Canadian Forces Small Arms Competition - 1998

The Headquarters Staff of CFSAC '98

For a second year Capt Roberts was asked to co-ordinate the public affairs for The Canadian Forces Small Arms Competition (CFSAC) held on the the Connaught Range near Ottawa. CFSAC is an annual international skill-at-arms competition, with teams from the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the British, Belgian, Dutch and US Armies.

Based on the previous years experience and because of the limited support available on the ground, Roberts brought his own desktop computer, lazer printer, VHS unit, and television set with rabbits ears to monitor broadcasts.

During the week long competition 77 matches are held involving the service rifle, sniper rifle, pistol, and machine gun. The matches consist endurance competitions such as the "March and Shoot". A team of soldiers have to march several kilometres to the range, shoot at targets from various distances, within a specific time period. In the "Fire and Movement" matches the competitor has to run from one position to another, engage the target with specific number of bullets, again within a specific time.

The requirements for each competition were painstakingly spelled out. Each competitor was issued with a 312 page book of rules.

For the casual observer watching a rifle competition is like watching paint dry. For that very reason at events such as the Olympics, rifle and pistol competitions do not get that much coverage. The challenge of generating media interest was to select the event with visual impact, that could be recorded without distracted the competitor, or endangering the life of a camera operator. Match 73, a pistol competition, a fire and movement match, met this criteria with the competitor starting the match laying in a bed, under a blanket, with their hands behind their head!

PROCEDURE (From page 269 of the rule book these are the instructions for the competitors taking part in Match 73)

1. Start Position. Lying on a camp cot with a blanket covering from shoulders to knees, legs crossed, hands behind head. Weapon unloaded with magazines on a three foot table by firing station A.

Match 73

2. Penalties. Standard Virginia penalties, plus 10 points each for:

A. each shot fired when shooter's foot/feet are outside the firing station;

B. each extra hit on a target; and,

C. each hit on a no-shoot target or no-shoot zone.

3. Sequence.

A. On signal move to firing station A, pick up and load weapon, engage T1 and T2 with two rounds each;

B. move to firing station B ;

C. engage T3-T4-T5 in any order with two rounds each; and

D. move to firing station C; and,

E. engage T6-T7-T8-T9 in any order with one round each from one side of wall move to other side wall and engage T6-T7-T8-T9 in any order with one round each.

The Ottawa Sun newspaper and regional television station CHRO-TV covered Match 73.

Jeff Bassett SUN

Taking aim at the competition Cpl Eef De Lange of the Royal Netherlands Marines reloads his pistol during an international competition held at the Connaught Rangers outside Ottawa. More than 400 competitors from the Canadian Forces, RCMP, Belgium, Holland, Britain and the US took part in the event.

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