The International Army Games () is an annual international

military sports Military sports are sports practiced by the military. They are the subject of international competitions, such as the Military World Games, with an objective relating to the physical training of military. Particular sports may be chosen to improve ...

event organized by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MoD) of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The event, which was first staged in August 2015, involves close to 30 countries taking part in dozens of competitions over two weeks to prove which is the most skilled. The games have been referred to as the War Olympics. In addition to the competition, the International Army Games includes a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

theme park, a

recruitment Recruitment is #Process, the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for Job (role), jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the process involved in ...

station, and

souvenir A souvenir ( French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and trans ...

shops.

History

* 2015 International Army Games: Took place in Russia from August 1–15. * 2016 International Army Games: Took place from July 30 to August 13. 3,500 servicemen from 19 states fought in 23 competitions. * 2017 International Army Games: Held from July 29 to August 12 in 5 countries:

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. During the games 28 international competitions were held, including 5 new ones. * 2018 International Army Games: Held from July 28 to August 11. The competitions were held in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

for the first time. Teams from

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

also took part in the games for the first time. * 2019 International Army Games: Planned to be organized in 32 disciplines hosted in 10 countries starting on August 3 in

Korla Korla,The official spelling according to also known as Kurla, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency or Kuerle, is the second largest city by population in Xinjiang, China. It is a county-level city and the seat of Bayingolin Mo ...

. Russia, India, China, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are the countries hosting it. India hosted and won Stage 2 of the games, known as the 5th International Army Scout Masters Competition. Uzbekistan came second and Russia fourth. *2020 International Army Games: Held from August 22 to September 5. Russia won the competition while Belarus was second and Uzbekistan was third. * 2021 International Army Games: Held from August 22 to September 4, 2021. * 2023–2024: Not held due to shortages stemming from the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. In 2023, Russian Deputy Minister of Defence

Alexander Fomin Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin ( born May 25, 1959) is a Russian Deputy Minister of Defence. Biography Alexander Fomin was born on May 25, 1959, in Leninogorsk. He attended the Military Institute of the Red Banner of the Ministry of Defence ( ...

stated the games would take place in even years.

Editions

Competitions

Tank biathlon The tank biathlon is a mechanized military sport event held by the Russian military as a part of the annual International Army Games. Inspired by the winter sport of biathlon, the sport emphasizes the complex training of tank crews includi ...

* Suvorov Attack ("Suvorov Onslaught"): competition between crews/specialists of infantry combat vehicles * Aviadarts: competition for flight crews * Masters of artillery fire: artillery calculation competition * Clear skies: competition among anti-aircraft units * Excellence troop intelligence: competition between intelligence departments * Open water: competition among dispatching units * Safe route: competition among engineering units * Safe environment: radiation, chemical and biological defense forces' competition * International Army Scout Masters' Competition

2020 events

Hosts: #Russia #Iran #India #Mongolia #Kazakhstan #Uzbekistan #Armenia #Azerbaijan #Belarus #China ;Events #Tank Biathlon = Tank Crews Competition #Suvorov Attack = IFV Crews Competition #Sniper Frontier = Snipers Competition #Aviadarts = Flight Crews Competition #Airborne Platoon = Airborne Forces Platoons Competition #Seaborne Assault = Naval Infantry Units Competition #Sea Cup = Combat Ship Crews Competition #Depth = Divers Multidiscipline Competition #Masters Of Artillery Fire = Mortar Battery Squads Competition #Gunsmith Master = Maintenance Platoons Competition #Clear Sky = Ad Units Competition #Confident Reception = Competition Of Anti-Aircraft Missile Troops Units #Army Scout Masters = Army Reconnaissance Units Competition #Open Water = Pontoon Bridge Crews Competition #Safe Route = Combat Engineering Units Competition #Engineering Formula = Engineering Units Competition #Safe Environment = NBC Reconnaissance Crews Competition #Masters Of Armored Vehicles = Armored Vehicles Crews Competition #Elbrus Ring = Mountain Infantry Units Competition #True Friend = Dog Handlers Competition #Military Medical Relay Race = Medical Staff Competition #Field Kitchen = Food Service Specialists Competition #Guardian Of Order = Military Police Competition #Military Rally = Armored Vehicles Crews Competition #Warrior Of Peace = International Competition Of Military-Professional Servicemen Skills #Falcon Hunting = Uavs' Crews Competition #Road Patrol = Military Police Officers Competition #Emergency Area = Competition Among Emergency Rescue Units #Equestrian Marathon = Competition Among Horse Mounted Units #Polar Star = Special Operation Units Competition

Participants

Note: O = Observer For the first time, Bolivia and Rwanda participated in the 2022 Games.

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

was the only

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

member state that has officially participated in the games. Since 2020, three largely-unrecognised countries have participated.

Russian groups in opening and closing ceremonies

Alexandrov Ensemble The Alexandrov Ensemble (), commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West, is an official army choir of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Russian armed forces. Founded during the History of the Soviet Union, Soviet era, the ense ...

Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of Russia Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, also known as the Red Army Band is a military band unit of the Russian Armed Forces. It is a branch of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia. The current head of the ba ...

154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment serves as the official honor guard regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and serves as the main honor guard unit of the armed forces, stationed in Moscow. Aside from being the honor guard ...

* Belarusian Armed Forces Academic Song and Dance Ensemble

Gallery

File:Army games emblem-Otkritaia-voda.jpg, File:Openwater2016-32.jpg, File:TankBiathlon2016opening-33.jpg, File:AirFrontiers2018-16.jpg, File:Игр 2020 05.jpg, File:Sea Cup 2020 06.jpg,

References

External links

* * https://interfiresport.com/ * https://interfiresport.com/activity/ * http://firefighterchallenge.com/ * https://www.firefighterchampionships.com/ * https://www.firefighterchampionships.com/?post_type=tribe_events * https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/st-lucie-county/2021/10/04/fort-pierce-hosts-2021-firefighter-combat-challenge-world-championship-st-lucie-defends-title-espn/8418203002/ {{Multi-sport events Military sports competitions Multi-sport events Recurring sporting events established in 2015 Annual sporting events