Photo By Maj. Jesse Stalder | Maj. Timothy Gothard a member of the 412th Theater Engineer Command marksmanship team...... read more read more
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FORT BENNING, Ga. -- Maj. Tim Gothard entered the Army Small Arms Championship competition at Fort Benning, Ga., prepared to compete using the M-16 rifle and the 9 mm pistol, Feb. 22.
Gothard was pleasantly surprised when he saw his name on a list of 300 Soldiers selected to compete with the M-24 sniper rifle as an added perk.
Col. Kent Goff, the 412th Theater Engineer Command Marksmanship team captain, submitted the names of all five team members to the event committee hoping they’d get to fire the M-24.
"There was a limited amount of ammo and resources at the competition to allow all 300 participants to shoot the sniper rifle... I’m pretty sure I was selected at random," said Gothard.
An avid hunter, Gothard is familiar with different rifles, but that day he fired the M-24 for the first time.
"It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. The accuracy that is built into the weapon makes it a lot easier to be successful," said Gothard.
He fired the M-24 during the long range matches at targets ranging from 800-1,000 yard distances.
"I could hit a target, but there is so much more that goes into being a sniper," said Gothard. "There is a lot of math and technical knowledge that you have to know and have to recall instantaneously to be a sniper."
He also competed with his teammates against other Soldiers in separate classes based on each individual’s competition experience. They fired the M-16 at distances between 25-500 yards and the 9 mm between 7-35 yards. The team came away with prizes based on their overall combined scores.
The Army Smalls Arms Championship competition is a one week long event open to all Soldiers each year in February.
"To succeed in the U.S. Army Small-Arms Championships, you must effectively employ the range of individual weapons from pistol, to rifle, and even to sniper rifle,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Hodne, commander, United States Army Marksmanship Unit. “Doing so with precision while under the stress of competition will challenge even the most experienced of shooters."
The 416th Theater Engineer Command leadership in Chicago has issued a friendly challenge to the 412th TEC’s marksmanship team, to help both units prepare for next year’s competition.
Gothard said it was a lot of fun being able to shoot a weapon that he probably will never get to shoot again.
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2010 09:05 |
| Story ID: | 53993 |
| Location: | FORT BENNING, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 58 |
This work, Surprise Shot: Soldier enters pistol competition, by MAJ Jesse Stalder, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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