Shooters raise level

FOR infantry soldiers, shooting is second nature as it is an essential aspect of their job.
1st Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (1RPIR) liaison officer Sgt Iksy Tauka said a competition at the Goldie Training Depot recently helped enhance the skills for all units but it was more important for the infantry battalions whose core business was to know the finer details of handling and shooting different types of guns.
Acting PNG Defence Force operations commander, Lt-Col Dominic Bulungol said standards in terms of shooting were up there with the best in the world.
Bulungol said the benchmark used to evaluate PNGDF soldiers’ performance was the Australian Defence Force, who were in the top five in the world rankings in terms of military capability.
He said PNG had maintained its top ranking in the Pacific by winning the Pacific Friendship Medal for the past few decades.
At the competition at Goldie, a soldier from the 2RPIR, Lance Cpl Karol Narawafi and a Special Forces soldier Private Swaggart Katao from the long-range reconnaissance unit, scored high – beyond the set international standard for such a practice.
PNGDF range conducting officer, Adolf Kaien said their scores matched the best in the world.
The duo would be part of a 10-man team travelling to Australia for an annual sharpshooting event.