Fun shooting day cement army, civilian relations

Vusumuzi Makiweni in Rusape Post Correspondent
THE Officer Commanding 3.2 Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Chaviri, has hailed the rapport that exists between the army and civilian in Makoni. Addressing participants at the belated Makoni District Executive Interaction Initiative fun shooting day held last Saturday at their Tsanzaguru barracks, Lt Col Chaviri said the event has helped cement relations between the army and the public.
The event was started in 2014.

“This has helped to cement the cordial relations that have always existed between members of the uniformed force and the civilian community.
“We take on board and improve on issues raised by members of the public,” he said.

The fun shooting event was organised by an eight member committee chaired by businesswoman Ms Loveness Nyamundanda.
Ms Nyamundanda implored the local business community to partner the army in various social initiatives saying such civilian and military interactions help demystify the image and conduct of the uniformed forces.

The day began with Warrant Officer Class Two Luke Munhanda and his team of instructors taking the attendees through safety precautions of assembling and disassembling the legendary Alexandra Kalashnikov (AK) 47 assault rifle as well as a brief history of the world’s most commonly used gun, much to the amusement of the gathered crowd.
Thereafter, it was down to serious business, with members of the general public being guided by military instructors in aiming at fig 11 targets from a daunting distance of 100 metres for a $10 fee.

Although there were no prizes for the best shooters, they got rewarded by being selected to join participants who were using their personal weapons in the personal firearms category.

Mr Munyaradzi Sakuringwa had this to say: “As someone who owns a firearm, I found this interface educative as regards how to safely manipulate a gun. It is not an issue of pulling the trigger, but safety”.

Noleen Mukombeza said soldiers play a critical role in maintaining peace and order in the country.