Ghana Peace
Forces Pay Regiment (FPR) has won the one-day Support Services Command (SP SVCS COMD) Inter-Units Shooting Competition, dubbed EXERCISE ELEPHANT TRUNK 2025.
SP SVCS COMD – a Formation of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), held EX ELEPHANT TRUNK at the Teshie Gallery Shooting Range, on Thursday 28 August 2025, with Forces Pay Regiment (FPR) as hosts, and their Commanding Officer (CO) Colonel Roland Deegbe as the Guest of Honour, supported by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), SP SVCS COMD – Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Selassie Gagakuma, and Deputy GOC – Brig Gen Albert Assiama.
The participating teams were 49 ENGINEER REGIMENT (49 ENGR REGT), BASE WORKSHOP, FPR, SUPPLY & TRANSPORT (Defence MT Battalion and Base Supply Depot), ARMED FORCES CENTRAL BAND, GHANA MILITARY POLICE (GMP), GENERAL HEADQUARTERS (GHQ) CAMP, SP SVCS CAMP (SP SVCS CAMP & Education), Central Ordnance Depot (COD) & Central Ammunition Depot (CAD).
Competing activities were; 100-Metres Deliberate Fire, 200-Metres Snap Shooting, 300-Metres Timed Firing with M16, 5-metre and 20-metre Deliberate Firing without timing with Taurus Pistol, 10-metres Deliberate Fire, 5-metres Rapid Fire for 5 seconds, and crowned with M16 Falling Plates.
To reward marksmanship, bulls-eye was awarded high marks than ordinary targets
The Command’s Inter-Unit Shooting Competition, forms part of the activities for the Formation’s training calendar for 2025, and aimed to sharpen weapon handling, enhance physical fitness, test marksmanship principles, and to foster esprit d’corps.
In a welcome speech, General Gagakuma said the competition stands as a testament to the Command’s core values of discipline, professional excellence, teamwork and resilience, and is designed to raise a formidable team capable of competing and winning in all organized shooting competition events, particularly EX TIGER’S PATH ‘25, in November 2025.
The GOC also added that integrity of such events rests on unwavering commitment to safety, fairness and sportsmanship, bringing out skills, precision, integrity, courage, loyalty and mutual respect, reinforcing readiness, deepening cohesion, and setting a strong tone for EX Tiger’s Path ’25.
FPR and Base Workshop, two competing Units who were nearly eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the competition, ended up contesting an exciting ‘photo-finish’ final, with FPR falling all 10 plates to win the ultimate award, closely followed by Base Workshop moments later.
FPR won BEST in M16 Rifle; COD was RUNNER-UP in M16 Rifle; GMP won BEST in Taurus Pistol; SP SVCS COMD was RUNNER-UP in Taurus Pistol;
A the Individual awards, Warrant Officer Class One (WO 1) Atagba of GMP won BEST FIRER in both M16 and Taurus Pistol, and OVERALL BEST FIRER; Lieutenant (Lt) Bright Ahale of 49 ENGR REGT won RUNNER-UP in M16, Taurus Pistol, and 2ND BEST FIRER; and Lance Corporal Mohammed of FPR won BEST FEMALE FIRER.
Present at the contest included the Deputy Chief Staff Officer, Training and Operations, Army HQ – Brig Gen William Kwabiah; Principal Staff Officers of the Command; Unit COs, Officers, Sergeant Majors, Soldiers and Defence Civilian Staff.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
