International teams enjoy some time together during Match 62 – International Service Rifle Championship on the last day of competition at this year's Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting (AASAM).

Warrant Officer Class Two Peter Richards of the Operations Support Squadron, 6th Engineer Support Regiment, jokes with shooting team members from China.
*** Local Caption *** This year's Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting (AASAM), conducted at Puckapunyal Military Range, was designed to pitch the best soldiers against each other in a tough combat-like environment. This focus ensures the contest is more representative of the skills required of a modern fighting soldier.

Since 1984, AASAM has been Australia's premier military shooting tournament, with a growing reputation worldwide and is now the world’s biggest international shooting competition. The competition decides the champion shot of the ADF, as well as providing a venue to determine who is the best shooting unit or formation team in the Australian Army. The international aspect of the competition determines the best individual shooter and competing nation within the region.

Matches are designed to replicate some of the conditions and stressors of current operational environments and are an excellent means of validating current doctrine and marksmanship training standards.

The activity is open to all members of the Australian Defence Force and also attracts champions from 17 international defence forces. Irrespective of nationality, the common language is marksmanship.

This year the competition included teams from Australia, Canada, France (FFNC), Indonesia, Timor Leste, Brunei, United Kingdom, United States of America, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, China and Tonga.

The competition was judged through a series of team and individual events encompassing both day and night shooting from a bayonet assault course simulating close quarter fighting to deliberate shooting out to 450 metres. Snipers engaged targets out to over 1000 metres. Contestants fired the pistol, rifle, sniper rifle and machine gun on standard issue to their defence force.