“The Interservice Pistol Championship is the pinnacle of handgun shooting among all branches of the military,” noted COL Mark Rado, commander, U.S. Army Accessions Support Brigade during his speech at the awards ceremony that closed out the event. The Interservice Championships, now in their 54th year, invite the best marksmen from all branches of the U.S. military to compete. These top marksmen are ideally suited to manage training programs and provide top-level instruction to all service members.

“Marksmanship proficiency is a shared goal among the total force,” COL Rado continued. “To effectively engage the enemy, our country needs service members who can hit their target.” Shooting skill has been recognized as an effective force multiplier since the mid nineteenth century. All small arms training programs can trace their lineage to competitions and events organized during that time in the United States and abroad.

Teams from the Army, active, Guard and reserve, Navy, Air Force and Marines competed. The Army Reserve Marksmanship Program was well represented. Overall, USAR Black, top members of the Army Reserve Marksmanship Program Service Pistol Team, placed in a number of the events. The team took second place in the .22 Team Match, with firing members consisting of Team Captain SFC Stephen Spencer, MSG Rob Mango, SFC Keith Sanderson and SSG Jon Rosene. Another second place finish was taken in the .45 Team Match, earned by MSG Mango, MSG Robert Kolesar, SFC Sanderson and SSG Rosene. The team took third overall in the final team aggregate.

Individually, SFC Sanderson was third place in the individual over all aggregate. CPT Thomas Bourne earned his final leg points needed and was presented the Distinguished Pistol Shot badge.

ARMP team member and 2650 shooter MSG Robert Kolesar noted, “This is definately a building year for us but we’re starting to look strong again. We have a solid core of good shooters and a few new people that are showing promise.”