Sport shooters from Armed Forces

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces and the Indonesian Target Shooting Association will start a four-year training program for 300 military and police officers today. The program aims to help Indonesia improve in the sport of shooting.

The association's spokesman, Joko Purnomo, said yesterday that the participating officers, aged early 20s, had all passed a sophisticated selection process which included an intelligence test.

"We have learned from our failures at the Southeast Asian Games last year that other teams smartly employed their military to win medals," Joko said.

Joko said the association hopes to see some of the recruits form the backbone of the Indonesian shooting team for the 19th Southeast Asian Games held here next year. (amd)