Along the route the teams encountered Stations that had to be completed by the assigned shooters to move on and they also encountered obstacles which had to be negotiated. Ammunition for each Station was issued upon arrival at that location. Times stopped once all team members had reach the designated Finish Area with all uniform requirements and issued equipment; rucksacks (with full sandbags) had to be carried throughout, though the two-man sniper teams could temporarily remove these for the sniping task.
After moving at pace and mostly on unmetalled tracks from the Start to Station One, upon arrival, the sniper team grounded rucksacks to occupy the firing position and then engaged all targets. Meanwhile the rest of the team took the kneeling position behind the sniper firing position, facing to the rear for security. In addition to a Coordinator and other range staff overseeing proceedings, at this Station there were two Event Officials (Red Shirts) with high-powered spotting scopes seated alongside the firing position constantly observing the targets while the sniper team was in position.
For this part of the Task there was one Shooter and two Targets, which had to be engaged in order from nearest to furthest, with one round per target; though one additional (i.e. third) round was issued in case needed. Once both targets had been engaged, or the shooter ran dry, he had to show Clear! (returning the extra round if applicable) to allow the entire team to Advance to the next station with all uniform requirements and issued equipment. To avoid incurring a Penalty the sniper team had to complete the Station One engagement within a three minute time limit.
[© Bob Morrison]
[© Bob Morrison]
After leaving Station One the teams speedily followed a marked (by KASOTC’s ubiquitous traffic cones) off-tarmac course over rising and falling ground, passing manned waypoints and encountering obstacles, until they reached the second shooting event at Station Two. Upon arrival, the team collected ammunition and loaded their magazines before occupying the firing line, loading a three-round magazine and then engaging all rifle targets from the kneeling firing position while using the barricades as cover. The five rifle Shooters, each closely observed by a red-shirted Event Official, then had to engage a total of fifteen targets with three targets per shooter and one round per target.
Once all the rifle targets had been engaged, or the Shooters ran dry, they had to show Clear! then shift left to the pistol firing position, transition to pistol, and loading one three-round magazine, to engage targets from the standing firing position. Again there were five Shooters and five targets to be engaged with three rounds per target. Teams were instructed not to initiate fire until all team members were in the shooting position; an Event Official again closely observed each competitor to both monitor hits and observe for any penalty-incurring rule infringements or failures to comply with briefing instructions.
The Station Two engagement had to be completed within a four minute time limit. When all the pistol targets had been engaged, or the Shooters had run dry, they had to show Clear!, re-holster their pistols and advance to the Finish Point with all issued equipment.
Between Station Two and the Finish Point the teams encountered a short stretch of tarmac over which they could sprint, if they still had it in them, to shave a crucial few seconds off their overall event time. You’re going to have to trust me on this one as I can’t publish most of their faces, but the effort the guys expended on TRAIL OF VICTORY is only too evident in some of their expressions.
- Participating Teams could be disqualified and receive zero points in TRAIL OF VICTORY if:
- They failed to meet the required Raw Run Time limit of two hours.
- They failed to complete a Station or an Obstacle.
- They were overtaken and passed by another Team.
- Any failure to complete Station One within three minutes incurred a 10 minutes Penalty.
- Any failure to complete Station Two within four minutes incurred a 10 minutes Penalty.
- Engaging targets outside the specific firing position incurred a 15 minutes Penalty.
- Engaging before all team members were in the shooting position incurred a 10 minutes Penalty.
[© Bob Morrison]
With JOINT-FORCES granted unrestricted access to this Event by the Organisers, over a period of almost six hours out on the ranges I endeavoured to photograph as many teams as possible from as many countries as I could by moving along the course, occasionally leapfrogging teams when it was cleared as being safe to do. Commencing at the Start Point on the edge of ‘The Forest’ at 07:00, at which stage the sun was not yet quite above the high ground to the east, I snapped the first half dozen teams setting out at 12-minute intervals towards Station One on the Unknown Distance Range for the sniper task.
[© Bob Morrison]
After visiting the sniper firing point to photograph several more teams I then headed on towards Station Two on 100m Manoeuvre Range C, before rounding the session off by making my way to the Finish Point on the 300m LOMAH Range. With my trusty old Luminox Navy Seal watch indicating the sun was now well past its zenith, my thermometer registering the air temperature as being well over 30°C and my morning dose of prescription painkilling medication beginning to wear off, I put my lens caps back on having managed to capture photos of 26 of the 38 participating teams; not too bad for a long morning’s work.
This article is more ‘picture heavy’ than usual as I am well aware that some of our readership are very interested in the kit and camo of the participating Spec Ops teams. As can be seen many, though by no means all, of those teams wearing camouflage pattern uniforms were dressed in Crye MultiCam and carried M4/M16-family rifles, but there was enough variety among the others to keep me snapping away; after all it’s not every day that one gets the chance to photograph many of those elite units who participated in 14AWC. As many nations insist on anonymity for their SF and SOF personnel, even though some of the guys themselves were at times quite happy to pose, I have taken the precaution of obscuring faces and name badges etc.
§ 14th Annual Warrior Competition ~ Trail of Victory Top Ten Places
| Position | Team No | Country | Team Name |
| #1 | Team 18 | Rwanda | SOF Team 1 |
| #2 | Team 4 | Jordan | Special Forces Group |
| #3 | Team 11 | Iraq | Counter-Terrorism Service |
| #4 | Team 32 | Oman | Royal Oman Police SpecOps |
| #5 | Team 14 | Jordan | Jordanian Royal Guards |
| #6 | Team 23 | Kazakhstan | KAZSOF 2 |
| #7 | Team 17 | Qatar | Joint Special Forces 2 |
| #8 | Team 15 | Kosovo | Police SIU Team 1 |
| #9 | Team 12 | Brunei | RPK (Rejimen Pasukan Khas) Team 1 |
| #10 | Team 27 | Brunei | RPK (Rejimen Pasukan Khas) Team 2 |
Notes:
- For safety during Annual Warrior Competition magazines are only fitted while at firing positions
- No females participated in this year’s event though some have in the past and may in the future
- If all goes to plan I will include a full Team List in the next article
[images © Bob Morrison 2025]
To be continued…..
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