Author Archives: John M. Buol Jr.

Army Reserve Marksmanship at the Best Warrior Competition

by John M. Buol Jr.

#usarcombatteam
#BestWarriorCompetition
#RoadtoAwesome #KeepPounding #AmericasArmyReserve #USArmyReserve #WeaponsMastery

The 2019 Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition (BWC) held at Fort Benning on 10-30 June was the selection event to determine the USAR NCO of the Year and Soldier of the Year. The winners were determined by their performance in over 25 scored events over a five-day period. Events included the Army Physical Fitness Test, marksmanship, medical, land navigation, boards, and 10-level Soldiering skills. They will represent the USAR in the Department of Army Best Warrior Competition.

Army Reserve Marksmanship Program personnel led by Master Sgt. Russell Moore (416th TEC), NCOIC of the Army Reserve Combat (Service Conditions) Team, took the role of Marksmanship/Live Fire and Scoring NCOICs for the BWC. Marksmanship Program personnel provided instruction on the conduct and scoring of national-level competitive military events as well as current and upcoming Army marksmanship doctrine.

“The objective of the Best Warrior Competition is to create relevant events via national and international level military competitions,” said Master Sgt. Moore. “We maintained the sanctity of the marksmanship events and conducted an Excellence In Competition match for the BWC cadre and competitors.”

Shooting Team members conducted a Train The Trainer event for 95th DIV Drill Instructors, introduced numerous drills and terms directed by the new Army small arms Training Circulars. This educated the competitors and other BWC cadre on the new Rifle Zero Target, Dual Beam Aiming Laser, PVS-14 NVD monocular, and the Excellence In Competition program. The Team also designed and conducted zero exercises, 3 Gun match, M4/M9 Stress Shoot, modified rifle ALT-C Zero validation, CCMCK (Close Combat Mission Capability Kit) Shoot House, night M4 stress shoot with NVDs and lasers, German Armed Forces Badge pistol match, and Law Enforcement Weapons Training and Qualification course of fire. Marksmanship Program members created a proprietary scoring procedure to more accurately assess the competitor’s actual placing within the group in a more precise manner than that used during routine qualification.

A total of 104 Soldiers had the opportunity to shoot the Pistol EIC match with the top ten percent earning “Leg” points among the 62 USAR BWC competitors and 100 Cadre. The USAR Marksmanship Team designed, validated, and officiated 10 live fire events, including the creation of three new events for the USARC BWC.

https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/1896630/army-reserve-marksmanship-at-the-best-warrior-competition/

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Army Reserve Soldiers Set Interservice Records

by John M. Buol Jr.

#usarrifleteam #interserviceriflechampionships2019
#RoadtoAwesome #KeepPounding #AmericasArmyReserve #USArmyReserve #WeaponsMastery

Army Reserve Soldiers competed at the 58th annual Interservice Rifle Championship hosted at Marine Corps Base Quantico by the USMC Weapons Training Battalion 23 June – 1 July 2019. This annual championship is a Service Rifle competition open to all members of the United States military and highlights some of the best shooters in the entire Department of Defense. Competitors engage targets from 200 to 1,000 yards and most events do not allow any sighting shots.

The Army Reserve team set new Interservice Reserve record in The Commanding General, MCCDC (Marine Corps Combat Development Command) Team Match. Captained by Sgt. 1st Class Paul Fleischer and Coached by Sgt. 1st Class John Arcularius, firing members included Sgt. 1st Class John Bonjour, Staff Sgt. Kristoffer Friend, Sgt. Joseph Hall, Sgt. Keith Stephens, Spc. Daniel Lowe, and Spc. Samuel Henderson.

While the main team competed in the 6-Man Infantry Trophy Team Match, four shooters currently assigned to the Army Reserve Careers Division competed in the 4-Man Infantry Trophy Team Match against other eligible Post or Station/unit teams. Not only did the ARCD members win the Post or Station category, but they also beat an 11-year-old Interservice record previously held by the Marine Corps. Firing members included Chief Warrant Officer Joseph Hayes and Sgts. 1st Class Daniel Dorosheff, John Hawes, and Matthew Anderson.

Sgt. Keith Stephens broke the record on the first 600-yard match that was set back in 1993 shooting an 8T Shilen Rifles 8T Ratchet barrel that he chambered and installed himself. His 600-yard score of 200-16X is numerically perfect with 16 of the 20 shots for record inside the one minute of angle (six inches at 600 yards) tie-breaking X ring, which is six times greater accuracy than that needed to hit a 300-meter target during qualification every time. In addition to serving in the 980th Engineer Battalion and the Army Reserve Marksmanship Program as an additional duty, Sgt. Stephens is a police officer in East Texas.

Photo Album (thanks to CW3 Hayes)
https://joha.smugmug.com/Shooting/2019-Interservice/n-JFwKMQ/

https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/1896162/army-reserve-soldiers-set-interservice-records/

Army Reserve Soldiers at Interservice Pistol Championship 2019

by John M. Buol Jr.

#usarpistolteam #interservicepistolchampionships2019 #interservicepistolchampionships2019
#RoadtoAwesome #KeepPounding #AmericasArmyReserve #USArmyReserve #WeaponsMastery

Army Reserve Soldiers compete with the best shooters in all branches and components of our military at the 60th Annual Interservice Pistol Championship.

Soldiers represented the Army Reserve competed at the 60th Annual Interservice Pistol Championship. Hosted and conducted by the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) June 16-21 on Phillips Range, Fort Benning, the Interservice Pistol Championship is a Precision Pistol open to all United States military personnel with teams representing the Active and Reserve components of all the services.

Precision Pistol is a conventional competition discipline requiring shooters to engage targets at 50 yards with individual shots and at 25 yards in Timed and Rapid fire engagements. At 50 yards, the black circular aim point (bullseye) is about the size of the head area on an E-type silhouette with several interior scoring rings, the ten-ring spanning about six minutes of angle which is the same width as a 300-meter silhouette target engaged during qualification. All shooting in Precision Pistol is unsupported and with one hand.

The U.S. Army Reserve Competitive Marksmanship Program had two teams at the event. USAR Black was led by Team OIC Lt. Col. Patrick Sleem (85th Training Command) and Team NCOIC Sgt. Maj. George Greene (58th Trans BN) with Maj. Thomas Bourne (80th TASS), Staff Sgt. John Rosene (HRC-IRR), Staff Sgt. Rich Willis (84th Training Command, and Sgt. Nick Mower (200th MP Command). The USAR Gold Team consisted of Master Sgt. MSG Kris Beerman (85th Training Command), Sgt. 1st Class Brenn Combs (108th Training Command), Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Rosendorn (ARCD), Staff Sgt. Sandra Uptagrafft (108th Training Command), and Sgt. Chris Liming (85th Training Command).

As a team, USAR Black was first place among the Reserve component teams and second place overall behind the AMU. USAR Black took second place in the .22 and Service Pistol team matches and third in the .45.

Individually, Staff Sgt. Rosene was the top team performer, winning the National Match Course .22 stage, numerous top three finishes, and finishing fifth place overall. Sgt. Mowrer also posted a number of top three finishes and Sgt. Liming took third in the Excellence In Competition event, securing “leg” points toward a Distinguished rating.

Maj. Michelle Lunato, AMU Public Affairs, has a photo album of the event:

Interservice Pistol Championships

https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/1884452/army-reserve-soldiers-at-interservice-pistol-championship/

Small Arms Trainer Course Proof of Principle

by John M. Buol Jr.

The Small Arms Training Academy (SATA) at Fort McCoy is conducting a Proof of Principle class for small arms training coursework on 16 to 29 June. The class still has slots available and any Army Reserve unit with one or two Soldiers that would fit the role of a small arms trainer has time to apply.

A Unit Weapons Subject Matter Expert is proficient in all current small arms, optics, and accessories and can conduct Preliminary Marksmanship Instruction and Evaluation on all weapons systems, has a thorough understanding of maintenance, can conduct training, ranges, and qualifications in accordance with the current, prescribed Training Circulars, and assists the Commander with developing a solid year-round training calendar.

“Gunnery is an on-demand skill, there is no time for practice in combat,” said Master Sgt. Howard W. Griffith. “In addition to being the Course Manager for SATA, I am the Task Force Cold Steel Standardization NCOIC. Our mission is to train Unit Subject Matter Experts on weapons and optics.”

For information, download the following files:

Registration Form
SATC Welcome Letter and Packing List

Contact the Task Force Cold Steel S3 at 608-388-4645 or email usarmy.usarc.84-tng-cmd.list.ocs-fy18-s3@mail.mil for additional information.

2019 Army Reserve Small Arms Championships

by John M. Buol Jr.

Submit a completed Registration Form to the Registration Officer:
john.m.buol.mil@mail.mil

Send from your mail.mil email address as this form contains Personally Identifiable Information. Teams must be submitted together and listed on the same form.

Event Changes

  • There will no longer be any pistol shooting during ARSAC
  • The Bivins Postal Match will be replaced by the EIC Postal Match
  • Rifle EIC day and time remains the same.
  • Action/Practical remains the same but will be rifle only.
  • Pistol qualification will be replaced with a rifle Primary Qualification on ARF range.
  • An additional speed shoot on the ARF range will replace the last day pistol match
  • Individual overall will recognize high Precision (Service Conditions, Postal Match, Qual courses), high Action (all time-assessed Speed shoots) and High Overall. High individual Postal Match will also be recognized.

You will need all of the following files:

The Event Program covers event specifics. The Rulebook and Course of Fire Book contains general rules that apply to all USAR Competitive events and Postal Matches. Distribute the

Download
Registration Form: Submit the completed .xlsx spreadsheet file as is. Do not print or convert to PDF.

2019 USAR Smallarms Championship Event Flyer – PDF

2019 USAR Smallarms Championship Event Flyer – JPEG for use on social media

2019 USAR Smallarms Championship Event Program

USARCMP Rulebook

USARCMP Course of Fire Book

These files can also be downloaded at the Team USAR.mil site

Rulebook and Course of Fire Book
https://www.usar.army.mil/Commands/Functional/ARMU/Resources/PostalMatch/

NEWS:

https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/1851983/2019-army-reserve-small-arms-championships/

RESULTS:
https://armyreservemarksman.info/2019-usar-champs-results/

Army Reserve Soldiers at AFSAM International Competition

by John M. Buol Jr.

#RoadtoAwesome #KeepPounding #AmericasArmyReserve #USArmyReserve #WeaponsMastery

Pictures: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/usarcombatteam/

https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/1819949/army-reserve-soldiers-at-afsam-international-competition/

The Army Reserve Marksmanship Program sent a team of 14 Soldiers to compete in the Armed Forces Skill at Arms Meeting (AFSAM) held 31 March-13 April at Camp Robinson. AFSAM is an International Combat/Service Conditions small arms event that included teams from the British Army Reserve, Royal Air Force, Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Netherlands Army, U.S. National Guard, and U.S. Marine Corps.

“Our goal at AFSAM 2019 was to win or place in the top three while learning and testing world-class shooting techniques to be the premier marksmanship trainers in the Army Reserve,” said Lt. Col. Scott Klawon, the Team officer in charge. “We brought five new shooters to AFSAM and sharpened our small arms skills on the M9, M16A4, and M4A1 using Elcan and ACOG optics from close quarters distances out to 500 yards.”

The Army Reserve Team consisted of 14 shooter-instructors. In addition to being members of the Army Reserve and serving in their assigned units, each of these team members also assists with Mobile Training Team missions as an additional duty to train other Army Reserve Soldiers as the Army Reserve does not currently have a permanently-assigned organization and staff dedicated to small arms training.

At this year’s AFSAM, the Army Reserve Team took first place in four team matches, two individual matches, and an additional top three finishes in 22 other team and individual matches at the event.

“The team improved from last year increasing the number of top three place finishes greatly,” Klawon said. “Our top performance among some of the best Combat/Service Conditions shooters in the world validates our training techniques and we’re better prepared to conduct MTTs (Mobile Training Teams missions) to help other Army Reserve Soldiers as the Army Reserve’s premier marksmanship instructors.”

Individual wins for the Army Reserve team included a first place in RI 3060, Special Zero (Sgt. 1st Class Cheryl Morris, ARCD) and RT3600, International Team Match High Individual (Staff Sgt. Sean Morris, 200th MP Command). First place team wins included RT 3350, Combat Rifleman Team Match; PT 2340, Rapid Pistol CQB Team; PT 2330, Pistol Barricade Team Match; and RT 3195, Know Your Limits Barricade. In addition to these first places finishes, the Army Reserve team placed in the top three of 22 other team and individual matches.

“We have great new talent and the scores are reflecting that,” Klawon said. “One of our experienced shooters confessed this may be his last year competing with our team because he sees the high level of new talent we now have. This will motivate people to train harder and further increase competition scores.”

301st Military Police Postal Match

by John M. Buol Jr.

#RoadtoAwesome #KeepPounding #AmericasArmyReserve #USArmyReserve #WeaponsMastery
– Salinas, Puerto Rico

The 1st Mission Support Geographical Command, 301st Military Police Company conducted an Army Reserve Postal Match at the Camp Santiago Joint Maneuver Training Site on April 11, 2019.

Motivated by the training guidance of Chief, Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey to create the most lethal, combat-ready Reserve Force in United States history, Sgt. Luis D. Torres took the initiative with the support of his training NCO, Staff Sgt. Mendez, and used their combined 30+ year experience as local State Police S.W.A.T. law enforcement officers to conduct the advanced training.

“We had the opportunity to run a Postal Match during our unit’s weapons qualification battle assembly,” said Sgt. Torres. “Instead of just ‘burning’ the leftover ammunition, we took advantage of the situation and implemented improved training. I had brought a supply of already-printed EIC targets and instructed Soldiers in the unit that volunteered for the opportunity to shoot the match.”

The World-wide Chief, Army Reserve Postal Matches are designed to be conducted as a part of unit qualification to provide the means of conducting small arms training beyond routine qualification. Excellence In Competition is a program dating back to 1884 to recognized skilled military and civilian shooters that accrue 30 EIC “Leg” points as Distinguished Riflemen. The EIC Postal Match is a reduced distance course using scaled targets at 25 meters to simulate most of the shooting done on Match 321, the EIC course recognized by the Army Marksmanship Unit and used throughout the Department of Army.

“I went over the course of fire and gave my Soldiers some dry run practice so they could get used to reloading from their gear while assuming the different positions under time constraints. I brought my Pocket Pro Timer II to accurately time our training and when shooting the course for record,” said Sgt. Torres. “What a great experience! I know my Soldiers felt humbled and acknowledge that we need more training. This was a great way to get there. There’s no time nor resources to spare as an Army Reserve Soldier!”

All Army Reserve are eligible to participate in these events and units are encouraged to host them. The U.S. Army Reserve Marksmanship program can help units provide this training opportunity for their Soldiers.

All Soldiers in the Army Reserve are eligible and encouraged to host and participate in these Postal Match events.
https://armyreservemarksman.info/postal-match/