Visitors ‘join’ the army on open day

Hundreds of military enthusiasts fixed their gaze on a soldier as he abseiled down a building, headfirst, to peer through a window before the rest of his four-man team stormed into the building to rescue a hostage at the army barracks in Luqa yesterday.

It would have been more gripping had the thing been for real but, still, the audience was captivated with the skill shown by the officers of the Armed Forces of Malta’s special duties company.

The soldiers also demonstrated their skills in unarmed combat as they wrestled one another to the ground, dealing with different threatening scenarios.

The exercises were part of a programme of activities held on a half-hourly basis throughout the day at the AFM headquarters in Luqa.

Some of those present were so eager for the day that a large crowd was found waiting outside the gates before the show began.

Besides static displays of various military hardware, including weapons and vehicles, visitors were given the opportunity to take a shot, literally, at firing assault rifles, albeit using blanks.

Children had their bit of hands-on fun with an assault course, safely guided by experienced personnel.

The event, which this year also marks the army’s 40th anniversary, is meant as a public relations exercise but also as an opportunity for the AFM to entice possible recruits

The entertainment element of the event was this time round enhanced with the addition of re-enactors wearing uniforms of the Royal Malta Artillery, the AFM’s predecessor.

A similar activity was held at Mġarr Harbour, the first of its kind, on Saturday.