THE GHANA Armed forces has begun a three-day inter-services shooting competition code-named �Exercise fireblast 2013� at the Yawhima Shooting Range, near Sunyani to come out with the best shooters within the military.
The 2013 biennial inter-services shooting competition saw teams drawn from the Ghana Army, navy and Air Force battling in m16 riffle shooting, smG shooting, pistol shooting and falling plates shooting.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, Colonel Joseph A.
Boampong, Acting General Officer Commanding the northern Command, explained that the exercise which formed part of the military training was to enable the officers to muster the art of shooting properly and with the desired efficiency and effectiveness.
He urged the competitors to use the exercise to interact among themselves to foster cooperation and friendship amongst the services.
�Bear in mind that the purpose of this competition is to encourage you to improve upon your efficiencies towards the larger goal of ensuring the highest professional standards expected of members of the Ghana Armed Forces.
�By so doing, we will be able to assure our compatriots of our readiness to defend our country and also ensure that peace and tranquility prevail for our dear country to develop,� Col Boampong stated.
The history of the competition dates back to the early days of the royal west African Frontier Force in the early 1900s, when the �Ashanti Field Cup� was competed in Kumasi between units of the then Gold Coast regiment only.
Its significance was, however, reduced by the �west African division Cup� which was keenly competed for by units from the Gambia, sierra Leone, Gold Coast (Ghana) and Nigeria.
After Ghana�s attainment of republican status, such multinational
forces competition was replaced by the Ghana Armed Forces rifle Association (GAFrA) meeting. The competition has, however, undergone some reviews and breaks along the way.
Since 1993, the competition had been reviewed to involve only teams from the three service of the Ghana Armed Forces namely, Ghana Army, navy and Air Force under the code-name, �exercise Fireblast�.
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