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Indonesia Army wins shooting competition
Stand and salute: Indonesian winners of the 2016 ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet salute the national flag during the medal ceremony in Manila on Sunday, in which personnel of various army divisions won in the categories of rifles, pistols, machine guns and carbines
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span class="inline inline-center">Stand and salute: Indonesian winners of the 2016 ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet salute the national flag during the medal ceremony in Manila on Sunday, in which personnel of various army divisions won in the categories of rifles, pistols, machine guns and carbines.(Courtesy of Indonesian Army)
The Indonesian Army secured first place in an annual regional shooting contest, defeating the Thai Army, last year’s winner.
“The ASEAN army chiefs of staff attended the AARM closing ceremony in the Philippines on Wednesday and Indonesia has won the competition,” Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Sabrar Fadhilah said in Jakarta on Wednesday, referring to the 2016 ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet.
During the 11-day competition, which started on Nov. 27, Indonesia gained 21 gold medals, 15 silver medals, 14 bronze medals and six trophies, while Thailand, as the runner-up, secured 10 gold medals, 15 silver medals, nine bronze medals and four trophies.
The Indonesian team won first, second and third place in the individual machine guns category.
The Philippines and Brunei Darussalam respectively secured the third and fourth positions.
“Thailand is the tough competitor against Indonesia,” Sabrar said.
He added Indonesia has several times won the competition, which has been organized for 26 years.
“The shooters were using rifles and ammunition from local company PT Pindad,” Sabrar added.
Indonesia deployed 61 male and female personnel including 37 gunners and 24 supporters to participate in the competition.
The personnel were from the special forces (Kopassus), the Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), the Sriwijaya military command in South Sumatra, the Siliwangi military command in West Java, the Mulawarman military command in East Kalimantan and the Pattimura military command in Maluku.
The participants competed in several categories, including pistol, machine gun, rifle and carbine.
Among the Indonesian participants were veterans of the contest, including First Sgt. Akbar, a machine gunner who has participated 10 times.
According to the AARM website, Akbar was feared by many shooters because of his accurate marksmanship in hitting targets up to 600 meters away.
“Aside from the machine guns, I also use other firearms,” he said.
The AARM is held with ASEAN armies to develop and strengthen relations among them, from senior military leaders to soldiers.
The AARM started in 1991 when Malaysia hosted. At the time only six ASEAN countries — Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines — participated, competing with rifles and pistols. In 2000, four more ASEAN countries, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, joined the event.
In the 2016 contest, the armies competed over 45 gold medals, 45 silver medals, 45 bronze medals and 15 trophies.
