Army dominates 2010 Interservice Pistol Championship
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. - Soldiers with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit's Service Rifle team braved the heat and stiff competition to uphold the Army's reputation as the military's best marksmen and came out on top at the 49th Interservice Rifle Championships.
With their accomplishment, the USAMU enabled the Army to complete a sweep of all Interservice marksmanship championships in 2010-Soldiers and teams from the USAMU previously won the shotgun and pistol Interservice competitions, as a team and individually.
"We know that the Army expects us to be the best," said Lt. Col. Daniel Hodne, commander, USAMU. "The USAMU's Service Rifle section has maintained a cumulative string of victories at the Interservice Rifle Championships since 1995, when the USAMU Custom Firearms Shop introduced the accurized M16A2/A4, which replaced the M14, as the USAMU service rifle for competition."
The USAMU won the coveted 10-man Interservice Rifle team championship match. Team shooters were Sgt. 1st Class Lance Dement, Sgt. 1st Class Grant Singley, Staff Sgt. Tyrell Cooper, Staff Sgt. Brandon Green, Staff Sgt. Joel Micholick, Staff Sgt. Scott Grant, Sgt. Sherri Jo Gallagher, Spc. Kevin Trickett, Spc. Augustus Dunfey, and Pfc. Amanda Elsenboss. Coaches were Sgt. 1st Class Emil Praslick and Staff Sgt. Walter Craig, while Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Ward and Staff Sgt. Daniel Peters were team captains. Cooper was the high individual shooter during the match with a score of 497-21x.
USAMU Micholick won the Marine Corps Infantry Trophy team match. Micholick was the captain and Staff Sgt. Armando Ayala coached the winners. Shooters were Sgt. 1st Class David Steinbach, Staff Sgt. Tobie Tomlinson, Grant, Dunfey, Trickett and Elsenboss.
USAMU teams also won the Marine Corps Combat Development Command Commanding General Match and the 1,000 yard team match in both the service rifle and match rifle categories, setting a new match record in the service rifle category.
Individually, Green was the big winner during the week. He won six championships, including the overall individual championship, his second time winning the prestigious title. He also won the Coast Guard match, the Marine Corps match, the 600-yard match rifle, the 1,000 yard match rifle, and the match rifle individual long-range championship.
Two newcomers to the USAMU service rifle team had outstanding results at their inaugural interservice championship. Steinbach won the Excellence-in-Competition match with a score of 488-14x. He also won the Air Force match. Elsenboss won the individual long-range championship with the service rifle, scoring a 394-10x.
Ward won the 1,000 yard service rifle match, and Gallagher won the Navy match and overall high woman to round out the individual accomplishments.
The importance of the USAMU's gunsmith's efforts to enhance the performance of the M16 should not be understated, said Hodne. That expertise and the lessons learned went into the unique Squad Designated Marksman Rifles designed by the USAMU to enhance the lethality of the warfighter.
"The Army continues to make history in Interservice Rifle competition," Hodne concluded. "I am extremely proud of our noncommissioned officers, Soldiers and civilians. The Army is the undisputed champion in all aspects of Interservice marksmanship competition because of the capabilities that are unique to this distinct unit.
"With an unbeatable combination of our Shooter/Instructors, our gunsmiths, our ammunition test personnel, and our coaching staff, the Army has been viewed by the other services as the team to beat for several years running."
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