Stage 1 Marksmanship (2024)

The cadets of 3045 Army Cadet Corps competed for five spots on this year’s marksmanship team on January 21.  I held a shooting competition to select the top five shooters & two alternates.  Participating cadets shot three competition target papers: two in the prone position and one standing.  Each paper contained 10 targets, worth 10 points each.  A perfect score was 300 points.

The competition began after lunch.  Cadets arrived to set up the gym for an afternoon of air rifle shooting.  Backboards, tables, chairs, mats, spotting scopes, pellets, air rifles, target papers, flags, and first aid kits were all brought out from storage and placed around the gym.  I gave a short briefing on how the competition was to proceed.  There would be two practice relays for cadets to zero in their rifles and practice shooting.  Cadets would then shoot their “real” target papers in any order they chose.

The cadets took advantage of the practice relays and shot many pellets.  Everyone took a short break thereafter. 

I asked for volunteers to shoot first and five cadets stepped forward.  Four cadets shot prone and one shot standing.  The prone shooting cadets shot their two competition target papers at the same time, so they were given 30 minutes.  The standing shooting cadet was only given 15 minutes because he was shooting one target paper.  There were strong feelings of focus, determination, and seriousness in the cadets.  At the end of the relay, the first five cadets retrieved their target papers and handed them to me.  I immediately placed them inside an envelope.  I had told everyone that I would mark all papers after the competition. 

The next group of volunteers stepped forward and the shooting process repeated.  It took around 2 & a half hours for all participating cadets to shoot their competition target papers.  They were relived when the shooting came to an end, but now had to wait for the final results.  I instructed the cadets to relax and help me clean up the gym.  It took about 20 minutes to put everything away, sweep the gym, and wash our hands.  The pellets are made of lead, so you don’t want that on your food.

I gave a short debriefing, thanking the cadets for participating and assuring them I would have the results ready by the next training night.  The cadets were dismissed for the remainder of the day.

True to my word, I did have the results in hand at the following training night.  I announced the five cadets who made this year’s marksmanship team and the two alternates who would act as backups.  The selected cadets felt excited for making the team.  They now had a month to prepare for Stage 2.  More on this next month.