Townsville battalion toughs it out for DoG Cup

Wet, cold and tired – seven sections of infantry soldiers emerged from the Tully jungle after two weeks of being pushed to see which battalion was best in the Duke of Gloucester Cup, known as the DoG Cup.

CAPTION: A soldier from 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment participates on the obstacle course during the Duke of Gloucester Cup 2024 at the Jungle Training Area in Tully. Story and photos by Leading Seaman Nadav Harel.

With their cams torn and covered in mud, the section from 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) came out of the jungle winners.

Sections started at Townsville Field Training Area to conduct certification activities, live-fire shoots and coordinate armoured personnel carrier live-fire support, before being airlifted by CH-47 Chinook to Tully.

The wettest place in Australia, Tully’s average rainfall of 4.27 metres a year makes the place wet, muddy and unforgiving.

Here, sections were tested on ambush drills, reconnaissance and handling a mass casualty event.

Looking back on the competition, 3RAR section commander Corporal Walter Lawrence said leopard-crawling 350 metres through thick and muddy terrain to conduct a section attack was the most challenging element.

“The counter-ambush stand was quite a lengthy 2km patrol, but just as a whole, operating in this environment having never experienced the DoG Cup was challenging,” he said.

Corporal Lawrence first trained for the 2021 competition that was cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions. Section commanders can only compete once.

“It really inspired me to have another crack as the team we had that year worked really hard to prepare and didn’t get the chance,” Corporal Lawrence said.

Sections finished with a pack march of more than 12kms before conducting the obstacle and bayonet assault courses.

Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) Andrew Egan, from the School of Infantry, competed in a DoG Cup as a 3RAR section commander in the mid ’90s.

He described the move to Tully as an opportunity to test sections in an environment they could likely face in future.

“Being able to be the lead planner has been rewarding, especially since this is the first one outside of Singleton in recent times,” WO2 Egan said.

“A lot has changed over the years since I was a section commander, from the soldiers’ level of fitness, to the regular soldiers’ equipment and night-fighting capabilities.”

Drawn from all over the battalion, the section had eight weeks’ lead-up training.

Corporal Lawrence said the jungle was arduous and when the rain turned on it didn’t stop, raising the level of complexity in every element of warfighting.

“Winning aside, the moments we shared and seeing how resilient the boys were – they really came together working in such adverse conditions,” he said.

“No matter what, everyone always kept a smile on their face and picked each other up when it was most needed.

“Everyone performed their role to an exceptional standard and I was lucky enough to lead them.”

The cup was created by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester in 1946, while he was Governor-General of Australia, and was first presented in 1947.

The battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment compete for the prize each year as a ‘health check’ to ensure the regiment is prepared for conflict.

CAPTION: Winning section of the Duke of Gloucester cup 2024 from the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment at the Jungle Training Area, Tully.

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