Exercise Giant Stride DPR/TV/1576

An Armoured column heads out of Alice Springs to tackle a gruelling 1,000-mile Desert trek through the Northern Territory. The men and machines are from the First Armoured Regiment normally based at Puckapunyal, Victoria. A total of 130 men and 12 armoured troop carriers are taking part in the month-long exercise, aptly named Giant Stride. It is aimed at testing the carriers and their crews in Desert Navigation, Long-range Communications, Tactical Movement and Survival. Before taking to the desert on the main stage of the exercise, the troops were taught special desert survival techniques. One of the skills was to make a solar still, to provide water through condensation. Their tutor was Sergeant Zev Ben-Avi, a former Israeli Army Paratrooper (for identification, he is the man with the big moustache). The more conventional method of drawing water from Artesian Bores was used to fill Jerry cans for the long hot haul through Central Australia. The troops are due to finish the exercise later this month.