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Jul 27 2023

The hard training has paid off. "JSEC&Friends" team successfully completes the 105th four-day march in Nijmegen

ULM, Germany - It's done! After four days of hardship during the 105th four-day march in Nijmegen, the "JSEC & friends" marching group of NATO's Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC) reached the finish line without any major difficulties.

"We were a very strong marching group," says Major Marc W., Dutch Legal Advisor at the JSEC. "That surprises me a bit, because actually we are anything but coherent in terms of age and nationality." The marching group consisted of German, Dutch, French and Polish JSEC officers, as well as soldiers from other Bundeswehr units aged 19 to 57. "I think we worked well together as a group," confirms French Colonel Loic P.

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Short break: The “JSEC & friends” team is already practicing their performance for the finish line with the song “These boots are made for walking” by Nancy Sinatra.
(OF-4 Karsten Dyba)  
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More than 45,000 participants, including around 5,000 soldiers and up to a million spectators along the roadside: they all crowd on the way up into the Maas dunes, the "mountain stage" of the Vierdaagse. Spectators even camp along the march route to turn it into one big street party.
(OF-4 Karsten Dyba) 
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Escaping the rain. The marching group reaches its destination on Nijmegen's Charlemagne place without any major problems. 
(OF-4 Karsten Dyba) 
We were a very strong marching group

The hard training has paid off: Lieutenant Colonel Marcin C. from Poland has been hiking in the Swabian Jura for months, and the French Lieutenant Colonel Philippe S. walks up the stairs from Ulm to Wilhelmsburg twice every morning before starting work. After all, the multinational “Vierdagselooper” marched constantly at six kilometers an hour for the first three days, on the last day they were still moving fast at 5.5 kilometers an hour and always crossed the finish line as one of the first marching groups of the German Nijmegen delegation.

It was amazing. I had a great time!

It was the first time for Major Marc W., although he had a home game as a Dutchman. "It was amazing. I had a great time!"

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Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, COM JSEC, honors Lieutenant Colonel Marcin C. from Poland with the four-day cross. (OF-4 Karsten Dyba)
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Proud and happy: Colonel Loic P. with the JSEC flag and marching group insignia on his sleeve. (OF-4 Karsten Dyba)
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Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, COM JSEC, awards Major Marc W., Legal Advisor from the Netherlands, the four-day cross. (OF-4 Karsten Dyba)

Story by Lieutenant Colonel Karsten Dyba 

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