Fijibatt 36 Wins ‘Ai Karua Trophy’

The team manager for Fijibatt 36 said teamwork and guts carried them through the competition.

Fijibatt 36 won the ‘Ai Karua Trophy’ during the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) winter force skills competition held at South Camp, Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, from January 17 to 18, 2018.

The Second Battalion Fiji Infantry Regiment (2FIR) team won the trophy for the first time since 2013. The trophy was presented to the Fijibatt Team 2 for being the overall winner of the major category competition. The award, which was donated by the Fijian Battalion titled ‘Ai Karua’, was wrestled away from last year’s winner the Colombian Battalion.

The team manager, Warrant Officer Class Two Asaeli Nasogiri, said winning the major unit category overall trophy was a surprise.

The Senior Non-Commissioned Officer also said he had advised his team members not to allow anything to discourage them from their objective.

“We must not be discouraged but remain underdogs and maintain our commitment to Divine guidance as we go through the eight stations,” he said.

He pointed out that it was teamwork by his gutsy team members that carried them through the eight stations to bring back the trophy after 2FIR’s four unsuccessful years of attempt.

With the present reduced strength from 300 to 170, Fijibatt’s participation in the annual event has been an uphill battle. Fijibatt 36 has won the major units’ trophy, however the minor category teams were placed first and second while major category teams Fijibatt 1 and 2 were placed third and fourth in the overall points of the event.

The competition ended with New Zealand winning the Force Commanders Trophy while composite team Australia/Canada came second.

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