Top Guns at Culdrose
Culdrose Operational Shooting Team returned victorious with a pensionable hoard of silverware from the annual Naval Air Command Operational Shooting Competition, (NAC OSC).
The competition held at Bisley ranges, Pirbright Barracks inSurreyis arranged between the Naval Air Command (NAC) Teams with representatives from Royal Naval Air Stations at Culdrose and Yeovilton, the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) and the Royal Naval Reserve Air Branch.
The nine shooters from RNAS Culdrose came from the Operational Shooting Team (CU OST) who remarkably beat their rivals to fifteen of the eighteen trophies available including: Overall Individual Rifle, Overall Team Pistol, Overall Team and Top Tyro’s Trophies. (A Tyro is a competitor who has not shot in competition before.)
Lieutenant Kevin Lawrence the Combat Marksmanship Team Captain secured both the ‘Individual Pistol’ and ‘Champion at Arms’ trophies for the second year running. He said “It’s important to train a shooting cadre of people across the Fleet Air Arm in advanced combat marksmanship techniques so that Commanding officers have an embedded shooting expertise.”
The NAC Operational Shooting Competition is a competitive military Skill at Arms assessment, which is designed to test individuals in the use of service issue weapons. It is used as a stepping stone to help decide the NACRA (Naval Air Command Rifle Association) Team that go forward to the Defence Operational Shooting Competition (DEF OSC).
Competitors from the three Services and International guests participate in the DEF OSC held over two weeks at Bisley, where the ultimate individual prize is to win the Queens Medal for the best shot. Kev Lawrence and Chief Petty Officer Geoff Kendall from the Reserve Air Branch are keen to take on the other Naval Commands at this year’s event.
“It’s expected that the Royal Marines will come with yet another strong team.” Lt Lawrence continued, “Corporal Jim Bloom won last years Queens Medal at Bisley and we grabbed the Inter-Services Trophy for the first time since 1976 from the Army. I’m eager to show them that winning last year was not a one-off. The NACRA team is consistently held as the most active, professional and high achieving team of the three commands in the Royal Navy.”