Shooting competition: Gen Raheel praises troops’ marksmanship

Army chief says a new training regime has been introduced to enhance troops’ skills

ISLAMABAD: Army chief General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday attended the concluding session of the army’s annual shooting competition.

Participating troops displayed their skills, both with rifles and light machine guns during the two-week competition which was held at the Army Firing Range near Jhelum.

While appreciating the participants’ marksmanship, Gen Raheel stressed that training was a vital part of every soldier’s professional development.



He expressed satisfaction over the troops’ skills with small arms and said “the highest standard of training and professionalism must remain our hallmark.” He said a new training regime had been introduced in the army to enhance the efficacy of individuals and units’ skills with small arms.

A number of new and innovative steps have been taken to realise the concept. In this regard, an Army Marksmanship Unit has also been established, which the army chief called a quantum leap towards improving the marksmanship of soldiers of Pakistan Army.

Another step is conducting shooting competitions within the army on a new format which employs the latest techniques. A number of improvements have also been introduced in the army’s standard issue small arms.

At the conclusion, the army chief gave away trophies and medals to the winning team and individual marksmen. Naib Subedar Sanaullah and Havaldar Amir Nawaz secured first positions in the G-3 rifle and light machine gun matches, respectively. 2 Corps Multan claimed the overall trophy for 2014.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2014.