TERRITORIAL Army soldiers were put to the test at the weekend in gruelling military skills competition.
Exercise Martial Merlin is the highlight of the military training year and nearly 200 soldiers from the North-East and Yorkshire competed at Catterick.
The exercise saw 16 teams of 12 soldiers cover an assault course through a mock village, recover a vehicle, deal with a fake traffic accident and complete problem solving command tasks.
They also had to march at speeds across country carrying packs of up to 30lbs and hit a target on the ranges at the end.
Exercise Martial Merlin is organised and run by 15 (North East) Brigade, which is the UK's largest brigade. Its commander, Brigadier David Shaw, said: "The exercise is arduous and concentrates on teamwork, leadership, physical fitness and achieving the mission.
"These are essential skills in today's modern Army and many of the TA soldiers in Yorkshire and the North-East have had the chance to put these into practice when they have been mobilised for operations in the Balkans and Iraq."
Among those competing were 101 Regiment Royal Artillery, the Tyne Tees Regiment, 102 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Northumbria University Officer Training Corps.
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