Photo By Warrant Officer Patrik Orcutt | Canadian Army Soldier looks downrange before match at the Winston P. Wilson (WPW) and...... read more read more
ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. – The 27th Armed Forces Skills at Arms Meeting (AFSAM) a multi-national inter-service small arms championship was held from April 29 - May 4, 2018.
The 2018 matches boasted more than 360 competitors with teams from the National Guard, United Kingdom, Canada and Italy. Competitors engaged their targets with various weapon systems including the M9, G17 and P226 pistols, M16, M4, SA80 and C7A2 rifles and M500 Shotguns. Each four-man team was evaluated on field firing, advanced marksmanship and target engagement. All of the matches were designed to focus on the fundamentals of marksmanship while implementing the stress and physical activity of combat between service members.
Established in 1991, the Armed Forces Skills at Arms Meeting (AFSAM) is a multinational competition that was created to promote marksmanship training and competition between United States military forces and allied nations.
The international marksmanship exchange program offers shooters from the U. S. and allied nations an opportunity to test marksmanship skills and weapons systems in battle-focused training events. This meeting affords opportunities for cross training on the host nation’s weapons, systems, techniques, tactics, and procedures.
“Participation in these events can provide opportunities to expose traditional Guardsmen to advanced tactics, techniques and procedures used by allied foreign military forces and active duty units,” said Maj. David Stapp, Chief of Operations for the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center, which hosts the events.
The competition is the perfect forum to allow information sharing between skilled marksmen from multiple countries. “As competitive as they are, the matches aren’t solely about defining who is the best,” said Lt. Col. Todd C. Stuff, NGMTC Administrative Officer. “Ultimately, the focus is on training…. When the best marksmen from around the globe come together,” Stuff continued, “they bring with them valuable experience and insight which they enthusiastically share with their fellow warriors. The shooters then take what they learn back to their units and pass along their new skills.”
The shared information helps improve all the participants’ home country’s marksmanship programs. “We are happy to compete, It’s a wonderful experience for us, said Alessandro De Santis an Italian Army Marshal with the Folgore Brigade. “Every job has its special tools, you need to practice with them to be effective, our tools are weapons.”
For many soldiers, the competition presents a special opportunity to spend more time with their weapon system. “This is the most range time we get all year,” said Sgt. Dustin Fox, a 214th MP with the Alabama Alpha team.
“Marksmanship first” is more than just a motto for many of these competitors. “Marksmanship should be your first soldier skill, if you can’t shoot and kill the enemy, what good are you?,” said Warrant Officer 3 Kim Ralston, a coach for the Mississippi teams.
Since 1991, the AFSAM competition has been bringing together some of the best shooters the world’s armies have to offer. AFSAM continues to bring America and its NATO allies closer together one shot at a time.
Combat Pistol Individual Aggregate Champion
SHOOTER Place Sate/Country Total Score Xs
SSG RICHEY, MICHAEL 1st MO 810 12
SFC DEUGAN, PAUL 2nd IA 798 13
1SG PHELPS, JAMES 3rd MO 798 10
Combat Rifle Individual Aggregate Champion-1
SHOOTER Place Sate/Country Total Score Xs Vs
MSGT WATTERS, NATHAN 1st AR 970 9 21
SGT SWANSON, BRANDON 2nd WI 969 11 19
SSG RICHEY, MICHAEL 3rd MO 968 12 27
Individual Grand Aggregate Champion
SHOOTER/TEAM Place State/Country Total Score Xs Vs
SSG RICHEY, MICHAEL (ALL-GUARD ALPHA) 1st MO 1778 24 27
SGT SWANSON, BRANDON (ALL-GUARD ALPHA) 2nd WI 1761 21 19
1SG PHELPS, JAMES (ALL-GUARD ALPHA) 3rd MO 1743 20 21
Overall International Combat Pistol Team Champions
SHOOTER/TEAM Place Sate/Country Total Score
ALL-GUARD ALPHA 1st United States 3227
ALL-GUARD BRAVO 2nd United States 2933
ALL-GUARD CHARLIE 3rd United States 2731
Overall International Combat Rifle Team Champions-1
SHOOTER/TEAM Place Sate/Country Total Score Vs
ALL-GUARD ALPHA 1st United States 2502 108
ALL-GUARD BRAVO 2nd United States 2409 86
CANADA-RED 3rd Canada 2391 57
Overall Aggregate International Team Champion
SHOOTER/TEAM Place Sate/Country Total Score Vs
ALL-GUARD ALPHA 1st United States 1708 90
ALL-GUARD CHARLIE 2nd United States 1657 65
ALL-GUARD BRAVO 3rd United States 1636 63
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2018 14:05 |
| Story ID: | 279390 |
| Location: | NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR, US |
| Web Views: | 155 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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