Leading military charity Walking With The Wounded (WWTW) has decided to move its expedition from the Sultanate to the United Kingdom.
According to WWTW, the expedition will still cover the original 248-mile (400km) distance but in half the time, starting on October 10 at the Omani embassy in London.
“After two postponements due to the pandemic, Walking With The Wounded decided, for certainty, to reimagine the expedition in the UK so our team are still able to raise funds and awareness for the cause”, the charity revealed in a post in its website.
The grueling trek by wounded serving and ex-military personnel through Omani desert was to take the team across part of the Empty Quarter, was postponed twice because of the pandemic, and its destinations next month will now include Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons and the historic Thames Path.
“In October 2021, five ex-military and one current serviceman, all with mental or physical wounds, will be joined by two Omanis to walk the original 400k distance in an epic half the time, starting near Hereford and finishing at the Omani embassy in London”, WWTW said.
The Walk of Oman is supported by The Duke of Sussex in his role as the official Expedition Patron, along with support from the Diwan of Royal Court and in partnership with the Omani armed forces.
The Duke in his message wished The Wounded team “good luck and good weather” after the expedition was switched from Oman to the UK.
Harry who is patron of The Grenadier Walk of Oman, said the six-strong squad understood that “walking together with a common purpose and shared mission” was more important than the location of their trek.
The duke joined the charity for part of its 1,000-mile Walk of Britain in 2015, walking a 17-mile stretch through the English countryside near Ludlow in Shropshire.
In his video message, the duke said: “The team at Walking With The Wounded understand that it’s not about where you walk, it’s about walking together with a common purpose and shared mission. These men and women know what service is, they’ve seen and overcome adversity and they won’t let obstacles get in their way”.
Fergus Williams, the Charity’s chief executive, was quoted as saying, “the Grenadier Walk of Oman was set to be an incredible expedition across the great sands, and the team have been training phenomenally hard in preparation for the desert trek”.
However, he added, “the continued uncertainty around the global Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions means that we have had to make the difficult decision to change our plans”.
Serving members of the Omani Armed Forces will also be part of the team.
Among those selected for the challenge is David Adams, who spent 13 years as an aircraft technician in the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and was medically discharged after a diagnosis of PTSD following traumatic events while serving in Afghanistan
They will be supported by a Grenadier vehicle for parts of the route.
The charity said it wanted to raise funds and awareness of veteran issues, particularly following the recent withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan.
