Illinois Team Wins All-Army Small Arms Competition

SPRINGFIELD, IL, UNITED STATES

04.05.2017

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Patrick DeGeorge 

Joint Force Headquarters - Illinois National Guard Public Affairs

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –For the second year in a row, Soldiers from the Illinois Army National Guard Small Arms team have captured the All Army Small Arms Championship. The competition, hosted at Fort Benning, Georgia, by the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, saw more than 200 competitors from throughout the Army compete in a variety of pistol and rifle challenges.
Maj. Gen. Michael R. Zerbonia of Chatham, Illinois, the Assistant Adjutant General-Army, Illinois National Guard, said he is proud of the team’s accomplishments.
“For the past two years they have been the best,” said Zerbonia. “It makes me feel proud that we, as a team in Illinois, come together, work hard, and succeed in exercises and competitions.”
One obstacle the team had to contend with was coordination. The team was comprised of five Soldiers from five separate units. Team member, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cameron Stanberry of Arenzville, Illinois, with the 615th Engineer Fire Fighting Team based in Sparta, Illinois, said putting personal time into preparation alleviated the obstacle.
“You can’t just pick up a pistol once or twice a year and expect to do well,” said Stanberry. “There’s some individual training you need to do to compete at that level.”
Sgt. 1st Class David Perdew of Rushville, Illinois, the state ammunition manager and state marksmanship coordinator is the team captain. He said having a team of proactive, knowledgeable, hardworking Soldiers reduced the workload in preparation and training for the competition.
“With each of the team members shouldering a portion of the responsibility, our training events run flawlessly regardless of obstacles,” said Perdew.
The team, which also included Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joseph Nicholas of Cedar Lake, Indiana, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion 106th Aviation Regiment based in Peoria, Illinois; Staff Sgt. Jacob Blount of St. Louis, Missouri, with Company A, 1st Battalion 178th Infantry Regiment based in Bartonville, Illinois; and Staff Sgt. Brandon Hornung of Mendota, Illinois, with the 661st Engineer Company based in Sparta, Illinois; claimed the championship for the pistol, rifle, and overall team competitions.
Adding to the team’s awards, Perdew claimed the individual pistol championship with teammates Hornung and Blount taking 2nd and 3rd respectively. Blount also achieved both Distinguished Rifleman and Distinguished Pistol Shot status during the competition.
Zerbonia said this competition emphasized that every Soldier, regardless of their job in the Army, is a rifleman.
“This is at the heart of what we do as Soldiers,” said Zerbonia. “It’s very gratifying to know that we’re the best in the Army.”
Perdew said training others is the next important task.
“We’ve proven we can take an average shooter and turn them into a champion,” said Perdew. “The important part is taking the skills and experience that we’ve gained and bring it back to the Soldiers at state-level training events.”

• Date Taken: 04.05.2017
• Date Posted: 04.10.2017 11:38
• Story ID: 229287
• Location: SPRINGFIELD, IL, US
• Hometown: ARENZVILLE, IL, US
• Hometown: BARTONVILLE, IL, US
• Hometown: CEDAR LAKE, IN, US
• Hometown: CHATHAM, IL, US
• Hometown: MENDOTA, IL, US
• Hometown: PEORIA, IL, US
• Hometown: RUSHVILLE, IL, US
• Hometown: SPARTA, IL, US
• Hometown: ST. LOUIS, MO, US