A total of fifty candidates.

The final competition in the scale of the National Guard was preceded by a preliminary selection near Kharkov. Lieutenant Andrei Fedorenko became one of the best from the Eastern Operational-Territorial Association. Now he is serving as commander of the patrol platoon of the NSU Regiment in Mariupol.

"The crutch beret is the cherished dream of many military men and I was no exception. I decided to try my hand. If not now, then when? At the beginning of the tests, I did not feel any excitement, but when the march began, somewhere in the middle of the distance it became difficult because I did not know how many ran, how many remained to finish. But in the end I gathered, I remembered why I was here and started to distill rivals. At other stages it was easier, because everything depended on how you worked out the technique of performing exercises, strength receptions. I will proudly wear this treasured "blue beret" and I can say that my dream has come true, "the officer said..