It was Bengt Axelsson, acting personnel commander in the Armed Forces, who in 2005 was behind Sweden’s application to organise the World Military Shooting Championships, then in his capacity as training inspector. There were many twists and turns before it was finally decided to award the championships to the Norrbotten Regiment in Boden.
So what does the Brigadier General think of the competition arrangements?
”It’s highly pleasing to hear all the spontaneous praise we have received for conditions at our shooting ranges. It is actually shooters who have competed in the Olympics and in previous world championships who have made these comments.
“I would like to thank all the officials for the faultless organisation, which is excellent PR for the Swedish Armed Forces in the rest of the world. Wearing clearly marked vests, these officials keep order and tidiness at the ranges, allowing the shooters to safely concentrate on their competing. This is underlined by the world records that have been set. Even the food was to most people’s taste. That is quite an achievement with participants coming from all over the world,” Bengt Axelsson ended.
Our Swedish participants have done really well in the championships. Has the team achieved its goals?
“Several of our shooters are very promising but lack international experience. Our campaign focuses on the Military World Games 2011, by when the team is expected to be well-prepared. The results during these World Championships – the medals and the personal bests – show that we are well on course. Before these championships, we knew that is was our women competitors who had the best chance to succeed. It was beyond our expectation that they would win a team silver and an individual gold,” said a most contented Bengt Axelsson.