Sean ChaseA member of the Royal Canadian Air Force has emerged as the Canadian Armed Forces’ top gun.
Lieutenant Baron Hordo, who serves with 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School at 15 Wing in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, won the Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot at this year’s Canadian Armed Forces Small Arms Concentration (CAFSAC). In keeping with tradition, the junior officer was carried off the range in a chair hoisted on the shoulders of his fellow competitors. Hordo also received the Flight Sergeant Founder’s Trophy for top shooter in service rifle, stage one and two.
The Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot for the CAF Reserves was Cpl. T.W. Nault, from 3 Canadian Division. The winner of the Captain Shannon Wills QM1 Trophy for top Ranger shooter was Ranger Elijassie Elijassiapik, from 2 Canadian Rangers Patrol Group. The Martin Trophy Top Shot in Service Pistol was awarded to Major Kenneth Barling. The Fox-Decent Trophy Top Shot in Service Pistol – CAF Reserve was awarded to Cpl M. Valcour. The Captain James Cook Trophy for top shooter in service rifle, stage one and two went to Lieutenant (Navy) A.M. Wight.
Hosted at Connaught Ranges in Ottawa, Ontario, the two-week competition included international shooters from Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Individuals and teams representing the Canadian Armed Forces Regular Force, Primary Reserve, and Canadian Ranger Patrol Groups. The Concentration is held each year to help improve marksmanship and small arms proficiency, while at the same time increasing the operational effectiveness of the CAF. CAFSAC is one of Canada’s longest-standing shooting competitions dating back to 1868.
First instituted by Queen Victoria in 1869, the prestigious Queen’s Medal was initially awarded to the best shot from the British Army and Navy. It ceased to be issued after 1883 but was re-introduced by King George V in 1923 as the King’s Medal. It was open to participants from the United Kingdom, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
