CISM Opening Ceremony

[USAMU]

By Tim Hipps
U.S. Army Family & MWR Command
HYDERABAD, India - The Opening Ceremony for the largest sporting event in India's ancient history resembled opening night at the Olympics, complete with military pomp and circumstance to boot.
The Counseil International du Sport Militaire's 4th Military World Games officially opened Oct. 14 at Gachibowli Stadium with a colorful celebration of Indian culture that uniquely expressed CISM's goal of striving for world peace by uniting Armed Forces through sport.
Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, president of India and the first woman to serve as supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces, declared the Games open. She also released three commemorative postage stamps and a First Day Cover that captured the spirit of the Games.
The Indian air force's helicopter formation team performed a dazzling display of Sarangs in the air while their Akash Ganga skydiving team had the estimated crowd of more than 15,000 oohing and aahing as they seemingly dropped into the stadium from here, there and everywhere.
Akash Ganga is the Hindi name for the "Milky Way" and is roughly translated as "The Ganga of the Sky." It is the ancient Hindu name for the galaxy as viewed from Earth. A Dhruv helicopter showered rose petals on the spectators. The Great Indian Bison character Bravo, the Games' mascot, also descended from the sky to a thunderous round of applause.
Military bands, high-stepping bagpipers and the precision riflery of India's Air Warrior Drill Team launched the four-hour extravaganza.
Armed Forces athletes from 101 of CISM's 128 member nations marched into the stadium to begin a weeklong competition involving 5,125 athletes and sports officials. More than 100 countries are competing for the first time in the history of the Military World Games, whose motto is "Friendship through Sports."
Representatives of five other countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar and Nepal - came to observe the Games.
Gaurav Mukherjee, the 22-year-old son of an Army colonel, sang his composition "Play for the World," which set the tone for the evening.
After carrying the Military World Games torch into the stadium, Lt. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who won a Silver Medal in Double Trap Shotgun shooting for India at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, lit the Flame atop the other side of the stadium via an electronic remote by placing the torch to a cannon.
Indian men and women dressed in colorful costumes of eras past and present danced the night away. Even the recorded voice of Michael Jackson made the show, with his 1991 release of "Heal the World" - If you care enough for the living Make a little space Make a better place Heal the world Make it a better place For you and for me And the entire human race There are people dying If you care enough for the living Make a better place For you and for me
That sentiment was shared by thousands of troops, civilians and local schoolchildren, whose encouraging smiles and sparkling eyes lit the night more magnificently than the grand finale laser and fireworks display.
"The show was really good," said U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program racewalker Sgt. John Nunn, a 2004 Olympian who prepped for the Military World Games on a practice track adjacent to the stadium. "Over the past couple of days, we could hear them putting a lot of effort into the Opening Ceremonies. They clearly took a lot of pride in what it was they were doing. I was very impressed."
The CISM Military World Games is the largest international military Olympic-style event in the world. In this fourth edition of the Games, 101 countries and more than 5,000 athletes are scheduled to compete Oct. 14 to 21 in boxing, diving, soccer, handball, judo, military pentathlon, parachuting, sailing, shooting, swimming, volleyball and track and field. The purpose of the Military World Games is to promote friendship through sport.

[Fred Mannis]

Quite an event. Is there a website where we can obtain results of the various events?

[Shooter]

Fred, and others: Check www.esc-shooting.org/ for a link to the CISM web site. I have the ESC site bookmarked and check it nearly every day for some good info on events, etc in Europe mainly. Don in Oregon

[rrpc]

The results website is here http://www.mwg2007.org:8090/

[Guest]

The US Army isn't listed one time in any of the results! Did they field a team?

[Guest]

The US Army isn't listed one time in any of the results! Did they field a team?

[Steve Swartz]

The USA fielded a team. Based on the roster on the website, mainly army and some air force/marine corps?

Did not recognize any of the shooting squad.

Steve Swartz

[James Way]

The U. S. sent a team, but did not medal in anything. However, there were some shooters who finished fifth or sixth.

Also, there is an error on the website. All the names of the U. S. team are listed with the last name as an initial, and the first name spelled out. Instead of Elizabeth Callahan, it is C Elizabeth (as well as for everyone else). Looked at from that light, many will probably recognize the names of some of the shooters who went.

[Ed Hall]

Just to further help with identification:

From the USAMU post on 5 Oct:

The U.S. Team shooters are: Men’s Rifle Team – Staff Sgt. Armando R. Ayala, Sgt. Shane M. Barnhart, Sgt. Henry L. Gray and Spc. David R. Sprecher, all of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit; Women’s Rifle Team – Sgt. Kelly A. Dove and Spc. Nicole M. Cooper of the Army Marksmanship Unit, and Navy Ensign Sarah Bergman; Men’s Pistol Team – Sgt. 1st Class Eric G. Daniels, Sgt. 1st Class Thomas A. Rose, Staff Sgt. Robert S. Park II and Pvt. 2 Brad A. Balsley of the Army Marksmanship Unit; and Women’s Pistol Team – Marine Corps Capt. Janine Mills, Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Elizabeth A. Callahan and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Sandra Uptagrafft.

Take Care,
Ed Hall
U.S. Air Force Competitive Shooting Teams
Things of Interest to Bullseye (and International) Competitors