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Army Reservist Claims All-Army Championship
By Michael Molinaro
USAMU PAO

FORT BENNING, Ga.-- Col. Charles Durr, chief of staff, Maneuver Center of Excellence, stands with Sgt. 1st Class Russell Moore, 2nd Battalion, Small Arms Readiness Group, Camp Bullis, Texas, after presenting Moore with a Secretary of the Army M1 Garand Trophy Rifle for winning the 2010 All-Army Small Arms Individual Championship Feb. 27.

United States Army Marksmanship Unit

FORT BENNING, Ga. - -(AmmoLand.com)- Close to 300 Soldiers from all elements of the Army descended on Fort Benning Feb. 20-27 to take part in the 2010 All-Army Small Arms Championships, the preeminent marksmanship training and competition event the Army has to offer.

Army Reservist Sgt. 1st Class Russell Moore, 2nd Battalion, Small Arms Readiness Group, Camp Bullis, Texas, withstood strong competition and unpredictable weather to win the 2010 Overall Individual Championship, his second in a row. Moore and his teammates claimed the top team prize after a week full of pistol, rifle, long-range rifle and combined arms matches.

“Everybody should come here. I feel it’s a Soldier’s duty to come here and test their capability, test their mettle against their peers,” said Moore, who works at Fort Sam Houston as a Department of the Army civilian working with combat medic trainees. “Hopefully everybody here takes the spirit of the event for what it truly is, which is a training event, where somebody can come and learn depth and relevance to their trade of being a rifleman first.”

Soldiers were given hands-on marksmanship instruction by the hosts of the competition, the Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, with the intent of using those lessons learned in instruction and in competition to bring back to their units for dissemination.

“At the USAMU, we use the phrase ‘Competition to combat’ to describe the phenomena of taking lessons learned through competition to enhance the capability and lethality of the Soldier in combat,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Hodne, commander, USAMU. “The All-Army is designed to be the ultimate train-the-trainer event for marksmanship; the implications to raising the Army’s overall combat readiness after an event such as this one are enormous.”

The overall individual winners of the main categories were awarded Secretary of the Army M1 Garand Trophy Rifles. A 1911 pistol built by the USAMU gunsmiths was awarded to the overall pistol champion. Teams were given plaques to display back at their units headquarters and numerous prizes were awarded to the second and third place awardees in all categories.

Five Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets earned scholarship money provided by the Civilian Marksmanship Program. Two Soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Marc Sheehan, 209th Regional Training Institute, Nebraska National Guard, and Staff Sgt. Jason Godel, 2nd Bn., SARG, earned their Distinguished Rifleman’s badges, the highest honor one can reach in rifle marksmanship.

A new award was added to the mix this year—the Col. (Ret.) Ralph Puckett Excellence in Marksmanship award. It was given to the Soldier in the novice class who achieved the highest aggregate score of the two Excellence in Competition matches. Sgt. 1st Class Graham Faris, C Co. 2-29 197th Inf. Regt., Ft. Benning, Ga., earned the distinction as being the first Soldier to win the award.

During the closing ceremony, Hodne reminded the Soldiers who competed that while the seeds have been strewn at the All-Army, it is now up to them to incorporate what they learned to take back to their units.

“The lessons learned on the fields of friendly strife are helping our Soldiers accomplish their missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere,” Hodne concluded.

The following Soldiers were honored at the awards ceremony that brought the successful event to a close:

• Service Pistol Champion—Moore
• Service Rifle champion—Army Reservist Staff Sgt. John Buol, Army Reserves Career Division-Region 10
• Combined Arms Champion—Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Tubbe, 1st Special Forces Group
• Long Range Champion—Sgt. 1st Class SFC Charles Hodson, HHC 40th MP Bn
• High Drill Sergeant—Sgt. 1st Class Richard Clark, Regional Training Center-East
• High Cadet—Cadet Sean-Paul Adams, North Georgia College and State University
• High Novice—Tubbe
• High Active Duty Soldier—Tubbe
• High Active Duty Soldier (E1-E4) — Spc. Matt Jones, Martin Army Community Hospital, Ft. Benning, Ga.
• High Reservist—Moore
• High Reservist (E1-E4) — Spc. Michael Martin, D Co, Small Arms Readiness Group, Ft. Douglass, Utah
• High National Guardsman—Sgt. Andrew Garza, C CO, 1-184th, California NG
• High National Guardsman (E1-E4) — Spc. Evan Messer, 817th Eng Co., N. Dakota NG

FORT BENNING, Ga. -- Soldiers compete in the two-mile run portion of the pistol assault team match Feb. 22 at the 2010 All-Army Small Arms Championships. While cadets from the U.S. Military Academy won the pistol assault team match, Army Reservists of the 2nd Battalion, Small Arms Readiness Group, Camp Bullis, Texas won the overall team championship. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

FORT BENNING, Ga.--Soldiers compete in a rifle match consisting of a variety of distances and shooting positions, Feb. 23 on McAndrews Range during the 2010 All-Army Small Arms Championships. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

FORT BENNING, Ga.--Soldiers shoot at targets 800 yards away during the long-range portion of the 2010 All-Army Small Arms Championships Feb. 25 at Maertens Range. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

FORT BENNING, Ga.--Soldiers fire the first rounds of the 2010 All-Army Small Arms Championships downrange Feb. 21 at Parks Range during pistol match one. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

FORT BENNING, Ga.--Mr. J.B. Hudson, civilian marksmanship program, presents a scholarship for $2,000 to Cadet Sean-Paul Adams, North Georgia College and State University, Feb. 27. Five ROTC cadets earned scholarship money after competing in the 2010 All-Army Small Arms Championships. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

About USAMU:
The USAMU’s mission is to raise the standard of marksmanship proficiency and combat readiness throughout the Army by sharing knowledge gained from competing and winning in national/ international competitions, research and development and advanced training programs while enhancing the Army’s recruiting effort through an active public information and public relations program. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, Michael.Molinaro@usaac.army.mil or www.USAMU.com . The U.S. Practical Shooting Association is a nonprofit membership association affiliated with the International Practical Shooting Confederation, which is comprised of approximately 67 nations.

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USAMU Soldiers Embark On Historic Mission
By Michael Molinaro
USAMU PAO

FORT BENNING, Ga. -- Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit deployed to Afghanistan Dec. 11 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Soldiers will train Afghan security forces on marksmanship fundamentals. Soldiers have deployed before to instruct U.S. personnel but never indigenous forces. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

United States Army Marksmanship Unit

FORT BENNING, Ga. —-(AmmoLand.com)- Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit set out on a historic mission for the unit, deploying to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Dec. 11 to train Afghan security forces in marksmanship proficiency.

It is the first time in the history of the prestigious unit that Soldiers will work in concert with indigenous Soldiers. The USAMU offered its marksmanship training capabilities to the military leadership in Afghanistan for as long as they need it, and having this persistent marksmanship training presence for the Afghani Soldiers falls right in line with President Obama’s intent of increasing the ability to train competent Afghan security forces and help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans.

“This unit is ideally suited for this type of mission,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Hodne, commander, USAMU. “Our Soldiers – the best Shooters, gunsmiths, and marksmanship instructors in the world – will enhance the overall readiness of forces executing counterinsurgency in Afghanistan through a marksmanship train-the-trainer program. In this way the USAMU will make an invaluable contribution to the war effort.”

An array of Soldiers from the various shooting disciplines within the USAMU and the custom firearms shop will make up the cross-functional teams that will deploy on a rotational basis until their mission is accomplished. The USAMU is the only unit of its kind in the Army: providing support to Army accessions and performing at the highest level possible in competitive shooting, to include the Olympics, while also training thousands of Soldiers every year.

The dedication, professionalism and expertise of the USAMU showcase the best of Army Soldier skills that instill positive impressions of the Army all over the country as they connect America’s people to America’s Army; they will take those same values with them to train the Afghan forces.

“This deployment is consistent with the depth and breadth of the USAMU mission,” said Sgt. Maj. Martin Barreras, the unit’s senior enlisted advisor. “On any given day, USAMU Soldiers could be executing such disparate missions as training Afghan security forces, instructing Soldiers throughout the entire Army on marksmanship fundamentals,, improving weapons and ammunition through research and development for the Warfighter, coaching junior shooters at various high school clinics, and winning a world championship in China, all simultaneously.”

This is not the first time that Soldiers from the USAMU have deployed in harm’s way. A cadre of Soldiers deployed to Vietnam in 1968 to serve as sniper instructors for American forces, providing sniper training and the know-how of the USAMU gunsmiths, the most competent in the world. Members of the custom firearms shop developed and tested the M21 sniper rifle, which was successfully used in Vietnam. The Army’s current M24 sniper system is also a product of the USAMU.

The USAMU has had an indirect impact on the global war on terror since its initial stages by training Soldiers from units throughout U.S. Army Forces Command and U.S. Army Special Operations Command, as well as National Guard Soldiers preparing to deploy for the first time. They have also conducted numerous train-the-trainer missions for drill sergeants, who subsequently use the tools they learned to train basic trainees set to fill the ranks after graduation.

In 2003, the USAMU sent a team of Soldiers to Iraq to train officers and noncommissioned officers from the 1st Armored Division on marksmanship fundamentals. While there have been boots on the ground previously, this mission is unlike any other for the unit.

“I’m extremely proud of how the USAMU Soldiers and civilians execute their wide-ranging mission, from supporting Army recruiting and accessions, to supporting the Warfighter through marksmanship training and small-arms research and development initiatives,” Hodne remarked. “This historic undertaking by the Soldiers of this unique unit demonstrates yet another facet of the tremendous capability that resides within it.”

FORT BENNING, Ga. -- LTC Daniel Hodne, commander, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, talks with one of his Soldiers moments before Soldiers from the USAMU boarded a plane headed for Kuwait. USAMU Soldiers have deployed to Afghanistan for the first time since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, and will instruct Afghan security forces on marksmanship fundamentals.

About USAMU:
The USAMU’s mission is to raise the standard of marksmanship proficiency and combat readiness throughout the Army by sharing knowledge gained from competing and winning in national/ international competitions, research and development and advanced training programs while enhancing the Army’s recruiting effort through an active public information and public relations program. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, Michael.Molinaro@usaac.army.mil or www.USAMU.com . The U.S. Practical Shooting Association is a nonprofit membership association affiliated with the International Practical Shooting Confederation, which is comprised of approximately 67 nations.

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