Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marc Maynard, a Spencerport resident, is among four New York National Guard soldiers and one airman who will represent New York and the United States at the South African National Defence Force Military Skills Competition held from October 23 to 30.
The event involves an obstacle course, a swimming obstacle course, an 8-kilometer run, grenade throwing, a range estimation contest and rifle and pistol shooting with standard South African weapons.
The annual event was last held in 2019 and canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019 the New York National Guard sent five soldiers and five airmen to participate as part of a State Partnership Program relationship with the South African National Defence Force.
This year, because the invitation arrived in late August, New York is sending only five people, according to Maynard, the team coach. He also headed the New York team in 2019.
Because the New York Army National Guard has 2,000 Soldiers deployed and the New York Air National Guard is busy too, there were not as many personnel who were able to travel internationally available at short notice, Maynard explained.
Military personnel from around the world are invited to the competition each year, Maynard said.
The United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Federal Republic of Germany, and the active Army, all sent teams to the 2019 event, Maynard said.
The New York National Guard has had a State Partnership Program relationship with the South African military since 2003. The program pairs state National Guard with foreign militaries to build military-to-military relationships and interoperability.
While the New York National Guard regularly conducts exchange events with South African military leaders, soldier-to-soldier interactions like the military skills event are the real core of the program, said Maj. David Myones, the New York National Guard’s State Partnership Program director.
“It fosters the spirit of cooperation at the soldier level,” Myones said.
New York National Guard leadership felt that participating in this event was important, even though it was harder to field more than one team at short notice this year, Myones said.
Brazil, which New York is also partnered with through the State Partnership Program, is participating in this year’s South African military skills event, so that is even more reason to be represented, Myones added.
Because this is a relatively short notice event, the New York National Guard team has not been able to train collectively, Maynard said. The members have been working out on their own, he added.
They will get a few days on the ground in Potchefstroom, South Africa – where the contest is held – so they can practice some of the skills, Maynard said.
The rifle and pistol shooting events require that foreign competitors use the South African R4 rifle and Z88 pistol. The Z88 is similar to the M9 Baretta pistol Americans use, so that is an advantage, Maynard said.
Maynard said that while the New Yorkers would have liked more time to prepare, just being able to be part of the event will be worth it. “Everybody is stoked. It is a good time,” he said.
“The South Africans are a great host nation and very welcoming. They always put together a well-organized event,” Maynard said.
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