The last day of April began in the early morning at Denny’s. I was feeling bold and decided to order the steak & eggs meal – the breakfast of champions. It looked good and tasted good.
The rifle range setup looked a little different than yesterday. The targets had been raised and the SIUS consoles sat on tables. Chairs had been placed for cadets. The many lines of wires stayed the same.
Cadets got ready and had their air rifles inspected again. A short morning briefing was held for everyone just to review the schedule for the day. Cadets would shoot a practice relay and two-timed standing relays. Shooting in the standing position is challenging because you don’t have a flat surface to rest your rifle, and you can only hold the rifle straight for a few seconds before your arms start shaking.
Cadets were given 15 minutes for the first standing relay and 30 minutes for the second. They shot 30 pellets in total. I followed the same routine as before: standing behind my cadets and monitoring their progress. You have plenty of time to shoot, so taking short breaks are allowed. Just don’t shoot after the timer runs out because you’ll be disqualified. Despite the added challenge, I did observe my team scoring a few high hits. They were relieved after the end of the second relay.
I congratulated my cadets for completing all relays. They put away their rifles and shooting jackets.
The last standing relay finished at 1pm. Cadets were instructed to help officers clean up and put away the equipment. I was impressed by the amount of storage containers & Pelican cases needed to protect & transport everything. The large storage containers came with attached wheels, making them much easier to move. The cadets did a garbage sweep of the rink once all the equipment was packed.
The competition organizers had the cadets form up for the final debriefing. The Officer-In-Charge (OIC) thanked the cadets for coming out and congratulated them for seeing the competition until the end. He then moved on to announcing the results. The final results weren’t posted to avoid spoilers. My cadets & I were overjoyed when they announced team Arctic Bay as the winners of the Eastern Arctic Zone. They achieved first place! They were only competing against Iqaluit, but the win still counts!
The
OIC apologized for no Stage 4 competition being planned this year;
circumstances prompted Headquarters to not go ahead with a national
competition. There’s always next year,
as the saying goes. The OIC wished
everyone safe travels home and the cadets were dismissed.
The Iqaluit, Arctic Bay, and Thompson cadets returned to the hotel with their coaches. They transferred their gear from the vans to their rooms. Dinner was prepared & delivered to the hotel by the Olive Garden. The food was distributed in an area next to the main lobby. It was quite good.
May 1 began like the previous two days: breakfast at Denny’s. I ordered a Classic Benny again. We still had time in the morning before our afternoon flight, so I took my cadets shopping at the CANEX at CFB Winnipeg. CANEX is short for Canadian Forces Exchange System and it’s a retail store focused on serving military personnel since 1968. They sell clothing, badges, footwear, furniture, bags, electronics, boot polish, and snacks, so don’t expect to see firearms on sale.
We checked out at noon and were driven to the airport. We checked in our luggage and air rifles and went through security. Lunch was waiting for us near our gate at True Burger Co. Our flight departed Winnipeg at around 3:45pm. We landed in Ottawa 7:45pm. The same escort officers from Connaught arrived shortly thereafter and drove us to the cadet camp for the night. On the way there, I overheard cadets saying they were glad to be returning home, but already missing their time in Winnipeg.
The last day of the trip began in the very early hours of May 2. We had to be at the airport for 6am, so we were up and about as early as 4am. We did get to the airport on time, checked in, went through security, and arrived at the gate with time to spare. But we were still tired, as anyone who’s taken a red-eye flight will attest. The flight to Iqaluit departed at 8am. Most passengers slept the entire way, but not the pilots . . . I hope. We landed safely in Nunavut’s capital at 11am.
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We said our goodbyes to the Iqaluit team after they collected their luggage in the Arrivals Area. My cadets enjoyed lunch at the Tundra Take-Out & Diner in the terminal’s main lobby and then we headed to our gate to catch the flight to Arctic Bay. We left in the afternoon, stopped in Pond Inlet, and then landed in Arctic Bay after 5pm. The cadets were picked up by their parents & guardians. Frank was there to help me transport the air rifles back to the cadet office and give me a ride home. The trip had officially come to an end.
Overall, the trip was a success. I was impressed by the quality of food we were served. We felt like we were being spoiled. I’m also very proud of the cadets for winning first place! They get to enjoy bragging rights for a year.
End of Stage III Marksmanship (2023) mini-series.
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