ISF, CF hit bull's-eye in friendly marksmanship competition

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BERNSTEIN, TUZ, Iraq - Everyone was shooting, but

no one was hurt when the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police, the Sons of Iraq and Coalition forces

fired AK-47s, M4 carbines, and Glock 9mm pistols together in a friendly shooting

tournament at Forward Operating Base Bernstein, Iraq, April 19.

The event, hosted by Company A, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade

Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, helped the four groups strengthen relationships.

"This is a lot of fun," said Pfc. Devin Nehring, a Co. A. "Shooting the AK-47 was

really exciting, and they (the IA) have one guy out there who's cash money - he's hitting

everything."

"Some people are natural marksmen," said Khalid Shwan Ibrahim, a Sons of Iraq

member who competed against some of the best the Salah ad-Din province has to offer.

Halfway through the day, Soldiers from Co. A fired up a grill and started cooking

traditional American barbeque fare for all the competitors.

"This food is very good," said Mowlud Shakour, one of the Sons of Iraq's top

competitors. "The men on the grill are talented, because they can cook and be Soldiers

at the same time," he quipped.

The competition was a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, and each group took

the lead at least once during the full-day event. After each iteration, scores were posted

as eager competitors looked on. There were pats on the back and pep talks between

each episode as the marksmen prepared to shoot again.

Spc. Mostafa El Saka, a linguist, was impressed by the accuracy of the Iraqi

Security Forces. "If you look at the results, the Sons of Iraq are doing the best right

now. For people who don't get many opportunities to practice shooting, they're all doing

very well."

Sgt. Shaun Maynard, who was one of the scorekeepers throughout the

competition, was excited to watch new friendships blossom as the ISF members both

teased and congratulated one another.

"This is a nice little get-together," said Maynard. "We're getting to interact with

the ISF; we get to see how they are when they're having fun instead of being all

business."

During the last event, the Suleyman Bek police department catapulted into the

lead. Although they had no experience with the Americans' M4 carbines, U.S. Soldiers

coached them all the way to first place.

Immediately after the final event, Lt. Col. Chris Stenman, who commands the

Special Troops Battalion, handed out certificates to the event's top shooters and gave a

short speech to the group.

"I'd like to invite you all to come do this again," said Stenman. "We've started

something today that should become a tradition, and I'm very impressed with both the

results and your professionalism as Iraqi Security Forces."

-30-