14 AWD Event 3 – LAST CHANCE in Detail

LAST CHANCE was third 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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Two major Events ~ LAST CHANCE and STEEL ARROW ~ featuring all 38 participating AWC Teams took place on the Tuesday of 14AWC week, with a large number of KASOTC (King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center) and NEXUS Training Solutions instructors and staff deployed to ensure the programme ran like clockwork. JOINT-FORCES was invited to sit in on the Team Leader briefings late on the Monday evening and this time, based on my past experience of covering SOF competitions at KASOTC, I decided to focus entirely on LAST CHANCE to try to photograph as many teams in action as possible before the list was thinned out to just 15 for The King’s Challenge finale.

My decision to concentrate on LAST CHANCE was influenced by the knowledge that STEEL ARROW would only involve the Sniper Pairs, shooting over the same UKD range as used for TRAIL OF VICTORY but with different targets in four separate locations between 400m and 800m distant, while the other five members in each Team undertook a Hostage Rescue in the CQB or Close Quarters Battle ‘Shoot House’ facility. At past AWC events I have photographed competitors breaching the building but, other than brief recce tours during periods of inactivity, I had never been permitted inside while an assault was taking place; this year that changed and I was allowed to observe a few Teams in action through the armoured glass window of the VIP Viewing Room on the first floor.

The actual HVI (High Value Individual) Rescue efforts took place under Low Light / No Light conditions, with use of photographic flash being impossible because this would have blinded the approaching Assaulters and most likely put them at a disadvantage over other competing Teams. However, to allow me to witness some of the different methods that Army and Police SOF participants from different nations employed, I watched a dozen or so teams at work while they cleared the Shoot House first floor of ‘hostiles’ while avoiding taking out a surrendering ‘No Shoot’ live civilian and/or a spurious photographer. For the record, although I had assault rifles with UTM simulation rounds pointed in my direction several times as I shifted position behind the glass in my darkened room, nobody actually wasted a bullet on me (unlike last time at KASOTC, when I was accidentally struck in the arm by a marker round during an aircraft clearance).

The Task Order for LAST CHANCE stated: Clear and secure all rooms inside the CQB Shoot House, eliminate all Threats, locate and extract the High Value Individual (HVI) to the Extraction Point and Finish Point under low light or no light limited visibility conditions, in full event uniform (see below). The time limit for the Event was seven minutes, with the Penalty for failure to meet this raw run time being Disqualification from the Event and receiving zero points.

A team event configured for five-man assault elements, LAST CHANCE saw all participants starting outside of the CQB Shoot House at the designated Start Point located on the east side ground floor entry (the Breach Point).The 38 Teams stacked at the Start Point, several minutes apart in pre-determined order, and on the command “Load And Make Ready!” each Assaulter had to fill a blue UTM magazine with ten rounds and make ready their KASOTC-provided UTM Rifle, then move towards the Breach Point to await the command of “Standby, Standby – Go!” from the Senior Event Coordinator; at which point timing started. Each Team then initiated a mechanical breach with the Ram located at the Breach Point, an inward-opening steel door fitted with a wooden wedge to simulate resistance, before clearing the CQB Shoot House bottom to top and back to bottom; i.e. Ground Floor, First Floor, Ground Floor with entry to higher floor levels being taped off or blocked by fixed wooden screens.

Upon the gaining entry, each Team had to move tactically through the structure making sure 360°security was always maintained during movement in the stairwells, hallways, unsecured entrances and inside any rooms. All threats (4x Bulls-Eye targets and 1x IPSEC target) had to be eliminated from designated shooting positions with two rounds apiece, usually involving a ‘double tap’ from the first shooter who identified the target, while moving along a designated route inside the building. All dead space (i.e. obstacles / obstructions) which could not be visually cleared in or out of the rooms encountered had to be covered by security and all stairwells, hallways / open unsecured entrances / rooms and dead space had to be be cleared prior to any team member moving past them.

Once the CQB Shoot House was cleared and secured, the team had to locate and extract the injured High Value Individual (HVI) weighted mannequin to the Extraction Point and Finish Point. Time stopped once all team members had reached the designated Finish Point, after a quick sprint away from the building, with all required uniform and issued equipment.

¤ Additional Penalties included:-

• One Minute time penalty per target for shooting a No Shoot Target
• Two Minute time penalty per target for engaging a target with more than two rounds
• One Minute time penalty per engagement for engaging targets outside specified shooting position
• One Minute time penalty for failure to provide rear security and protection
• One Minute time penalty per pass for not tactically passing (clearing) a door / entrance
• Disqualification and Zero Points for failure to locate and extract the HVI to the Finish Point

¤ Full Event Uniform for Last Chance consisted of:-

• Combat top and combat pants
• Boots – not Athletic Trainers
• Combat Tactical Load Bearing Vest with Level III Front and Back Plates.
• Ear and Eye Protection
• Ballistic Helmet
• Knee and elbow pads
• One 9mm Pistol per team member
• Four Pistol Magazines per team member
• Five (empty) Rifle Magazines per team member

¤ KASOTC supplied additional equipment for LAST CHANCE:-

• One Mechanical Breaching Kit per team – to be left at the Breach Point after use
• One Assault Rifle (UTM) with flashlight per team member
• One UTM (Ultimate Training Munitions) rifle magazine per team member
• Ten 5.56mm UTM marker rounds per team member

Footnote: 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.

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[images © Bob Morrison 2025]

§ 14th Annual Warrior Competition ~ LAST CHANCE Top Ten Places

Position	Team No	Country	Team Name
#1	Team 12	Brunei	RPK (Rejimen Pasukan Khas) Team 1
#2	Team 11	Iraq	Counter-Terrorism Service
#3	Team 25	Saudi Arabia	KSA Land SOF Team 1
#4	Team 34	Kosovo	Police DSU
#5	Team 23	Kazakhstan	KAZSOF 2
#6	Team 30	Italy	1° Rgt Carabinieri Paracadutisti ‘TUSCANIA’
#7	Team 26	Czechia	102. Reconnaissance Battalion
#8	Team 13	N.Macedonia	Special Anti-Terrorist Unit TIGAR
#9	Team 22	Poland	Special Operations Forces Unit AGAT
#10	Team 03	United States	5th Special Forces Group Troop 2

To be continued, with ‘THE KING’S CHALLENGE’…..