The ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet (AARM) is an annual rifle, pistol, and machine gun competition between the armies of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Its aim is to foster friendly competition and goodwill between the members' armies, and to give its officers and men the opportunity for professional interaction and to strengthen their social bonds and camaraderie.[1]
History
The ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet was the brainchild of a Commander-in-Chief of the Malaysian Army, who envisioned the participation of ASEAN armies in a joint military activity.[2] The inaugural AARM was hosted by Malaysia in 1991[1] and included Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as inaugural competitors.[3] Malaysia took the first team championship crown that year.
The AARM consists of five main match disciplines: rifle, carbine, men's pistol, ladies' pistol, and machine gun.[4] Each discipline consists of an individual and a team match. The top three in each match are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. The trophy categories include overall individual champion for each discipline, overall team champion for each discipline, and overall champion in the "falling plate" event for each discipline.[3]
In 2019, a new format for competition was adopted wherein the participating ASEAN member states were grouped into four teams, Team Alligator, Team Bear, Team Cheetah and Team Dragon. Team Alligator emerged as champion that year.[6]
^ abMinistry of Defense Brunei Darussalam. "Closing Ceremony of the 29th ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet 2019". Retrieved 18 November 2020. This year's AARM showcased a new format where 10 ASEAN countries were grouped together into four teams namely Team Alligator, Team Bear, Team Cheetah and Team Dragon. The Alligator team emerged as the overall champion with 6 trophies, 33 gold medals, 26 silver medals and 21 bronze medals, followed by the Bear team at second place with 6 trophies, 32 gold medals, 33 silver medals and 6 bronze medals. The Cheetah team came at third place with 2 trophies, 11 gold medals, 11 silver medals and 41 bronze medals and while fourth place went to Dragon team with 1 medals, 10 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 18 bronze medals.
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