Marksmanship Training Unit holds annual Pennsylvania State Sniper Match

Courtesy Photo | The Pennsylvania National Guard’s Marksmanship Training Unit (MTU) held its annual Pennsylvania State Sniper Match at Fort Indiantown Gap Dec. 5-8. The winning team consisted of Sgt. Chavez and Spc. Schneider, with the Maryland National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, which is a component of the 28th Infantry Division and therefore wears the keystone patch. That team will represent Maryland at the all-Guard Winston P. Wilson Sniper Championship Feb. 15 at the Robinson Maneuver Training Center, Ark. Pennsylvania will be represented by Staff Sgt. Joshua Sterndale and Spc. Andrew Scalice with the 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th ID, Pennsylvania National Guard. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. John Bright)  

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, UNITED STATES

12.13.2019

Story by Staff Sgt. Zane Craig 

Joint Force Headquarters - Pennsylvania National Guard

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – The Pennsylvania National Guard’s Marksmanship Training Unit (MTU) held its annual Pennsylvania State Sniper Match here Dec. 5-8.

The winning team consisted of Sgt. Jerick Chavez and Spc. Mark Schneider, with the Maryland National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, which is a component of the 28th Infantry Division and therefore wears the keystone patch.

That team will represent Maryland at the all-Guard Winston P. Wilson Sniper Championship Feb. 15 at the Robinson Maneuver Training Center, Ark. Pennsylvania will be represented by Staff Sgt. Joshua Sterndale and Spc. Andrew Scalice with the 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th ID, Pennsylvania National Guard.

Five teams and a total of 10 competitors participated in the competition. Snipers compete in teams of two with the senior member as the spotter and the junior member as the shooter.

Targets at range 37, the sniper range, extend from ten to 1,000 meters with pre-positioned targets at the 100 meter lines and the ability to place steel targets.

“Snipers are going to find themselves in different combat scenarios all over the world, we don’t know where they’re going to be and what situation they’re going to be in, so we have to train on all sorts of different support platforms,” said Sgt. 1st Class Luke Heim, the MTU non-commissioned officer judging the competition, indicating a several barricades with a variety of firing positions.

The match is designed to pull Soldiers out of their comfort zones and familiarize them with rapidly advancing technology. These competitive events offer sniper soldiers the opportunity to test basic to advanced sniper team skills with standard issue sniper weapons systems in a battle-focused environment.

• Date Taken: 12.13.2019
• Date Posted: 12.13.2019 14:33
• Story ID: 355643
• Location: FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US