Article / June 11, 2015

By Fraser Logan, 3 Cdn Div Public Affairs

EDMONTON GARRISON – Under the leadership of 3rd Canadian Division, soldiers from across Canada delivered a win for the Canadian Army at the 24th Armed Forces Skill at Arms Match hosted by the United States National Guard Marksmanship Training Center in North Little Rock, Arkansas, April 22nd – May 2nd.

With five Regular Force and seven Primary Reserve members from 3rd, 4th and 5th Canadian Divisions taking part in a combination of individual, combined and team matches in both service rifles and pistol categories, Sergeant Tatyana Danylyshyn (Canadian Scottish Regiment [Princess Mary’s]) won the prestigious Hager Hollon Trophy for Top Rifle Shooting.

“ Sgt Danylyshyn beat everyone else with a score of 190 out of a possible 250 in what was essentially an infantry rundown, ” said team captain, Lieutenant Devin Kruk (C Coy, 1 PPCLI). “ Her match moved from deliberate fire at the 400, 300, and 200 yards to reflexive fire at the 100 with a walk down from 75 to 25 yards. ”

Though, we might need to spend a bit more time with our Brownings.

“ The Brits and Americans dominated the pistol shoots, but we won a significant number of the rifle matches, ” said Lt. Kruk. “ Every shooter came back with an award of some kind. ”

Even with shooters from The United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands, Germany and Jamaica vying for the best overall standings, there was still a great sense of comradery amongst the teams.

“ The Italians cooked pasta for all the shooters one evening, ” reflects Lt. Kruk. “ And the Americans served a huge BBQ on the last day. Language barriers aside, it was great swapping stories and getting to know the other soldiers. ”

Established in 1991, the Armed Forces Skills at Arms Match is a multinational competition that was created to promote marksmanship training and competition between United States military forces and allied nations. The annual matches allow opportunities for cross training on the nations’ weapons, systems, techniques, tactics, and procedures.