Vietnamese combat engineers finish third at International Army Games

In the Safe Route competition, which tests the competitors’ skills in combat conditions, the Vietnamese engineers finished behind Russia and Belarus.

Clearing and detecting mines, assembling heavy mechanized bridge, making passage with combat engineer vehicles were among the challenges in the contest. Each country team comprised of 30 persons.

The Vietnamese team had arrived in Russia late last month and had less than two weeks to adapt to the terrain before entering the competition.

This year, the Army Games has attracted over 6,000 military athletes in 223 teams from 39 countries from Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and Latin America.

The competitions are being held in 10 Eurasian countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia and Uzbekistan.

This is the second year Vietnam has sent a delegation to the event, with 125 officers and soldiers in total.

Eight Vietnamese teams signed up compete in as many disciplines: tank crew, medical staff, food service specialists, emergency rescue personnel, combat engineers, literary/art and dancing contestants, snipers, and chemical reconnaissance vehicles.

The Vietnamese tank crew were leading their group in the semifinals of the Tank Biathlon competition Sunday, competing against Myanmar, Uganda and Tajikistan at an arena in the suburbs of Moscow.