Photo By Sgt. Rosa Ibarra | U.S. Army Spc. Sean M. Hornung, an infantryman with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion,...... read more read more
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CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. — Four infantrymen with the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment swept every team category during the 47th Annual New York National Guard Adjutant General’s Combat Marksmanship Competition.
The TAG Match, as it is commonly known, was held at Camp Smith Training Site, near Peekskill, April 9-12, 2026. The team, known as the “Swifty Shooters,” outperformed dozens of competitors to claim the state’s top honors in rifle and pistol precision.
The Swifty Shooters—Sgt. 1st Class Eric Mance, Sgt. Joseph Parrotta, and brothers Sgts. Sean and Parker Hornung—secured the Overall Team Competition title with a combined 1,114 points. The team also took first place in the Team Combat Rifle Match with 689 points and the Combat Pistol Match with 425 points.
Individual excellence was showcased by Sgt. Daniel P. Spring with the 105th Military Police Company, who earned first place for the Overall Individual Combat Award. Mance distinguished himself further by taking first place in the Open Individual Combat Rifle Match.
Other top performers included Sgt. 1st Class Adam J. Scanlon, who won the Open Combat Pistol Match, and Staff Sgt. Adam Alishauskas, who claimed the novice individual pistol title. Sgt. Walterangelo Tabelisma took first place in the novice rifle category, Sgt. Samuel C. Mabie received the “Bullseye” Award, and Master Sgt. Wes Peek won the Excellence-in-Combat Warrior Challenge.
Col. Jason Lefton, commander of the 53rd Troop Command, presided over the awards ceremony on behalf of Maj. Gen. Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York.
Lefton said that the annual "TAG Match" is a critical training tool designed to increase lethality and foster professional excellence across the New York National Guard.
“You can put together a team of good shooters and be competitive, or you can put together a team of good buddies and have a lot of fun,” Mance said. “When you can do both, you really have something awesome”.
The competition carries deep historical significance, with awards named after New York military icons such as Sgt. Henry Johnson, the legendary Harlem Hellfighter, and Lt. Col. William "Wild Bill" Donovan, the Father of American Intelligence. These honors connecting modern Soldiers to a legacy of heroism dating back to the World Wars according to Lefton and Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony Giamberdino, the senior enlisted advisor of the 53rd.
“We hold tryouts at least once each year for the recon and sniper sections, searching out the individuals that want to put in the work to get better and have the personality to work well with us,” Mance said while he explained that putting together a great team should be the dream of every noncommissioned officer.
The winning team’s success was built on shared operational experience, including a 2022 deployment to Kenya. Three members are qualified snipers, with Sgt. Sean Hornung previously holding Top Shot honors from the U.S. Army Sniper Course.
A support staff award was also given to Staff Sgt. Vincent Trexler with the 152nd Engineer Support Company.
According to Giamberdino, the skills honed at Camp Smith are intended to be brought back to home units to enhance overall readiness for state and federal missions.
Leaders in attendance, from Maj. Gen. Michael Natali, the assistant adjutant general of New York (Army) to Mance, who earned many first place honors, all echoed the understanding that the event served as a platform for Soldiers to share technical skills that strengthen the culture of marksmanship across the New York National Guard, demonstrating readiness and war-fighting capability.
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2026 00:04 |
| Story ID: | 563306 |
| Location: | PEEKSKILL, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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