Photo By 1st Sgt. Duff E. McFadden | Sgt. 1st Class Paul Deugan, the Iowa Army National Guard’s State Marksmanship...... read more read more
By Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden
Ever since he was a young boy, Iowa Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Paul Deugan said he’s always enjoyed marksmanship shooting, going all the way back to when he used to fire a pellet pistol and rifle as a youth in Galway, Ireland.
“I can remember trying to hit small targets, or trying to make that ‘one ragged hole’ with multiple shots,” he said.
Little did he know this passion for shooting would lead him all around the world, competing against some of the best international military marksmen as a member of the Iowa National Guard Marksmanship Team.
Internationally, Deugan has competed in Bisley, England for the British Army Reserve Operational Shooting Competition (AROSC) and Ottawa, Canada for the Canadian Forces Small Arms Concentration (CAFSAC). In the U.S. alone, he’s participated in competitions such as the Armed Forces Skills at Arms Match (AFSAM) hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center (NGMTC), which runs concurrently with the Winston P. Wilson match.
Most recently, Deugan placed second in the Multi-Gun Championship of the U.S. Army National Guard Marksmanship Championships at Fort Benning, Ga. He was also part of an Iowa National Guard team which finished first in the Multi-Gun Team Championships, second in Match 25 and Match 65, as well as third place in Match 35 of the competition.
While Deugan feels competing in the Winston P. Wilson against more than 400-500 shooters has been his most prestigious event overall, he admits being able to win the Fortuna Trophy for the U.S. National Guard during the AROSC in 2016 has been the most memorable.
“The AFSAM and the CAFSAC are both extremely challenging,” Deugan said, “but with the added pressure to win the Fortuna Trophy, I feel the AROSC was the most difficult, overall,” he said, especially since it was his first overseas competition.
While his position as the Iowa National Guard State Marksmanship Program Coordinator certainly helps, it was a suggestion from his squadron command sergeant major in 2006 that placed him on the competitive path of Army marksmanship.
“Following completion of the NGMTC Squad-Designated Marksman (SDM) course in 2006, Command Sgt. Maj. Stephen Wayman asked if I wanted to shoot in a competition in Arkansas.
“Of course I said ‘yes,’” Deugan replied.
Normally, he said, it takes either The Adjutant General’s Match or Chief of the National Guard Bureau (CNGB) Pistol Match at the state level to begin the qualification process. Doing well enough in those competitions will allow you to move on to regional-level events, and then on to the national level.
“To compete on the National Guard's All-Guard International Combat Team, I was selected to attend a try-out session in 2014 after competing multiple times at the Winston P. Wilson Championships (WPW) (an annual national-level event), and finished in the top-20 combined arms,” Deugan said.
According to Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Erlemeier, the Iowa Army National Guard’s State Ammunition Manager, “Deugan’s an outstanding trainer when it comes to weapon systems and courses of fire. Along with his recent marksmanship accomplishments, he was also the honor graduate of our recent Heavy Weapons Leader Course.
“He’s always requested by the Iowa National Guard’s Joint Forces Headquarters to conduct their annual Primary Marksmanship Instruction prior to their Individual Weapons Qualification, and to instruct competitors on firing the 9mm pistol as part of the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge course of fire,” he said.
When it comes to achieving and then maintaining this level of marksmanship, Deugan said he feels the SDM course was his first major step.
“The way the fundamentals were taught in that class opened my eyes to what level of capability a rifleman with an M16 (rifle) really has. By the end of the first week, we were engaging a standard-size steel silhouette target with iron sights at over 500 meters,” he said.
And it’s been firing up his love of shooting ever since.
“Whether it's competition or training, I definitely love shooting. But I would say the best part about shooting is the interaction with other shooters. The shooting community as a whole, is just a great group of people. They’re always willing to help newer shooters out and build the community, I have seen this first-hand countless times, both in and out of uniform,” he said.
Deugan joined the Active Duty Army in 1999 because he wanted to become a police officer. Unfortunately, he said he wasn’t hired due to “lack of experience.” He then decided the Army was where he wanted to gain that experience.
After spending three years as a cavalry scout with the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, N.Y, Deugan left Active Duty in 2002 and immediately joined the Iowa Army National Guard. In November, he was named the State Marksmanship Program Coordinator.
“As the State Marksmanship Program Coordinator, my job is to develop marksmanship throughout the Iowa National Guard. My goal is to make Soldiers and Airmen the best combat shooters they can be.
“However, as I train shooters, I must continue to develop myself. My place on the Iowa Marksmanship Team isn’t due to my duty position, It’s all based on results. Physical ability also plays a huge role in combat shooting – a shooter must be able to handle the physical demands. For example,” he said, “both England and Canada require us to be in ‘full battle rattle,’ to include hard plates, not just soft armor.”
“He’s a great Soldier, and completes his training and work plans on his own time to accomplish the mission,” said Erlemeier. “On weekends, he plans and prepares training for the marksmanship team, along with ensuring the TAG (The Adjutant General’s) Marksmanship Match goes off without a hitch. He also coordinates with Iowa Army National Guard units to conduct training on new weapon systems and optics they may have received.
“He’s very thorough when he trains weapon systems and optics. When the training is complete, those Soldiers will know everything about the capabilities and limitations of that weapon, or optics. His knowledge of all weapon systems and optics makes him the best at what he does. Not only can he instruct, he uses what he teaches and competes, and wins, at highly-competitive matches worldwide,” Erlemeier said.
As a traditional Guardsman, Deugan installs audio/video equipment for AVI, a national-level technology integration company on the civilian side. Beginning in June 2016, he and his wife, Emily, have also started their own firearms and marksmanship training company, Kinetic Tactical Training, LLC.
Just as practice makes perfect for experienced shooters, it’s just as important for those just starting out.
“It takes practice, quality practice, and perfect practice, “Deugan said. “You need to know the correct way of doing something to begin with, so if you haven’t had that quality, baseline instruction that’s taught you the proper techniques, that’s where you must start.
“Doing a ton of practice the wrong way, just means you’ve wasted that time and now you’ll need to ‘unlearn’ all that before building the correct technique into your ‘muscle memory’ and habits. To truly reach your full potential, it takes practicing until you can do it consistently without having to consciously think about it,” he said.
Being a member of the All-Guard team, surrounded by a dozen of some of the very best marksmen in the U.S., Deugan realizes just how much more he has to learn and develop. Practice, quality practice, and perfect practice presents the perfect opportunity to place yet another international target competition within his sights.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2017 18:10 |
| Story ID: | 232189 |
| Location: | JOHNSTON, IA, US |
| Hometown: | JOHNSTON, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 518 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Eyes on target: Iowa Soldier keeps international marksmanship competition within his sights, by 1SG Duff E. McFadden, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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