Stage 3 Marksmanship 2024 – Part 3

The second day of the competition began just like the first; waking up early and eating breakfast at the mess hall.  My cadets and I then had to pack everything and move out of accommodations because there wouldn’t be time to come back after the competition.  More on this later.  I drove the van up to the barracks and I help the cadets load everything into the van.  I did one last sweep of the rooms to make sure they were clean, and nothing was left behind.  Everyone jumped inside the van, and I drove to the gym.

The air rifle range was set up for standing shooting.  The electronic targets were raised, the SIUS consoles sat on tables, and chairs had been placed in front of each console.  I took closeup photos of the setup while my cadets sat by their equipment.  I would use these photographs for future marksmanship lessons.

Once again, teams were given time to practice shooting while standing.  My cadets weren’t first, so they waited by playing on their phones and/or catching a quick nap.  They were excited but a little nervous when their turn came to shoot.  I watched as they practiced.  Shooting while standing is more challenging because you aren’t allowed to rest your rifle when shooting.  Resting the rifle before & after is permitted.  This forces you to rely on your muscles & posture to keep the air rifle steady.

The real shooting began after the practice relays.  Each team would shoot 2 standing relays with 30-breaks in between.  My cadets were part of the second group of teams, so their first real relay was during the second relay, if that makes sense.  The cadet coach & I told the team to take their time and to shoot only when they’re ready.  If you hold the rifle too long, your arms begin to shake and/or move.         

Lunch was catered by a local pizza establishment called A Little Pizza Heaven.  The business delivered a lot of pizza boxes and bottled water.  Cadets who weren’t shooting set up the food area and were rewarded by being the first in line for pizza.  My cadets happened to be shooting when the pizza arrived, so they had to wait.  Everyone was reminded to wash their hands before handling food.  The air rifles shoot lead pellets, and you don’t want lead residue on your pizza for added flavour.  The pizza was delicious.

My cadets completed their second standing relay after lunch.  A few of their pellets got really close to the centre of their target papers.  I was impressed and proud of them.  They breathed sighs of relief when the relay was done.

We didn’t have time to take a break or wait for the final shooting results because we needed to be at the airport soon.  We packed our rifles & gear and loaded it into the van.  I quickly thanked the organizers for letting us participate and apologized for not being able to stay and help with the cleanup.  The officers said not to worry.  The same officer who picked us up at the airport when we arrived, drove us back to the airport for our departure.  We thanked them for being our chauffeur.

We checked in and got through security without issues.  We waited for some time and then boarded our WestJet flight to Calgary.  Having a window seat enabled me to get a few good photos of downtown Winnipeg.  We landed in Calgary and then transferred to another plane that flew us to Ottawa.  We arrived in the nation’s capital in the middle of the night.

We stayed at our booked hotel for only a few hours.  There was enough time to shower, change clothes, and have a quick power nap.  We returned to the airport via shuttle, checked in, had a quick breakfast snack, and got through security.  We boarded the Canadian North plane and flew north to Iqaluit.  We landed in the territorial capital 3 hours later.

Our flight to Arctic Bay took off about two hours later.  The flight was uneventful, and we landed in Arctic Bay in the late afternoon.  The land was still covered in snow & ice.  The cadets’ parents were waiting at the airport to pick them up.  Frank gave me a ride into town.

Overall, it was a great trip.  The cadets got to compete in the regional marksmanship competition and see another part of Canada.  Now we have to wait for the final results of the competition to be published.      

                                             End of Stage 3 Marksmanship 2024 Mini-Series. 

Stage 3 Marksmanship 2024 – Part 2

We woke up early on the morning of April 6 and got to the mess hall at 6:30am for breakfast.  We were the first in line.  The frontline chefs came out and started preparing eggs and English muffins.  The heated side dishes were bacon & hashbrowns.  Other available offerings were fruit, bread, muffins, and a variety of beverages.  I chose orange juice.  My cadets & I finished our meals in 30 minutes. 

I drove the cadet team over to the large gym building where the competition would take place.  Being assigned a military van to drive made things easier for us and the organizers.  They didn’t need to hire extra drivers. 

The air rifle range looked the same as it did the day before.  More & more cadet teams arrived over a period of 20 minutes.  Teams were instructed to prepare their air rifles & shooting gear for inspection.  Everything had to be inspected to prevent cheating and/or illegal modifications.  The cadets put on their shooting jackets & safety glass and stood in line holding their air rifles.  It took us about 30 minutes to get through the inspection line.  Once our rifles & gear were cleared, I instructed the cadets to put everything away.  We had another commitment to get to and needed time to get ready.  The competition organizers were aware of this and approved because we weren’t scheduled to begin until after lunch.

I drove my cadets back to accommodations and we changed into our formal dress uniforms.  3045 Army Cadet Corps was invited to participate in a Vimy Ridge Commemoration Parade at Vimy Ridge Park in downtown Winnipeg.  I think this was 3045’s first time participating.  I used Google Maps on my cellphone to guide me to the location.  We safely made it.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge occurred during the First World War, taking place from April 9 – 12, 1917.  It was the first time the Canadian Corps’ four divisions fought together.  Canadian soldiers liberated most of the ridge from German occupation on the first day and then pushed German soldiers further back to the Oppy-Mericourt line by April 12.  Canada regards this battle to be the birth of the nation.

I found one of the officers in charge of the parade and introduced myself and my cadets.  The cadets were led inside a church where cadets from various local corps were getting ready.  I followed but was directed to a room where an officers briefing was being held.  We reviewed the parade program.

Everyone involved in the parade exited the church and assembled in Vimy Park for a parade practice.  There had to be at least 100 - 150 cadets in attendance.  The cadets were organized into four platoons, renamed divisions, in honour of the four Canadian divisions.  The four divisions contained a mixture of cadets from participating corps.  Two cadets stood guard at the cenotaph holding Canadian flags.  There even was a cadet band to provide music.

A short parade practice was held.  The cadets marched in from two directions and halted in front of the cenotaph.  The band played General Salute and O Canada.  A few more parts of the program were reviewed and then the cadets were marched back to their starting positions.  A crowd had begun to form when the cadets were being marched off.  I had to reassure a few onlookers they hadn’t missed the actual parade.

The real parade began at 11am.  The cadets marched in from their starting positions and halted in in front of the cenotaph as an audience of people looked on.  The senior officer presiding over the parade was Lt. Col Diduck.  The cadet band played General Salute and O Canada.  Lt. Col. Diduck gave a speech about the Battle of Vimy Ridge and why Canadians commemorate this battle.  He also thanked the cadets & everyone in the audience for attending the parade.  These comments were echoed by Linda Wall, the president of the Army Cadet League of Canada’s (ACLC) Manitoba Branch.

Diduck placed a wreath in front of the cenotaph and saluted, along with his Chief Warrant Officer, the cadet chief warrant officer parade commander and Ms. Wall.  The trumpeter in the band played Last Post.  This was followed by a Minute of Silence.  The trumpeter then played Reveille.  The cadets were then marched off.  The parade had come to an end.

Unfortunately, my cadets & I couldn’t stay for lunch because we had to get back to the shooting competition.  The parade organizers thanked us for our participation and gave us bagged lunches.  The cadets ate in the van while I drove back to 17 Wing.  We returned to barracks first to change out of our dress uniforms and into civilian clothing.  We hopped back into the van and drove over to the gym. 

The gym was busy with several marksmanship teams shooting and others enjoying lunch catered by the Pita Pit.  The cadets put on their shooting vests and glasses and waited to be called for their practice prone relay.  When the time came, they grabbed their Daisy air rifles and stood in a long line.  The Range Safety Officer (RSO) invited all participating teams to take their positions on the shooting range.  Cadets were given 30 minutes to shoot as many times as they wanted.

The target systems used are made by SIUS.  They’re pretty good at recording where pellets hit the paper targets by using five microphones to triangulate the impacts through soundwaves.  Shooters see where they hit on a small console.  A perfect dead centre shot is 10.9 points.  A no hit is 0 points.

Shooting relays lasted 30 minutes and teams shot every second relay.  It’s good to have breaks in between.  The first day of the competition was all about shooting prone.  Teams shot three prone relays, 20 pellets per relay.  The cadet coach & I encouraged our team to take their time and shoot steady.  The point of the competition is accuracy, not speed.  We were done by 5pm.

For dinner at the mess hall, I had beef roast, some vegetables, and bread.  We spent the remainder of evening in barracks.  I managed to take a good picture of a herd of deer grazing on base.  They may have been the same deer I saw the night before.

                                                                To Be Continued . . . 

Stage 3 Marksmanship 2024 – Part 1

I didn’t stay in Arctic Bay for long after returning from Whitehorse.  I was granted leave to attend another out-of-town cadet trip, but this time in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  3045 Army Cadet Corps’ Marksmanship Team of 2024 successfully advanced to the Stage 3 Regional Competition.  This was achieved by accumulating enough points in the Stage 2 Postal Shoot in February.  I travelled with the team as their escort officer, coach, and public relations officers.  I would keep their parents & guardians updated via Facebook. 

The marksmanship team & I arrived at the airport on the afternoon of April 3, packed and ready.  Participating teams are required to bring their own air rifles.  Ours were securely packed in large Pelican cases.  We also brought shooting jackets, safety glasses, gloves, and tools.  The Canadian North plane lifted off into the bright Arctic spring sky and our journey began.

We headed north and landed in Resolute Bay to pick up more passengers.  We left the community after 30 minutes and flew south towards Iqaluit.  The flight lasted 3 hours.  We collected our luggage and took two taxis to our hotel.  I gave the senior cadet in the other taxi enough money to pay the driver.  We checked in and settled into our rooms for the night.

The cadets & I were able to sleep in for an extra hour or two on April 4.  We returned to the Iqaluit Airport just after lunch, again needing two taxis to get everyone there.  The military would reimburse me for taxi expenses.  We boarded the Canadian North plane at 3:30pm and we were in the sky by 4:00pm, heading towards Ottawa.  Warm meals are served on this flight because it’s the most lucrative route for Canadian North.  The meal I selected was alright.  The plane landed in Canada’s capital 3 hours later.  We collected our luggage and took a free shuttle bus to our hotel.  We stayed in Ottawa for the night.

April 5 was the third day of travel.  We boarded the free shuttle bus in the early morning and were dropped off at the airport after a short ride.  We were still tired but there was no time to waste.  We checked in our luggage and ate a quick breakfast at Tim Hortons.  We got through the security checkpoint without hassle and proceeded to our gate.  We boarded the Air Canada plane after waiting and hour and flew to Toronto.  Unfortunately, there weren’t any direct flights to Winnipeg at the time.

Navigating the Toronto Airport can be a challenge for any traveller; frequent or new.  I know the airport works hard to make its layout easy to understand, but for some, the large expansive layout of the terminal can be overwhelming.  Thankfully, it isn’t for me.  I led the cadets through the busy terminal to our next gate.  We spent the remaining time shopping, eating snacks, and waiting.  After some time, we boarded the plane for Winnipeg.

I considered myself lucky to have a window seat on the Winnipeg flight because I got to take many pictures of the city from the sky.  I photographed several cloverleaf interchanges, suburbs, Red River, downtown Winnipeg, farmland, and the airport in the distance.  Cloverleaf interchanges are always impressive from the sky.  One day I need to drive to one and then drive across all four circular loops.  I should end up driving in the same direction if done properly.  From the air, Winnipeg is really spread out because it’s located on the Prairies, a very large area of flat land.

The cadets & I met an officer in the Arrivals Area.  The officer took a group photo of us in front of a large YWG sign.  (It’s the airport code).  We collected our luggage and proceeded to leave the terminal.  On the way I spotted a large banner covered in sunflowers and a sign that said, “Welcome to Manitoba,” in Ukrainian.  Winnipeg has been welcoming Ukrainian refugees since the start of the war.  The officer took my picture.  We loaded our luggage & gear into the military van and were driven to 17 Wing at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Winnipeg.

We were taken to large building where the competition would take place.  It’s a very large gym.  The air rifle range was already set up and there were military officers checking the equipment.  The cadets spent some time working with a punching bag and doing chin-ups.  I managed to do some chin-ups after much coaxing.  The cadets brought the air rifles inside and placed them in a secured area.  All air rifles would be stored in the building because we’re not allowed to keep them in accommodations. 

I was given the keys to the military van because I hold a standard military drivers license.  I drove my cadets to accommodations where they dropped off their luggage and then we proceeded to the mess hall for dinner.

I drove the cadets to CF Polo Mark Mall so they could shop for an hour or two.  The place hasn’t changed much since the last time I was here.  There were a few new stores and restaurants.  One restaurant I was surprised to see was Taste of Ukraine.  I didn’t buy a meal because I was already full.

I photographed several deer grazing on the military base after we returned from CF Polo Park.  They looked at me with curious faces as I photographed them from a distance.  I instructed my cadets to not stay up late and be ready for an early wakeup the following morning.  Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day.                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                   To Be Continued . . .