Page 91 - The Bugle 2018

5 RIFLES Shooting Team 2018
This has been an excellent year for Army shooting and marksmanship which has highlighted the growing significance and investment being made from all Arms across the Army. The RIFLES was at the forefront at this year’s event with an extremely high and strong showing from all the Regular Battalions, which is unprecedented. We demon- strated to the rest of the Army what it means to be a Riflemen and displayed our history proudly. All 5 Battalions successfully finished within a top 5 placement in their Divisions, thus achieving a place at Bisley this year. It is testament to the hard work, dedication and ability of all the Riflemen involved.
Battalions selected their shooting teams after their own Operational Shooting Competitions (OSC) earlier in the year (Feb / Mar). 5 RIFLES assembled 3 complete teams made up of 24 firers in total, which we would then take to Germany and go onto win the 20 Armoured Infantry Brigade OSC. We forecasted a week of pre-training on the local ranges and another week of firing in Sennelager prior to the event, which proved invaluable, and gave the Riflemen a good chance to get out and about to experience Paderborn once more. We found ourselves a lot better prepared than most other units due to the progression the teams had within their own companies. This led to outstanding success throughout the Brigade and Divisional Shooting Competitions, with two teams qualifying to compete at the Army Operational Shooting Compe- tition at Bisley.
To be considered for a place within the Army top 100 you must now achieve a hit rate of above 75% on every single shoot, pass each phase and be within the best 100 shots with your combined score on the individual assessments for that year. Something that is difficult to achieve, especially against such a high attendance made up of seasoned and expired firers from across the best shots in the Army. We had one firer achieve this from 5 RIFLES, Cpl Gurung from B Company who achieved an impressive 50th place. Unfortu- nately, a couple of our Riflemen were just outside the threshold (LCpl Grant, came 124th). Overall the A team (Lieutenant Bayless, Serjeant Hopkins,
Corporal Davies & Gurung, Lance Corporal Grant, and Rifleman Wood, Walker & Burlison) came 23rd of the 50 Army teams and the B Team (Lieutenant Harrison, Lance Corporal Hellier, Riflemen Loveless, Vincent, Pettriello, Wilshire, Linehan, & Griffiths) 47th. A great effort from a relatively novice squad with limited range time.
All the Riflemen hugely enjoyed the collective 8 weeks of good training, ranges and soldiering. They have been fortunate to have this opportunity at an individual level due to allowing them to develop their own soldiering skills and shooting ability in a very testing environment. The experience they have gained will set them up for success in the future and will undoubtedly be passed on to their Companies. They have represented themselves, the Battalion and the Regiment extremely well against the rest of the Army. The Riflemen can hold their heads high and be immensely proud of all they have achieved and results they have accomplished. They have done more than just shoot, they’ve worked hard to lay the foundations for success that can be continued and developed for next year.
Serjeant Hopkins, D Company
TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A PLACE WITHIN THE ARMY TOP 100 YOU MUST NOW ACHIEVE A HIT RATE OF ABOVE 75%
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THE RIFLES
FIFTH BATTALION 97