ENDURANCE was tested and pride was on the line as Aussie soldiers and US Marines battled for supremacy at the 1st Brigade Military Skills competition this week.

Each 1st Brigade unit and Marine Rotational Force ­Darwin put their best soldiers forward with 7RAR coming out on top followed by 5RAR and then the Marines.

1st Brigade commanding ­officer Brigadier John Frewen said the men and women were pushed to their physical and mental limits.

“Soldiers thrive on competition and the ability to benchmark their skills against their peers,” he said.

“They have risen to every challenge and the winning section can be rightly proud of their impressive achievement.”

PHOTO GALLERY: SOLDIERS TEST MILITARY SKILLS

The 10 sections of eight troops, including at least one woman, were assessed on their all-corps operational skills, field craft, physical fitness, endurance, teamwork and marksmanship at the annual event.

Over five days, troops faced challenges at Robertson Barracks and Mt Bundey and Kangaroo Flats training areas included night and day shoots, navigation and a 400kg trailer push.

Yesterday, Private Liam Lusty from Adelaide based 7RAR spent his 27th birthday at the final day of the competition which started at 2am with a pool challenge followed by a 3.2km run and an obstacle course.

“Dealing with the heat was a real challenge but I think as a team we did really well,” he said.

Marines section commander, Sergeant Joshua Lee said their biggest obstacle was learning Australian tactics and procedures on the fly.

“We held good – we were resilient,” he said.

MRF-D commanding office Lieutenant Colonel Keven Matthews said his Marines enjoyed rising to the challenges.