On Friday 18 September nine Royal Naval Reservists from HMS King Alfred, HMS President and the RNR Air Branch flew to Poland to take part in the XII International Shooting Competition in Poznan. They were supported by funding from the United Kindom Reserve Forces Association.
This annual event is open to NATO Reserve Forces and Police and Shooting Associations. The competition aims to develop Reservists’ marksmanship with both combat and sports weapons, to allow participants to achieve the AK-47 badge, and to improve the integration and cooperation between NATO Reserve Forces by enabling participants to exchange opinions and experiences of current military issues.
On arrival in Poznan, an Opening Ceremony was held at the at the Stefan Czarnecki Military Training Centre. Although there was no Guard or Band this time and numbers from other Reserve Forces were down on previous years, the competitors were warmly welcomed by the President of the Poznan Reserve Forces Association Lok “Snajper” and dignitaries from the Polish Defence Ministry. The evening saw the briefing of Team Captains for the following days’ competition, followed a social event, where friends from previous years were reaquainted and new friends made.
On Saturday morning, following a hearty breakfast, around two hundred competitors proceeded to the range for safety briefs and an introduction to the layout of the ten stances. Each team had to compete across the ten stances before the range closed, and whether they put forward a single competitor to represent them on a particular stance or the whole team of four each fired a weapon, all the scores contributed to the team’s total.
There was no order in which to complete the stances, which allowed plenty of opportunity to move around the range and mix with the other participants, furthering the competitive spirt of the event. Many different weapons were fired, from modern Eastern European weapons such as the AK47, Dragunov sniper rifle and the PK machine gun, to Second World War PPS SMG manufactured in 1945. There were also friendly competitions involving throwing dummy hand grenades and shooting targets with BB guns.
The day concluded with a buffet dinner of Polish foods and the prize giving ceremony. The female competitors were presented with a memento from the organisers, and although the British teams were not placed in the top three, some competitors did shoot sufficient scores to be presented with the AK medal.
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On Sunday, before the teams departed, they were offered the chance to partake in a cultural visit to the beautiful city of Poznan, something to be recommended to any British team competing at the event.
From a personal point of view, this competition is one of the best events open to Reservists from NATO nations and it is a privilege to be able to attend. The friendliness of the participants and the helpful Polish staff make it a pleasure to compete. Language barriers are easily overcome with an assortment of nations interpreting for one another. English to German, German to Polish and with a little liquid refreshment it becomes much easier! The organisers provide the British teams with a local translator, Marcin Domiter, who has helped enormously for as long as we have participated in this competition.
The aims of the competition were fully achieved by all the British participants this year and the ‘new blood’ had the opportunity to fire weapons they would not be able to fire in competitions in the UK. We were able to demonstrate to other participants, our friends from within NATO and beyond, how professionally we conduct ourselves personally and in our weapons drills.
If you’d like to participate in the competition next year, contact the UKRFA Secretariat on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
POAEA(M) Steve Woodhouse
Air Branch, Royal Naval Reserve
