Fort Sill Multi-Gun Championship

Summary:

Fort Sill joined Fort Benning as the second military installation to ever host an open to the public multi-gun competition with this inaugural championship on September 16th. Two USAR soldiers participated, MAJ Luke Gosnell and SFC Terry Lauwers along with many civilians, veterans, first responders, and active duty soldiers.

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The level of detailed coordination between garrison and installation commands was evident throughout the event. Complete with opening remarks from the garrison commander COL Samuel Curtis followed by a full color guard and artillery salute to the Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery equipment on each of the five challenging stages of competition. The generous support of event sponsors, MSG Hew Moon, CPT Morgan Montgomery, and MAJ Shaw among many other military members and veteran shooters made this possible at the Fires Center of Excellence.

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Army Training Impact:

Many soldiers involved in planning, officiating, scoring and detailed to the event were exposed for the first time to the rapidly growing marksman sport of 3Gun/Multi-Gun and how it can be used as a viable alternative to training the soldier skills of marksmanship proficiency. The event was such a success, that dates have already been established to do it again next year on September 15-16, 2018

Event Media Outputs:

Event Website , Match Book Link

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Ft Sill 3-Gun Story Board

Combat Readiness

Oct1 by John M. Buol Jr.

Members of the U.S. Army Reserve Competitive Marksmanship Program discuss their combat experiences and how competition shooting helps with readiness.

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Mowrer defends title in National Match air gun events

Sep20 by John M. Buol Jr.

CAMP PERRY – Sgt. Nick Mowrer of the U.S. Army Reserve saved his place as the overall competitor in the AiR-15 Challenge during the 2017 National Air Gun Matches.

Mowrer, 28, won the overall title in the event, which is held at the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry.

Wanting to earn back-to-back wins, he admitted there was an added amount of difficulty to this year’s match.

“I felt a little more pressure than last year just because I really wanted to reach that goal,” he said. “But for the most part, I was pretty calm and relaxed in the beginning, and as things weren’t going the way I wanted them to go, it got a little more frustrating.”

He added, “But all in all, it was good. I just stuck to the fundamentals and kept bringing me back to it and execute good shots.”

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/story/news/local/2017/09/07/mowrer-defends-air-challenge-title-during-2017-national-match-air-gun-events-by-ashley-brugnone-cmp/639052001/

DVIDS: 416th TEC marksmanship team rises up, wins competition

Sep18 by John M. Buol Jr.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/248721/416th-tec-marksmanship-team-rises-up-wins-competition

FORT MCCOY, Wis. – Nearly 130 Soldiers competed at the Army Reserve Marksman Small Arms Championship August 27-30 during the 4-day event testing competitors and teams skill and endurance.

416th Theater Engineer Command achieved the high overall team score, high rifle and high pistol and included firing team members Sgt. 1st Class Martin Braden from Meridian, Idaho, who was the team leader, Sgt. John Halley from Winslow, Arkansas, who placed third overall, Sgt. Jared Henderson from Kuna, Idaho, and Sgt. Andrew Newlon from Springfield, Missouri, was first place (non-pro).

Soldiers competed individually with scores adding up for the four-person team score in pistol and rifle excellence competition matches.

Sgt. John Halley, a combat engineer with the 688th Engineer Company (Mobility Augmentation Company), Harrison, Arkansas, was selected to be a member of the team when a fellow team member saw he was interested to be part of the team.

“We have a wealth of knowledge on the team with shooters of ten years or more experience and wealth of knowledge. We each have a basic knowledge and are able to make on the spot corrections and improvement for the next stage of fire,” Halley added.

Expectations are high and everyone wants to win and see their team shoot solid across the board. Team building and knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses builds camaraderie.

Sgt. Jared Henderson, a combat engineer with the 391st Engineer Company, Boise, Idaho, and a former Marine, said, “Shooting is a perishable skill and if units can integrate this in their training it’s a big opener,” he said, “Army Reserve unfortunately only fires once a year and if units could support more practice and support this exercise would vastly improve skill.”

“As part of an Amalgamated team, I’m thankful for the experience of each member,” Henderson added.

The team consisting of Army engineers was offered experience and has various levels of competition experience with one competing in the All Army Championship. They faced distance challenges and required commitment to practice, often separately, and learn from all the experienced team members.

“We all bring something to the table and we obviously want to win. I’m about to get out so I’d love to win and our team has the capability,” said Sgt. Andrew Newlon, a combat engineer also from the 688th Engineer Company, “Secondly, we want take back what we learn from this competition to the unit to improve basic marksmanship.”

Newlon has competed in five marksmanship competitions to include All Army in 2016 and 2017. This year he has a little extra encouragement to do well during this competition since he’s getting out of the Army Reserve to focus on his career as a real estate investor.

The team exerts a lot of time and energy over the four-day competition and experience.

“It’s a little hard to train, but we train on our own, and I know that they are putting as much effort as I do. It helps to keep in touch to discuss efforts,’ said Halley, “All the team members keep in contact and prepare on their own.”

“I’m very proud of the members of our team for their performance this past year. Their hard work has paid off. We would also like to thank the 416 TEC for their continued support which has led to our success,” said, Sgt. 1st Class Martin Braden, 688th Engineer Company (MAC).

“We’ve been firing together since last March. We train separately and coordinate. Camaraderie is brought about by a common task. We’re all here to do the same thing…that is shoot well and love the sport,” he added.

The 416th will have one opening on next year’s team as one member departs and makes room for another team member.

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Darrin McDufford
416th Theater Engineer Command

USAR 2017 Small Arms Championships Wrap Up

Sep14 by John M. Buol Jr.

Congratulations to the 416th TEC team for sweeping ARSAC 2017.

Firing members SFC Martin Braden, SGT John Halley, SGT Jared Henderson, and SGT Andrew Newlon won every Team match. In addition SGT Newlon was the High Overall (non Pro class) winner followed by SGT Halley in third.

416th TEC was the high overall team, high rifle and high pistol.


The firing members of the team were:
SFC Martin Braden from Meridian, ID

SGT John Halley from Winslow, AR

SGT Jared Henderson from Kuna, ID

SGT Andrew Newlon from Springfield, MO

SGT Newlon was first place (non-pro) and SGT Halley was third overall.

Army Reserve Small Arms Championship Final Results:
ARSAC-2017-final-results

USAR.mil news:
http://www.usar.army.mil/News/Article/1318059/416th-tec-marksmanship-team-rises-up-wins-competition/

DVIDS News:
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/248721/416th-tec-marksmanship-team-rises-up-wins-competition

Match Photo Album:

Army Reserve Marksman 2017 Small Arms Championship

USARCMP Instructor/Coach Photo Album:

https://armyreservemarksman.info/usar-2017-small-arms-championships/

Analysis: The Army has a range problem, but it’s not because of the 5.56 round

Sep13 by John M. Buol Jr.

[G]iving soldiers a more reliable weapon with greater range is kinda pointless if we don’t address one of the Army’s most persistent and glaring faults: its marksmanship program sucks. There’s no one part of the thing we can point to as being problematic. It’s not just the BRM taught at Basic, or the qualification tables. The whole thing, from start to finish, really, really, sucks.

What’s the point of giving soldiers a shiny, new rifle if they can’t hit the broadside of a barn with the one they’ve got?

Now, before you break out the pitchforks and your Expert qualification badges, sit down and think about what I’m saying. Unless your MOS directly involves shooting things in the face, when was the last time you went to the range during the workday for something other than qualification? When was the last time you broke out the rifles for anything other than to qualify, or to clean them for inspection?

For most of you, that answer will be either the last time you deployed, or never. And that’s a huge problem.

Over the last ten-and-a-half years in the North Carolina Army National Guard, I’ve spent more time being told not to kill myself or rape people than how to shoot. I don’t have a problem with qualification myself; I can reliably shoot high sharpshooter to low expert. But I also make a point to shoot recreationally whenever I can. Not everyone has that option, and plenty of folks who do don’t take advantage of it.

For most folks, the entirety of their marksmanship training will consist of three weeks in Basic, the few days out of the year when they go qualify, and maybe a few days or even a week or two of extra training when they mobilize. And that simply isn’t enough.

Nevermind that the Army’s qualification system is stupid and outdated. Shooting static popup targets at ranges between 50-300 meters is a good start, but to rely on that as the sole measure of a soldier’s ability to engage the enemy is insane. According to the Army Times article linked up at the top, one of the driving forces behind looking for a new round is the fact that something like half of all firefights occurred at ranges greater than 300 meters. Meanwhile, your average soldier doesn’t even bother shooting at the 300 meter targets, because they know they can’t hit the damn things.

If the Army’s quest for a new sidearm is any indication, the search for a new rifle will take at least a decade, untold millions of dollars, a half-dozen Congressional inquiries and investigations, and probably a few lawsuits before they settle on the final product. Which means there’s plenty of time to teach soldiers how to shoot before the new gear ever starts filtering its way through the system.

As a starting point, come up with a comprehensive training plan that utilizes Basic Rifle Marksmanship, then build on that foundation throughout the soldier’s career. Get soldiers to the range more often. Update the qualification tables to more accurately represent the threat they’re expected to face. Enforce qualification standards like PT standards, and offer regular remedial training for folks who fail to meet those standards.

Or just carry on before and put a shiny new rifle in the hands of a kid who barely knows which end goes bang. I watched a guy from our battalion’s Forward Support Company shoot a 6 this year. That’s good enough, right?

Full article:
http://www.wearethemighty.com/tactical/analysis-the-army-has-a-range-problem-but-its-not-because-of-the-5-56-round

2017 Service Rifle Interservice

Aug2 by John M. Buol Jr.

At the Interservice Rifle Championships the USARCMP placed second in the team matches while putting up some formidable scores. In the 10 man team match, the USARCMP bested the previous record by 3 points but still finished 6 points behind the AMU.

SFC John Arcularius won the 1000 yard Match with a Service Rifle with a 199-7X. The Army Reserve 6 Man MCDDC Team finished in 2nd place overall and Top Reserve Team today.

The United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) broke the Post and Station Record MCDDC 4 Man Team record of 1151-31X by firing 1151-41X. The previous record was held by Army Reserve Careers Division.

SFC John Arcularius watches the bullet trace over SSG Kris Friend to keep his shooters in the middle at the 600 yard line during the Infantry Trophy Team Match. This match tests the shooters' ability to fire quick accurate shots on a silhouette target with a time limit of 50 seconds per stage. As a 6 person team, they are given 384 rounds to fire on 8 targets.

SFC Micholick coaching the 1,000 Yard Match

10 man team second place team match USARCMP bested the previous record by 3 points but still finished 6 points behind the AMU.

Interservice second place 6 man team

2017 Nightforce Precision Tactical 2-Rifle Championships

Jul31 by usaractionshooting

USAR Combat Team member 1LT Curtis Brotherston competed in the Precision Tactical 2-Rifle Championship in Raton, New Mexico on 8-9 July 2017 using both a precision bolt-action rifle and a tactical carbine while engaging targets out to 1000 yards. Curtis and other competitors engaged targets between various shooting positions while carrying all equipment used such as wind meters, binoculars, range finders, support bags in a pack while on the move with their rifles. Each stage of fire required the shooter to engage five long range rifle targets from 400 to 1000, while a various amount of carbine targets were engaged from arms length to 400 yards. Each shooting challenge was unique requiring the shooter to engage targets in unknown positions such as standing, over and under obstacles such as vehicles and through windows. Curtis is the first USAR-CMP member to attend a PRS match of this style and he placed a respectful 15th place among some world class athletes attendance. Match directors JJ and Denise Johnson are seasoned facilitators who always welcome military service members at all of their matches. More information can be found on their webpage.

Recruiting Impact:

The contact with competitors, facilitators and spectators in numerous different types of shooting sports is making known USARs participation outside of the traditional service marksmanship sport. Personal contact with young competitors and word of mouth has enormous potential for recruiting.

Event Media Outputs:

Website , Facebook, Match Photos