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Sailor captures Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/cms/3/3-a_eng.asp?id=755
By Darlene Blakeley
Credit: WO Lawrence Conrad
PO 1 Martin Cashin is “chaired off” the field after winning the
Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot (Regular Force) at the Canadian Forces Small Arms Competition.
Petty Officer, 1st Class Martin Cashin, a naval electronics technician at the CF Naval Engineering School in Halifax and deputy captain of the Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) Combat Shooting Team, captured the prestigious prize September 19 at the Connaught Range in Ottawa.
“Competing in a field of around 200 top CF and international competitors, PO 1 Cashin has excelled in his musketry and has done the Navy and the CF proud,” says Lieutenant (Navy) Dave Giannou, captain of the MARLANT team.
The Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot, originally created under the British Honours System, was introduced in Canada in 1991. Two medals are awarded annually to a member of the CF Regular and Reserve Force, or the RCMP, who obtain the highest aggregate score in stages one and two of the Queen's Medal Competition.
PO 1 Cashin, who has been shooting competitively since 1994, has competed at CFSAC nine times. Placing second last year, he was thrilled to be “chaired off” the field this year as the top shooter by members of his own team and other competitors.
“Every year you try to get better and better,” he says, “and then it’s your turn to be in the chair. I didn’t know I had won until they announced it – I think I was carried 100 metres in the chair before it finally settled in.”
PO 1 Cashin, who has also competed at the international Bisley competition in England, is thrilled to be the first sailor to capture the coveted prize, but adds that the colour of his uniform is not important. “We are tri-service,” he says. “We are all one big family. Whether you’re Army, Navy or Air Force you still have to be able to shoot; it’s the first thing we learn in boot camp.”
He adds that since all three services can be deployed to Afghanistan, marksmanship is a critical skill. “Borders are being broken down between all three services,” he says. “We all need to have the determination and the will to get things done, regardless of the uniform we wear.”
As CFSAC’s Champion Shot, PO 1 Cashin now has automatic entrance into many international competitions, including some coming up in the US and Australia next spring. However, he is being deployed to Afghanistan in January and will take his ability as a marksman into a war zone instead.
“Ultimately, this is what we are trained to do,” he says. “I can go there with confidence in my weapon and my own ability to manipulate it to get results.”
By Darlene Blakeley
Credit: WO Lawrence Conrad
PO 1 Martin Cashin is “chaired off” the field after winning the
Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot (Regular Force) at the Canadian Forces Small Arms Competition.
Petty Officer, 1st Class Martin Cashin, a naval electronics technician at the CF Naval Engineering School in Halifax and deputy captain of the Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) Combat Shooting Team, captured the prestigious prize September 19 at the Connaught Range in Ottawa.
“Competing in a field of around 200 top CF and international competitors, PO 1 Cashin has excelled in his musketry and has done the Navy and the CF proud,” says Lieutenant (Navy) Dave Giannou, captain of the MARLANT team.
The Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot, originally created under the British Honours System, was introduced in Canada in 1991. Two medals are awarded annually to a member of the CF Regular and Reserve Force, or the RCMP, who obtain the highest aggregate score in stages one and two of the Queen's Medal Competition.
PO 1 Cashin, who has been shooting competitively since 1994, has competed at CFSAC nine times. Placing second last year, he was thrilled to be “chaired off” the field this year as the top shooter by members of his own team and other competitors.
“Every year you try to get better and better,” he says, “and then it’s your turn to be in the chair. I didn’t know I had won until they announced it – I think I was carried 100 metres in the chair before it finally settled in.”
PO 1 Cashin, who has also competed at the international Bisley competition in England, is thrilled to be the first sailor to capture the coveted prize, but adds that the colour of his uniform is not important. “We are tri-service,” he says. “We are all one big family. Whether you’re Army, Navy or Air Force you still have to be able to shoot; it’s the first thing we learn in boot camp.”
He adds that since all three services can be deployed to Afghanistan, marksmanship is a critical skill. “Borders are being broken down between all three services,” he says. “We all need to have the determination and the will to get things done, regardless of the uniform we wear.”
As CFSAC’s Champion Shot, PO 1 Cashin now has automatic entrance into many international competitions, including some coming up in the US and Australia next spring. However, he is being deployed to Afghanistan in January and will take his ability as a marksman into a war zone instead.
“Ultimately, this is what we are trained to do,” he says. “I can go there with confidence in my weapon and my own ability to manipulate it to get results.”
he was a horrible shot.
