President Prabowo Praises Army Marksmen for 13th Consecutive Win at Australian Shooting Competition

President Prabowo Subianto praised Indonesian Army soldiers who have won the overall title and trophy 13 times in a row at the Australian Army Skills at Arms Meeting (AASAM), a multinational shooting competition held at the Puckapunyal Military Range in Victoria, Australia. In a competition held every two years, the Indonesian contingent, comprising Army personnel, has consistently dominated the multinational championship for at least the last 26 years. “Our army, the Army, has been overall champion at the shooting competition in Australia 13 times. Thirteen times, yes, 13 times. The competition is held every two years. So, imagine, for 26 years, the Indonesian military has been the shooting champion in the Asia-Pacific, competing against the Australian army, the United States army, the Japanese army, the Vietnamese army, armies of great nations, the Malaysian army, the Singaporean army,” President Prabowo said during a speech at the simultaneous inauguration of five new dams at Meninting Dam, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Friday. “Our soldiers are champions. What does that mean? It means our soldiers, the children of farmers—are there any rich people’s children who want to become soldiers? It means that when Indonesian soldiers are given the right equipment, their food budget is not corrupted, they are given good commanders, and they are given enough ammunition to train, they become champions. Champions among the world’s best armies,” the President added. “This is a symbol, a symbol of national pride,” he said. In the multinational shooting competition in Australia, the Indonesian contingent used domestically produced weapons manufactured by PT Pindad. As a result, PT Pindad has previously awarded a prize of IDR 1.2 billion to the overall winner of the AASAM, including during the 2018 event. The Indonesian contingent competing in the 2018 AASAM used various Pindad products, including the SS2 V2 Heavy Barrel carbine, the SS2 V4 Heavy Barrel rifle, and their respective munitions.