The Army Operational Shooting Competition (AOSC), is the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

's premier shooting competition. Part of the Defence Operational Shooting Competition (DefOSC), it is based at the

National Shooting Centre The National Shooting Centre is the UK's largest shooting sports complex, comprising several shooting ranges as well as the large "Bisley Camp" complex of accommodation, clubhouses and support services. The centre is located near the village of ...

in Brookwood, Surrey. It also uses Ministry of Defence (MOD) ranges in the vicinity, such as Ash and

Pirbright Pirbright ( ) is a village in Surrey, England. Pirbright is in the borough of Guildford and has a civil parish council covering the traditional boundaries of the area. Pirbright contains one buffered sub-locality, Stanford Common near the nati ...

History

Competition shooting in the British Army started in 1874 with 'non-central' matches on unit ranges. The 'Army VIII' was formed in the same year, its purpose was to select a team for Inter-Service matches organized by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The Army Rifle Association (ARA) which was founded in 1893, became the governing body of service shooting. It was formed to encourage interest in service shooting to "promote interest in small arms shooting for service purposes by means of collective competitions, matches being framed to induce practice in methods which le to increased efficiency on the battlefield". By the 1970s, all three services had established their own competitions and associations, the army's going under the name of 'Regular Army Skill at Arms Meeting' or RASAM, (also known as 'RASAAM' - egular Army Skill At Arms Meeting. As part of constant up-dating, the event's name was changed to the 'Army Operational Shooting Competition' in 2009. Figure targets were first used in 1908. The electric target range (ETR) came on stream in 1967. A moving target match was introduced in 1974 with two

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

night shooting matches being competed-for initially in 1982. Firing in

respirator A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres including fumes, vapours, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne pathogens such as viruses. There are two main categories of respi ...

s and a 'march and shoot' competition was introduced in 1986. Casualty recovery and the carrying of of personal equipment was brought in 2009.

Operational Shooting Policy

Operational Shooting Policy for the UK Armed Forces has two chapters dedicated in assisting units in the planning and conduct of Operational Shooting Competitions. One chapter contains information and rules on planning considerations, dress and equipment, targets and scoring, penalties, timings and ammunition. The second chapter contains all the details required to plan and conduct the rifle, pistol, machine gun and sniper matches (known formally as Advanced Operational Marksmanship Assessments). Historically, this information was contained in a separate publication known as: Infantry Training, Volume IV, Ranges, Pamphlet No. 20, Competition Shooting or 'Pamphlet 20' for short or informally the 'bible' of competition shooting.

Prize categories

Prizes are awarded to teams and individuals. The most prestigious individual prize is the Queen's Medal.

Competitors

About 1,000 competitors from all Britain's armed forces, including the Reserve Forces and Army cadets, take part in CENTSAAM. International military personnel also compete.

References

* Infantry Training Volume IV Ranges Pamphlet No. 20 Competition Shooting 1988 {{Reflist Sport in the British Army British Army training Shooting competitions in the United Kingdom Military skills competitions