Team California dominates US Army Small Arms Championship

Courtesy Photo | From left, Staff Sgt. Leif Devemark, Sgt. 1st Class Sean Bayard, Sgt. Demetrios Iannios, Spc. Javier Tapia-Garcia, a team of California Army National Guard Soldiers, won their third title in a row at the U.S. Army Small Arms Championship at Fort Benning, Ga., Feb. 1-7, 2015. They fired in more than 20 matches using rifle and pistol against teams from the Reserves, active duty and ROTC. Team California took home the top trophy but also brought in numerous other team and individual awards that tested their stamina, aim, and knowledge of multiple guns and targeting scenarios. (Photo courtesy of Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Piper, USAMU)  

SACRAMENTO, CA, UNITED STATES

03.27.2015

Story by Capt. Jason Sweeney 

California National Guard Primary   

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California National Guard has not just been winning the annual U.S. Army Small Arms Championship, it’s been dominating it.

Team California won its third consecutive title at the “All-Army” competition this year, which took place Feb. 1-7 at Fort Benning, Georgia. The team of four Cal Guard infantry Soldiers fired in more than 20 matches using M16 service rifles and M9 pistols, besting 27 other squads from the active duty Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard and ROTC.

“We knew that everybody was gunning for California,” Sgt. 1st Class Sean Bayard said. “We weren’t about to let them take it from us. Mentally, they were so worried about us it affected their competition. Toward the end, you could see teams kind of implode due to the pressure.”

This was Bayard’s second year on Team California. Bayard, a former Marine who serves in the Cal Guard’s 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, works on the civilian side as a gang detective for the Los Banos Police Department.

“All the way through the competition we remained focused,” he said. “Were able to stay focused, keep it to the basics and have fun. The last day during the multi-gun competition we just ran away with it.”

Fellow teammates Sgt. Javier Tapia-Garcia, Sgt. Demetrios Iannios and Staff Sgt. Leif Devemark agreed that applying the shooting fundamentals they learned in training was critical to their success.

“I had a lot of fun, to be honest,” Tapia-Garcia said of the competition. “I learned a lot. I’m not going to lie. I got to make some history with the team and be up there on the podium.”

He attributed Team California’s success to staying cool and having fun. “You can’t go out there with a negative mindset,” he said. “It will jack you all up.”

Tapia-Garcia served with the 10th Mountain Division in the active duty Army and now serves with the Cal Guard’s 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment. On the civilian side, he is a student at Long Beach Community College. He plans to transfer to Long Beach State University this year and pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. This was his first year shooting for Team California.

Team California won the competition’s top event, the U.S. Army Small Arms Team Championship, which measures a squad's ability with a rifle and pistol in a variety of events that test physical fitness, decision-making, motor skills and psychological resilience. Not only did Team California take home the top prize, it also won other team awards. Team California took first place in the competition's Multi-Gun Team Match Championship, U.S. Army Service Pistol Team Championship, Pistol Team Match with 1.5-Mile March and Paper Team Match

"Once again, California National Guard Soldiers have shown their talents and capabilities are tops in the country," said Lt. Col. Daniel Markert, state marksmanship coordinator for the Cal Guard. "These Soldiers embody the tradition of the citizen-Soldier, and we're proud of their hard work, dedication and top-class skill."

The California National Guard Marksmanship Program, he added, invests time developing a Soldier's capabilities and leadership.

"We are developing their ability to operate under extreme pressure, and it doesn't matter what weapon we hand them," Markert said. "They'll go back to their units as subject matter experts, so they can take that expertise and that skill-building mindset to other troops."

The team members earned a number of individual awards at the contest. Iannios, of Callahan, California, took third place in the overall individual competition, making him the top shooter in the National Guard; and all four team members ranked among the top five National Guard shooters. Iannios also took second place overall in the Multi-Gun Match and second in the Combat Rifle Excellence in Competition Match, while Devemark, of Oxnard, California, earned first place in the Pistol Match.

Devemark is a former Marine who is an electrician on the civilian side and serves with the Cal Guard’s 1-184th Infantry Regiment. He worked as a weapons instructor for the Cal Guard’s Task Force Warrior, a pre-deployment training task force that was disbanded in 2013. Devemark said he put in an effort to master the fundamentals of marksmanship while working for Task Force Warrior. He has been on Team California for the three consecutive wins.

“The second time we won it, we won it by about a quarter point,” he said. “This time we spanked them by 500 points. It felt good.”

He said teamwork was a big part of their success. “You can’t be a superstar out there. You have to work as a team. Everybody did what they had to do.”

Iannios, who works on the civilian side as a seasonal firefighter for Cal Fire and serves with the Cal Guard’s 1-184th Infantry Regiment, was also on the last three winning teams.

“It felt great this year, because there were a lot of people trying to beat us,” he said.

Iannios said he did a lot of physical training (PT) this year to be in top shape for the competition.

“It is advantageous to be in good physical condition,” he said. “We all did PT to make sure we were physically in shape.”

The top shooters at the annual Cal Guard’s California Combat Match, which is held in the spring, are selected to be on Team California.

California sent two teams to the competition last year but only one this year. Due to budget constraints, there was less train-up this year than last. This year’s team had only three days of training together at Camp Roberts, California, prior to the competition.

Devemark’s daughter was born just four months prior to the competition. And Bayard was working extra hours at his civilian job as a detective in the two months leading up to competition due to a homicide investigation. Even so, the team members managed to maintain their focus and pull off another big win.

“Team chemistry was a big part of it,” Bayard said. “We didn’t track our scores as a team. We never looked at the results as a team. We're able to stay focused, keep it to the basics and have fun.”

• Date Taken: 03.27.2015
• Date Posted: 03.27.2015 20:04
• Story ID: 158427
• Location: SACRAMENTO, CA, US