Soldiers endure nine gruelling days to plant flag atop Mount Ayangana

A 14-man patrol from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) endured nine gruelling days to plant the national flag atop Mount Ayangana in time to mark the country’s 52 Independence anniversary.

The hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead atop Mount Ayanganna during Independence, is an annual feature dating back to 1966 when a party headed by the late Adrian Thompson and members of the GDF undertook the journey to plant the flag on the summit of the mountain.

This year’s team was led by Lieutenant Keevin Salaru. The other members of the patrol were Lieutenant Quason Mc Andrew, Second Lieutenant Travis Marcellino, Corporal Darren Samuels, Lance Corporal Kevon Williams and Privates Gregory Grenaldo, Tony Gillis, Barrington John, Jamal Mcrae, Romario Do Santos, Lorenzo Sinclair, Jeffrey Bridgemohan, Melroy Brummel and Joseph Kendall.

According to the Army, the patrol commenced when the team were flown from Camp Stephenson to Chi Chi in Region 8 (Potaro –Siparuni) on May 17.

From there, they continued by foot through the savannah and jungle terrain to reach the foot of the mountain on May 23.

The patrol then began their ascent to the summit of the mountain, and after two days of negotiating the mountain’s rugged terrain, they successfully reached the summit on May 25, where they hoisted the Golden Arrowhead at midnight.