Twenty four members, male and female, of the Reserve Forces competed in the CIOR Military Competition in Riga, Latvia in August 2007 in teams of three. One team came away with the top prize winning the Non-Commissioned Officers / Other Ranks Category fighting off fierce competition from 16 other Nations from NATO and Partnership for Peace countries.
The competition consisted of shooting both rifle and pistol, on precision targets and rapid targets. Rifle from 200 metres using iron sights with the Latvian host weapon the AK4, similar to the G3, and the pistol their Sig 210. A 500 metre land obstacle course with 20 obstacles was the absolute ‘gut’ check for many. Another obstacle course but this time in the water; swimming over and under obstacles along a 50 metre course brought the Maritime Reservists to the front. Navigation over 18 kilometres of wet marsh land and thick forest using multiple maps, aerial photographs, sketches and diagrams in aiding the orienteering. Finally a number of military skills including map reading, first aid, judging distance and grenade throwing finished off three days of intensive events.
Marine Jimmy Linley said, ‘This annual event hosted by a different country each year really teaches you the advanced practices of marksmanship, it physically and mentally drains you while still trying to focus on the job at hand. It has been an amazing experience competing against all the other countries, learning a lot from the coaches and taking my military skills now to a totally different level.’
Next year the event is in Istanbul, Turkey and is open to all members of the Reserve Forces who will need to train with the UK squad one weekend a month from December until June. Training takes place around Aldershot using the facilities of the area including top shooting coaches from Bisley and Great Britain’s Orienteering Coach. Major Andy Mason RM, the Training Officer at RMR Tyne, is the Team Manager; who also competed in the veteran category leading the UK squad to Gold in six out of the seven categories.
Marine Kris Smith commented, ‘The hard work all year was worthwhile; not only the winning but ending with the Closing Dinner with all the other Nations. Everyone was letting their hair down and the camaraderie was really superb around the whole city. It’s always fun to be pushed hard by our long-term NATO partners.’
