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Lebanese Army Skiing and Mountain Fighting School | |
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Flag of the Skiing and Mountain Fighting School | |
Active | May 1, 1986 - Present |
Country | Lebanon |
Type | Military School |
Part of | Lebanese Armed Forces |
Garrison/HQ | Youssef Rahmeh military base, Cedar |
Insignia | |
Emblem | ![]() |
The Skiing and Mountain Fighting School (Arabic : مدرسة التزلج والقتال في الجبالMadrasat al-Tazaloj wal Kital feiljibal) is part of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The school is located in the mountainous area of Cedar (Arz), in Mount Lebanon, and is mainly responsible for conducting ski and combat in mountains sessions.
The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) or Forces Armées Libanaises (FAL) in French, also known as the Lebanese Army, is the military of the Lebanese Republic. It consists of three branches, the army, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is "Honor, Sacrifice, Loyalty". The Lebanese Armed Forces symbol consists of a Lebanon cedar tree surrounded by two laurel leaves, positioned above the symbols of the three branches: the ground forces represented by the two bayonets, the navy represented by an anchor, and the air force represented by two wings.
The Cedars of God is one of the last vestiges of the extensive forests of the Lebanon cedar, that once thrived across Mount Lebanon in ancient times. Their timber was used by the Phoenicians, Israelites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, and Turks. The wood was prized by Egyptians for shipbuilding; the Ottoman Empire used the cedars in railway construction.
Mount Lebanon is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in elevation.
Although the school was founded in 1986, however in 1934 the French army had founded a ski team of both French and Lebanese soldiers; they rented a place in Bsharri and trained at the cedars. In 1935 they moved to the cedars Grand Hotel until the foundation of the school in 1937 by the French army. Since the foundation of the school the French army started training the Lebanese soldiers. However in 1940, Arz military base was handed over to the Lebanese Army, and was called the Skiing School and was directly linked to the Lebanese Army High Center for Military Sport until it became independent on May 1, 1986. [1]
The French are an ethnic group and nation who are identified with the country of France. This connection may be ethnic, legal, historical, or cultural.
The Lebanese people are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may also include those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state. The religious groups among the Lebanese people are Shias (27%), Sunnis (27%), Maronites (21%), Greek Orthodox (8%), Melkites (5%), Druze (5.6%), Protestants (1%). There is a large diaspora in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Africa.
Bsharri is a town at an altitude of about 1,450 m (4,760 ft) to 3,088 m (10,131 ft). It is located in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate in Lebanon.
Camille Nimr Chamoun was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, also known as Mohammad Reza Shah, was the last Shah of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Islamic Revolution on 11 February 1979. A close ally of the United States, he tried to use vast oil revenues to generate a rapid industrial, cultural and military modernisation, as well as economic and social reforms. In reaction religious forces revolted and overthrew him.
Farah Pahlavi is the widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the former shahbanu (empress) of Iran.
Organization | |||
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Ministry of National Defense | |||
Lebanese Air Force | |||
Lebanese Navy | |||
Lebanese Special Forces | |||
Lebanese Red Cross | |||
Personnel | |||
LAF Commanders | |||
Lebanese Military Personnel | |||
Topics of Lebanon | |||
Culture - Geography | |||
History - Politics |
The mission of the school include:
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins can be attached at the base of the ski.
The trainees participate in combat in all weather conditions to search and rescue people lost and blocked in snowy weather. Training sessions of ski and combat in mountains are delivered, in addition to several participations in international and local military championships. [1]
The symbol of the school is constituted of a skiing soldier representing the combat in mountains and searching mission, white representing the purity of the snow of the Lebanese mountains, mountains which represent the height, in addition to the depiction of Cedar trees (the symbol of the nation) and two laurel leaves representing gratitude. [1]
Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus is west across the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized sovereign state on the mainland Asian continent.
The Army of the Republic of Macedonia is a defense force consisting of an army and air force. It is responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of North Macedonia. Since 2005, the Army is a fully professional defense force compatible with NATO standards.
The 10th Mountain Division is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division is the only one of its size in the US military to receive intense specialized training for fighting in mountainous and arctic conditions. More recently, the 10th Mountain has been conducting operations in Iraq, advising and assisting Iraqi Security Forces.
Ski warfare is the use of ski-equipped troops in war.
The Guardians of the Cedars (GoC) are a far-right ultranationalist Lebanese party and former Christian militia in Lebanon. It was formed by Étienne Saqr and others along with the Lebanese Renewal Party in the early 1970s. It operated in the Lebanese Civil War under the slogan: Lebanon, at your service.
Etienne Saqr, also known by his nom de guerre "Abu Arz", is a far-right, Lebanese nationalist leader and founder of the Guardians of the Cedars militia and political party. Saqr and his militia participated in the Lebanese War facing the Palestinians and the Syrians in the 1970s and 1980s, and remained militantly active until he was expelled from the country with the flight of the South Lebanon Army, of which he was not a member, in May 2000.
Cold-weather warfare, also known as Arctic warfare or winter warfare, encompasses military operations affected by snow, ice, thawing conditions or cold, both on land and at sea. Cold-weather conditions occur year-round at high elevation or at high latitudes, and elsewhere materialise seasonally during the winter period. Mountain warfare often takes place in cold weather or on terrain that is affected by ice and snow, such as the Alps and the Himalayas. Historically, most such operations have been during winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Some have occurred above the Arctic Circle where snow, ice and cold may occur throughout the year. At times, cold or its aftermath—thaw—has been a decisive factor in the failure of a campaign, as with Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 and the German invasion of Russia during World War II.
Mountain warfare refers to warfare in the mountains or similarly rough terrain. This type of warfare is also called Alpine warfare, after the Alps mountains. Mountain warfare is one of the most dangerous types of combat as it involves surviving not only combat with the enemy but also the extreme weather and dangerous terrain.
The Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) is a United States Marine Corps installation located in Pickel Meadows on California State Route 108 at 6,800 feet (2,100 m) above sea level in the Toiyabe National Forest, 21 miles (34 km) northwest of Bridgeport, California. The training center exists to train units in complex compartmented terrain.
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Skiing in Lebanon has been a popular sport since an engineering student returning from studying in Switzerland brought back with him the sport of skiing to Lebanon in the early twentieth century. Lebanon is home to six developed ski resorts. Cedars Ski Resort Bsharri is the oldest and received its first ski lift. Mzaar Ski Resort, Kfardebian, is Lebanon's largest ski resort.
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Youssef Rahmeh military base is a Lebanese Army base under the jurisdiction of the North regional command. Founded on May 1, 1980, the military base is the headquarters of the Skiing and Mountain Fighting School, located in the Cedar region near Bsharri.
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