Members of the Bermuda Regiment have rappelled, crawled, navigated and secured their way to the end of the first phase of their overseas annual training camp - and into the record books.The 165 troops mustered at Bermuda International Airport last Saturday and boarded their chartered flight to the United States Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina.Then they were quickly into action - on the first day they were up, shaved, and dressed by 5.45am so they could begin their overseas training.By 8am the three Platoons were either working on Forward Operating Base patrols, developing Internal Security skills, or learning about urban sniping operations."As night fell, the teams were once again sent out to different training areas where one platoon abseiled from a four storey wall while another platoon practiced their marksmanship on a state-of-the-art electronic indoor range," said a Regiment spokesman."The final activity, which was also the most arduous, was the night infiltration – a quintessentially Marine activity."The infiltration is a 420m course that requires the troops to run, leopard crawl, wade and jump through tunnels, under razor wire, across a muddy river, and over wooden walls while mini-explosions are detonated creating a simulated battlefield environment– all against the clock."As 1 Platoon - under the command of Lt Paolo Odoli – progressed through the course it became evident that the Bermudians were on a mission to prove their ability."The team broke the course record set by a specialist detachment of Royal Marines that had stood for a decade."Every participant was thoroughly exhausted, soaked, covered in mud, but obviously elated because of their accomplishment."It was an extremely proud moment for The Regiment and a testament to the hard work and determination of the team," added the spokesman.Afterwards, the soldiers were told of the death of one of their colleagues - Jason Smith who was gunned down last weekend.Lt Col Brian Gonsalves said: “We were all saddened to learn of the passing of one of our own, worsened because he was the victim of a senseless act."He was part of the Regiment family and his passing was marked as one. We have offered assistance to the family and our thoughts and prayers go to them and all those who knew him”.The troops are currently preparing to deploy onto their Final Test Exercise which will be four days providing internal security to the mock town of “Jackson Key”.Lt Col Gonsalves said he was pleased with the progress so far and praised everyone's efforts.He said: “The Training Team has done a sterling job – the soldiers' skills have noticeably improved."I have also observed that the soldiers have really stepped up to the challenge and taking advantage of this superb opportunity."Their behaviour has also been praiseworthy; I feel that our troops have been operating as more than individuals, looking out for each other and demonstrating a justified sense of pride in themselves and each other.”