F-FDTL PARTICIPATES IN THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY SKILL AT ARMS COMPETITION
A contingent of 11 personnel of Falintil-Forsa Defesa de Timor-Leste (F-FDTL) participated in the Australian Army Skill-At-Arms Meeting at the Puckapunyal Military Base in Victoria from 5 May to 26 May 2015.
The Australian Army Skill-At-Arms Meeting is one of the largest annual military shooting events in the world. Participants at the event included military personnel from Australia, Brunei, Canada, France, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Tonga, the United States (US Army and Marines), and United Kingdom.
The F-FDTL contingent did nine weeks of preparatory training at Metinaro Military Base before the competition. The soldiers competed in range practices firing from 100 metres to 450 metres from different firing positions at various moving and stationary targets. The 2015 Australian Army Skill-At-Arms Meeting was an intense competition that gave individuals the opportunity to represent Timor-Leste on the international stage. As a whole, the team competed well and attained some good individual results.
The participation of F-FDTL through Australia’s Defence Cooperation Program in Timor-Leste (DCP-TL) provided the members of F-FDTL contingent the opportunity to broaden and develop their professional skills and knowledge in a multicultural military environment. This event shows Australia’s ongoing commitment to supporting F-FDTL’s objective of strengthening its capability as a modern national defence force. Furthermore, it demonstrates the cooperation between the Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force in contributing towards F-FDTL’s defence capability growth.
