W.Va. Guard’s 1st Sgt. Scott Tolley earns President’s 100 Tab

Photo By Capt. Holli Nelson | West Virginia Army National Guard 1st Sgt. Scott J. Tolley poses for a photo following his completion of the President’s Rifle Match at Camp Perry, Ohio. Tolley placed 22rd out of 836 competitors earning a President's 100 Tab as a part of the event. (Courtesy Photo)  

CHARLESTON, WV, UNITED STATES

11.09.2021

Courtesy Story

West Virginia National Guard

Earning the top prize at the President’s Rifle Match shooting competition was the No. 1 goal for West Virginia National Guard 1st Sgt. Scott J. Tolley.

So when the Spencer, W.Va., native arrived at Camp Perry, Ohio, in August to take on some of the top shooters in the country, he was focused and determined.

Not only did Tolley make the top 100 of shooters at the event, earning the coveted President’s 100 Tab, but he excelled well beyond his goal, placing 33rd out of 836 competitors, putting him well within the top 5 percent of shooters, and cementing his legacy as an expert marksman.

That marksmanship has earned him other prizes as well. In 2018, Tolley earned the Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge, the highest individual award authorized by the U.S. Government for excellence in marksmanship. He was then also selected to compete as a team member of the All-Guard Rifle Team, which is comprised of Army and Air National Guard members from across the country who compete in major national-level shooting events. This set him on the path to begin taking competitive marksmanship more seriously.

Tolley has been pursuing excellence in shooting competitive for 10 years. He’s always been shooting, he said, as he hunted recreationally growing up and was considered an expert in shooting when he graduated basic training. As an M-Day Soldier, Tolley was a policeman for 10 years.

Tolley, A 27-year veteran with the WVNG serving as the full-time Operations Non-Commissioned Officer for the 1092nd Engineering Battalion and as an M-Day Sergeant for the 821st Engineering Company, explained he set three goals for himself: To achieve Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge status, to earn the President’s 100 Tab, and to earn a position on the National Guard Bureau’s All-Guard Rifle team.

Now after achieving the President’s 100 Tab, Tolley has accomplished all of them.

“It was like the weight of the world was off my shoulders when I finally earned the tab,” he said. “It’s almost like being in an Army Ranger unit and not having the Ranger badge. When you’re competing against some of the world’s best shooters and they’re all sporting the tab, and you stand without one, it was very humbling to finally earn that.”

Tolley first competed in the President’s Rifle Match in 2014, which he says was a learning experience. However, his practice and persistence paid off.

“In 2020, the match was canceled because of COVID, but in 2018, I placed 105th, and in 2019, I placed 102nd, so I was very close two years in a row. I wasn’t planning on missing placing in the top 100 again,” Tolley said.

Although he has competed for more than a decade, Tolley said he still feels the pressure to perform.

“There is a lot of pressure on you at any given time during the competition,” Tolley explained. “Performing against such a high-level of competition to earn the President’s 100 Tab can be daunting. It was very humbling and rewarding to make the top 100, and now those worries of not having the tab are gone. Now the goal is to win the whole thing!”

In addition to achieving his competitive shooting goals, Tolley also holds three National Rifle Association national records in marksmanship. In March 2020, he set the record for the 300-yard slow fire midrange. The other two records were set with four-man teams in the master and high master divisions, the second highest and highest classification you can achieve as a marksman, respectively.

“To put together a four-person team of high master shooters and then establish a national record was a big deal,” said Tolley, who also won the Modern Military Rifle Match in 2019, another national competition held at Camp Perry.

Tolley continues to pursue excellence and plans to continue his competitive shooting.

“Winning the whole thing is now the goal,” he said.

The President’s Rifle Match has origins dating back as far as 1878 but was officially established in 1884 by the National Rifle Association, becoming a National Trophy Match in 1977. In 1921, the National Trophy Match was opened to all citizens, not only members of the military. The President’s Hundred recognition was established at the elite competition since 1957. Adding to its prestige, it has been a tradition for more than 100 years for the President of the United States to write a letter to congratulate the winner of the President’s Rifle Match.

• Date Taken: 11.09.2021
• Date Posted: 11.09.2021 12:59
• Story ID: 408994
• Location: CHARLESTON, WV, US