An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 15 scenarios where they had to complete tasks such as shooting from a riverbed or shooting a 'captured weapon'. It was evident from the teams as they crossed the finish line that they had given it their all and thoroughly enjoyed the event. An important aspect of the concentra- tion is the exchange of ideas that takes place between stands and after each day's events. As teams had the chance to review their performance the final scores were checked before the winners were announced in the canteen that night. The winners of both the national and international competi- tions were the Army Ranger Wing, and while it may seem a matter of course that our experienced special operatives should win every year, the event is extremely com- petitive and the ARW teams had to fight as hard as the others to come out on top. The runner up in the international com- petition was USA-Team 1 and the national runners-up were Pte McQuaid and Pte McDonald from 27 Inf Bn with 3rd place going to 1 Cn Cois. The All-Army Best Sniper went to Cpl Callanan of 1 Cn Cois and Best Spot- ter went to Cpl Cullinan from 12 Inf Bn. One member of the sniper community who is sadly missed by his comrades and whose name appears three times on the trophy is Sgt Stevie McColgan of 1 Cn Cois who passed away after an illness earlier this year. His name has now been commemo- rated with the Sgt Stevie McColgan Memorial Trophy, which will be awarded annually to the individual who has contributed most to the sniper community that year. It was only fitting that the first name to appear on this perpetual trophy, as voted for by his peers, is that of Sgt Davy Greene, Stevie's sniper partner when they won in 2008 and 2010. The IWW's mission in conducting the sniper, recce and support weapons concentrations is to maintain the highest standards of skills in the Defence Forces and to ensure that competitors get the op- portunity to take part in a challeng- ing and rewarding event each year. As stated earlier, the sniper competition is not like a civilian marksmanship competition. The objective is not just to test accuracy; this is a military competition and the sniper pair's experience and resilience under stressful condi- tions are just as important in their ability to take a shot in combat. Cpl lee Coyle spoke to participants on the 2nd International Marksmanship Skills Competition (Vox Pop): 2nd Platoon leader, Recon Coy, see Bn, German navy "I have served 11 years in the Navy; our main function is to provide force protection for the boarding parties on the vessel. I became a sniper in 2009 and this is my first time in Ireland and in a competitive shooting competition. I'm finding it new and interesting, but also learning from the other teams with new training methods." operator us soF "I learned to shoot as a kid, going on hunting trips. I have been a sniper for two years and this is my first shooting competition. The conditions are good out here; it makes it more challenging when they're like this. I'm finding the competition good with a lot of areas we don't normally work in, so it makes us think on our feet." Pte Mark Fitzpatrick, sp Coy, 27 inf Bn. "I completed my basic sniper course in 2015 and this is the first time I've competed in a marksman competition. It has been good to work in this pressure environment, as it forces us to work out problems together with our spotters, making us better snipers. It also makes us trust the equipment that we have and to rely on it." Royal irish, Regt British army "There are a lot of points to take into consideration about marksmanship. We had good integration with the Irish and other nations. We are very fortunate and honoured to be invited to the competition and look forward to next year's competition to bring back the enthusiasm from this years challenging competition. There was very good administration from the training staff throughout the competition."

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