Page 123 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

Battalion Shooting Team
The 7 RIFLES shooting team had a very successful year, forming a team from mostly new members, competing in the 20 AI Bde Operational Shooting Competition and culminating in fourth place in the Army Reserve Operational Shooting Competition. The 2019 result built on the efforts of the previous two years as 2017 was a reset for the battalion’s opera- tional shooting, when an all new team volunteered. Our previous team results in the AROSC were 17th (2017) and 14th (2018), so to then jump 10 places this year, earning 14 marksman badges, was highly pleasing. The shooting team had four firers placed in the Army Reserve top 50 (SSgt K Catt, Rfn S Lines, Capt J P Boardman, LCpl A Ferguson) and placed 2nd on the final shoot of the weekend, the PARA Cup, a section advance to contact shoot, held on the famous Bisley Century Range.
The top Army Reserve shooting units are the same year-in and year-out. 7 RIFLES broke into this select group through old fashioned hard work, commitment to foundational shooting skills and prioritisation of training to rapidly increase the ability of our novice firers. The battalion started training in January in the snow, with a monthly range weekend in addition to scheduled training. This concentration on foundational skills, using old school manual targets and butt parties, saw us putting effort into reducing the extreme spread, testing and adjusting fire positions and creating firer record diaries to map the differences in Point of Aim and Point of Impact.
Each new weekend brought new faces. Each rifleman wanted to learn more and be better at this core skill in which our regiment shows so much pride. An overall increase in the shooting competence of the battalion is also a key aim of the shooting team. While prizes would be nice we wanted to make everyone in the team better and to create an enthusiasm for operational shooting within each company. Operational shooting must compete for the Reservist Rifleman’s time against exercises in Canada, exchanges with foreign armies, overseas Annual Deployment Exercises, support weapons and career courses, so it is never easy to generate and train a consistent team.
7 Rifles 2Lt Pullen
tional Shooting Competition was held over the May long weekend to enable its Reserve battalions to compete. It was a good run out, gave the team a taste of competition and gave feedback on skills on which to practise on the Battalion’s two-week concentration. The concentration was held at Pirbright Ranges, on the competition site with the same targetry but to be shared with the Regular Army units who were preparing for their Operational Shooting competition. The experience of firing with teams like 1st and 2nd Royal Gurkha Rifles gave us unrealistic expectations of how we as a novice team should be performing. This exposure to some of the best in the Army motivated the team to work harder, refine their shooting data and set a high bar for personal performance.
Sjt Maj Jamie Dwyer and Sjt Terence Shannon programmed the concentration excellently, with a focus on data driven priorities, supplemented with dry training, theory lessons, team bonding, shoot memorisation and just enough recovery time to ensure everyone slept very well each night. A special mention to Cpl Lee Gower who made the G4 tick like clockwork. Importantly morale was high and everyone wanted more. A fortnight’s break, then to the competition; all knew their roles, their Points of Aim, how to approach each shoot and possessed a frame of mind to concentrate on the next trigger press.
A result of fourth in the Army Reserve is befitting of The Rifles. Those who represented 7 RIFLES can be proud of their achievement and their part in enhancing the reputation of the battalion.
Capt Jonathan Boardman
EACH RIFLEMAN WANTED
TO LEARN MORE AND BE BETTER AT THIS CORE SKILL IN WHICH OUR REGIMENT SHOWS SO MUCH PRIDE
20 AI Bde looks for innovative ways to include
its Reserves in its events. The Brigade Opera- OC RMTT 7 RIFLES
7 Rifles AROSC team: Capt
J P Boardman, 2Lt W Pullen, SSgt K Catt, LCpl Ferguson, LCpl Taylor, Rfn Lines, Rfn Mahood, Rfn Quillinan and Rfn Townsend
THE RIFLES
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