Page 34 - LBV 2017

INTER-COMPANY TRAINING & VISITS
Army Reserve Operational Shooting Competition
It is said that the men of the Light Blue Volunteers, who won our battle honour in the second Boer War, were brought into the fray due in part to their excellent marksmanship. It is no surprise then that Cambridge UOTC has routinely entered the annual Army Reserve Operational Shooting competition since its inaugural meeting in 1926. 2017 was no different for our unit, sending an 8 man shooting team plus reserves to represent CUOTC at the competition held in ATC Pirbright.
Competition is fierce as the best shooters in the entire Army Reserve are drawn together. It was therefore necessary that preparation for
the competition began months in advance. The unit range weekends allowed those with an interest in shooting a chance at getting selected for Ex Sharpshooter, CUOTC’s annual Easter marksmanship training camp, held on Thetford Ranges at the beginning of April. For the second year running the training camp was supported
by top-class coaches from 253 (North Irish) Medical Regiment who shared their invaluable knowledge and experience with our shooters. Selection had to be made at Easter camp as only a limited number of places were available for the competition, leaving 11 OCdt’s who would travel to Pirbright in June. At this point the final team of 8 firers had not yet been selected and would not be until the final days before competition, which is a testament to the strength in depth that we had in this years team.
The competition itself is comprised of individual
JUO McLean presented with the Tustin Trophy for Best Shot 32 THE LIGHT BLUE VOLUNTEER
and team matches designed to test the physical and mental robustness of each firer. The matches simulate stressful operational situations in an attempt to hinder the firer’s marksmanship capabilities. A prime example of this is the ‘Section Attack Match’. During this 8-man team match two 75kg dummy casualties are extracted back from 300-600m before firers bomb up
their magazines and bound down the range to 200m, firing at every 100m interval. This is only one example of the eleven matches held over the three-day competition. Full kit must be worn for all matches; CBA, helmet and webbing. A minimum weight-limit of 15kg for the kit is also strictly enforced, leaving the firers weighed down during 2.4km run and 100-500m dashes. With temperatures soaring above 30°C this years competition was made particularly challenging.
Despite the challenges that the competition
CUOTC Best Shot