ONE TWO THREE GO!

Gunners from all over the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Ministry of Defence returned to Khatib Camp on 21 Feb to participate in the Men of Steel Challenge, a competition held by the Singapore Artillery to celebrate its 123rd anniversary.

Noting that it was a special occasion which celebrated the anniversary of the SAF's oldest formation, Chief of Artillery Colonel (COL) Tan Chong Lee commented that the challenge also "serves to remind all of us to live up to the ideals of being men of steel".

A signature event for the artillery formation since the early 1970s, the competition saw 220 participants taking part in a relay run and an interim obstacle course.

The race started early at 7.30am, and supporters from various units showed up to cheer their team on. At the end of the day, it was the team from the 23rd Battalion, Singapore Artillery (23 SA) who emerged as champions for this year's Men of Steel Challenge.

Platoon commander 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) Lim Sim Seng, who was part of the winning team, cited early preparation and rigorous training as the reason for their success. Since early January, 2LT Lim and his team have trained daily to prepare for the competition.

Despite his busy work schedule, 2LT Lim told cyberpioneer that he enjoyed the tough training.

"The experience has helped our unit to bond because we laughed and joked during training," he said.

"We are really happy because this is the first time we've won and we really trained hard for it"