Photo By Staff Sgt. Brendan Stephens | Competitors in North Carolina National Guard's 2016 Sniper Match at Camp Butner...... read more read more
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CAMP BUTNER, N.C. – Under the humid summer heat of August, North Carolina National Guard’s top marksmen assemble to compete in Camp Butner Training Center’s annual Sniper Match Aug. 5 to Aug. 7, 2016.
“The stress adds to the shooting and provides for a much more beneficial competition,” said Staff Sgt. Ronald Valenzuela from 60th Troop Command whose team placed second in this year’s competition. “I don’t see it as sacrifice, I see it as focusing on goals.”
This year, the 10 sniper teams compete against each other while enduring scorching heat and summer storms while hitting targets, the environments really test how well each shooter can perform under stress.
Cpt. Benjamin Balazs, the marksmanship coordinator for Camp Butner agrees, “It all comes down to time and dedication, preparation is on the individual team.”
“To win this competition, you’ve got to know your rifle and you’ve got to be able to adjust for weather conditions” said Valenzuela.
“The interesting thing about this match is that it not just limited to sniper teams, we have a variety of Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) here from both the Combat Arms and Combat support side of the house.”
“It’s all-volunteer, and any North Carolina National Guard Soldier who wants to, and has access to a long range rifle can come out.”
“Camp Butner is primarily a support entity, we are responsible for making sure soldiers have the resources they need to train and to make sure that they are training safely.”
The Sniper Match is two days long with a familiarization round on Friday followed by the graded competition on Saturday. Each day begins with registration and a safety brief in the morning, then, each 2 man shooting team starts by engaging a 100 meter target. From there they move further and further from the targets until they are eventually shooting at a man sized silhouette 600 meters away.
“Whoever wins this today can honestly say that they are the top shot in the state of North Carolina.” said Balazs.
| Date Taken: | 08.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2016 15:36 |
| Story ID: | 206729 |
| Location: | BUTNER, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 315 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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