World Military Shooting Championships

[USAMU]

World Military Shooting Championships -- Team USA heads to Sweden for CISM

By Paula J. Randall
U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, Accessions Support Brigade

FORT BENNING, Ga. - Fourteen servicemembers of the U.S. Military Shooting Team will leave Sept. 12 for Sweden where they will compete in the Conseil International du Sport Militaire - called CISM. Team USA will compete against 550 shooters from 45 countries from around the world.

Ten shooters from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit as well as two Army Reservists, one Navy Reservist and one Marine, will represented the United States at the 43rd World Military Shooting Championships in Boden, Sweden, Sept. 14 to 20. Sept. 12, Team USA will take a bus from Fort Benning to Atlanta, where the team members will catch an airplane to Stockholm, Sweden. After arriving in Stockholm Sept. 13, the team will travel by train and arrive in Boden Sept. 14.

The U.S. Team shooters are: Men's Rifle Team - Three-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Jason A. Parker, 1996 Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Eric A. Uptagrafft, and Staff Sgts. Armando R. Ayala and Shane M.
Barnhart, all of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit; Women's Rifle Team - Sgt. Kelly A. Dove and Spc. Nicole M. Cooper of the Army Marksmanship Unit and Army Reservist Lt. Col. Rhonda L. Bright; Men's Pistol Team - Sgt. 1st Class Thomas A. Rose and Staff Sgts. Robert S. Park II and John C. Ennis and Sgt. Michael S. Gasser of the Army Marksmanship Unit; and Women's Pistol Team - Marine Corps Capt. Janine Mills, four-time Olympian Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Elizabeth A. Callahan and Navy Reserve Petty Officer 1st Class Sandra Uptagrafft.

Traveling with the U.S. Shooting Team from the Army Marksmanship Unit are: Michael J. Behnke, team captain; two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Thomas A. Tamas, rifle coach; 1988 Olympian Ray Arredondo and Glenn Sulser, pistol coaches; Richard N. Hawkins, jury member; and USAMU Commander Lt. Col. Frank Muggeo, chief of mission; three-time Olympian retired Lt. Col. Lones W. Wigger Jr., a shooter in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, is also accompanying the team as a jury member.

The CISM shooting championships consist of men's and women's rifle and pistol competitions. Rifle shooters compete with standard rifles at 300 meters in the prone, kneeling and standing positions in both rapid- and slow-fire matches. The pistol team will shoot center fire and military rapid fire championships.

Sept. 14, CISM team members will check in and process through equipment control. The Opening Ceremony will be Sept. 15. All events will be conducted at the Rodberget Shooting Centre.

The competition schedule is as follows:

Sept. 16: Men's 300-Meter Standard Rifle Three Position Team Match; Women's 50-Meter Sport Rifle Prone Team Match; Men's 25-Meter .32-Caliber Center Fire Pistol (Precision Course) Team Match; and Women's 25-Meter .22-Caliber Center Fire Pistol (Precision Course) Team Match.

Sept. 17: Men's 300-Meter Standard Rifle Three Position Individual Match; Women's 50-Meter Sport Rifle Prone Individual Match; Men's 25-Meter .32-Caliber Center Fire Pistol (Rapid Fire Course) Team Match; and Women's 25-Meter .22-Caliber Center Fire Pistol (Rapid Fire
Course) Team Match.

Sept. 18: Men's 25-Meter .32-Caliber Center Fire Pistol
Individual Match; Women's 25-Meter .22-Caliber Center Fire Pistol Individual Match; Men's 300-Meter Military Rapid Fire Rifle Training; Women's 50-Meter Sport Rifle Three Position Training; Men's 25-Meter Military Rapid Fire .32-Caliber Pistol Training; and Women's 25-Meter Military Rapid Fire .22-Caliber Pistol Training.

Sept. 19: Men's 300-Meter Military Rapid Fire Rifle Team Match; Women's 50-Meter Sport Rifle Three Position Team Match; Women's 25-Meter Military Rapid Fire .22-Caliber Pistol Team Match; and Men's 25-Meter Military Rapid Fire .32-Caliber Pistol Team Match.

Sept. 20: Women's 50-Meter Sport Rifle Three Position Individual Match; Men's 300-Meter Military Rapid Fire Rifle Individual Match; Women's 25-Meter Military Rapid Fire .22-Caliber Pistol Individual Match; Men's 25-Meter Military Rapid Fire .32-Caliber Pistol Individual Match; and Closing Ceremony.

The team will leave Sweden Sept. 21 and return to Fort Benning Sept. 22.

(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, Paula.Randall@usaac.army.mil or www.USAMU.com.)

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