Soldiers based at Colchester garrison have tested their trigger fingers during an army shooting competition in Essex.
13 Air Assault Support Regiment Royal Logistics Corps (13 AASR) topped the leaderboard at the 16 Air Assault Brigade operation shooting competition, held at Fingeringhoe and Middlewick shooting ranges on Wednesday, March 21, and Thursday, March 22.
The soldiers were put to the test in five separate shooting disciplines using an SA80 A2 assault rifle and the Glock 17 pistol at different distances and firing positions.
The Colchester-based 13 AASR came first in the overall ‘falling target’ competition - a knockout event where two teams of competing soldiers sprint to set points and shoot down standing targets, with the fastest time winning.
Lieutenant Holly Kirkham finished top of the individual leaderboard .
She said she was delighted to have finished in first place and that the team win was the icing on the cake.
“Shooting is really important to soldiers, and to me it’s the most basic skill that soldiering is built upon,” she said.
“It feels really good to have won the individual title, but it feels even better because the team won the overall competition and will be going forward to compete against the rest of the Army.
“I put 100 per cent into everything that I do, especially stuff where I might be considered not as good as others.
“I find that if you put the effort in you come out on top.”
Brigade training officer Captain Gary Smith said the quality of shooting on display was ‘exceptionally high across the board’.
He said: “Marksmanship is one of the fundamental skills of soldiering and this competition has been about driving up shooting standards, combined with the operationally relevant skills of fitness and communication.
“The performance has been exceptionally high across the board, with the good natured and professional competition that we expect.”
13 AASR and 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, the reigning Army champions, are preparing to go on to represent the Brigade at the tri-service Defence Operational Shooting Competition in June at Bisley.
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