USAMU PAO
FORT BENNING, Ga. – The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) competitive shooting teams work daily to be the best marksmen in the world. Here is a review of their accomplishments for the week ending July 23.
Competitions
International Rifle
2017 USA Shooting Rifle & Pistol National Championship
The USAMU’s International Team competed in the USA Shooting National Championships at Fort Benning from June 25 through July 2. Staff Sgt. George Norton of Salina, Kansas, and 2016 Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Michael McPhail of Darlington, Wisconsin, performed well in the Men’s 3-Position event, earning silver and bronze medals respectively.
USAMU’s International Team continued to dominate the podium in the USA Shooting National Championships on Fort Benning in the Men’s Prone event. 2016 Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Michael McPhail won gold, Spc. Patrick Sunderman of Farmington, Minnesota, secured silver, and Sgt. 1st Class Eric Uptagrafft of Spokane, Washington, brought home the bronze.
2017 USA Shooting World Para Sport Grand Prix
USAMU’s International Team also competed in the 2017 USA Shooting World Para Sport Grand Prix on Fort Benning from June 25 through July 2 with 2016 Paralympian Sgt.1st Class Shaun Tichenor of Hampton, Virginia, performing well and securing a 3rd place win in the P3-25m Sport Pistol event.
Sgt. Kevin Nguyen of Westminster, California, displayed his skill with a 2nd place win in the R3-10m Air Rifle Prone Mixed event, and a 1st place position in the R6-50m Rifle Prone Mixed event.
2017 NRA Conventional Prone National Championship
Our International Team, specifically selected to participate in the NRA Conventional Prone National Championships, showed superb skill in Bristol, Indiana from July 8 through July 17.
USAMU Soldiers reigned undefeated in the first half of the competition with Sgt. 1st Class Henry Gray of Belgrade, Montana, securing a 1st place win, 2016 Olympian Sgt.1st Class Michael McPhail of Darlington, Wisconsin, bringing home 2nd place finish, and Staff Sgt. George Norton of Salina, Kansas, placing 3rd in the Iron Sight Aggregate.
USAMU’s International Team continued their winning streak while competing in the NRA Conventional Prone National Championships, in Bristol, Indiana.
In the Conventional 3-Position event, Spc. Patrick Sunderman of Farmington, Minnesota, won a 1st place position, followed by 2016 Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Michael McPhail who finished 2nd, and Staff Sgt. George Norton placing 3rd. In the Metric 3-Position event, McPhail secured a 1st place win, with Norton and Sgt. Erin McNeil of Fort Wayne, Indiana, placing 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Shotgun Team
2017 U.S. Keystone Grand Prix
USAMU’s Shotgun Team competed in the 2017 United States Grand Prix in Keystone, Pennsylvania from June 14 through June 26. During this last training match leading up to the USA Shooting National Championship, Pfc. William Hinton secured a 2nd place finish, followed by Sgt. 1st Class Josh Richmond of Hillsgrove, Pennsylvania, in 3rd.
2017 USA Shooting National Championship
USAMU’s Shotgun Team performed well in the 2017 USA Shooting National Championship and World Selection Match in Colorado Springs, Colorado from July 6 through July 17.
Staff Sgt. Derek Haldeman of Sunbury, Ohio, brought home a 1st place win and title of National Champion in Men’s Trap for 2017 while Sgt. 1st Class Glenn Eller, a of Katy, Texas native and a five-time Olympian in the Double Trap discipline, secured a 3rd place finish in Trap. Pfc. Christian Elliot of Richmond, Indiana, won a 1st place spot in Junior Skeet, while Sgt. Hayden Stewart of Columbia, Tennessee earned a 2nd place showing in the Skeet event.
USAMU soldiers qualified to fill three of the six spots on the 2017 World Championship Team in the two disciplines of Trap and Skeet.
Haldeman qualified in Trap while Stewart and Elliot qualified in Skeet. All will be representing the USA, U.S Army and the USAMU at the 2017 International Shooting Sports Federation World Shotgun Championship in Moscow, Russia from August 30 through September 11.
Shooting Clinic
Sgt. 1st Class Glenn Eller, a five-time U.S. Olympian, and two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Josh Richmond conducted a shotgun demonstration and a shooting clinic on July 14 for the President of the San Diego Army Advisory Council who is also an Army Reserve Ambassador in the San Diego area, approximately 20 high school students, high school principals, teachers and members of the San Diego community.
This event showcased the skills of our Soldiers all while informing students, parents and Centers of Influence (COI) what the Army has to offer as a career in the future.
Service Pistol
2017 CMP Pistol National Championships
USAMU’s Service Pistol Team proved to be unbeatable while competing in the 2017 Civilian Marksmanship Program’s National Championships in Camp Perry, Ohio from July 1 through July 2.
Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Franks of Las Vegas, Nevada, brought home two 1st place wins in both the CMP Excellence In Competition Pistol Match and the National Individual Pistol Match. Sgt. 1st Class Lawrence Cleveland of Tacoma, Washington, secured a 1st place win in the .22 Rim Fire event. Sgt. 1st Class James Henderson of Pasadena, California, dominated with two 1st place wins in both the President’s 100 Match, which was his 10th time winning this match, and the Overall Individual Champion title.
Team USAMU Blue secured a 1st place win as National Team Champion. The team, coached by Franks, included Henderson, Cleveland, Staff Sgt. Greg Markowski, a Poland native, and Staff Sgt. Joshua Kingery, a Honolulu, Hawaii native. This was the USAMU’s 11th consecutive win in the prestigious competition.
2017 Service Pistol Canton Regional
USAMU’s Service Pistol Team swept the competition at the 2017 Service Pistol Regional in Canton, Ohio from July 6 through July 9.
Dominating one of the largest regional matches heading into Nationals, Sgt. 1st Class Adam Sokolowski, a Yeagertown, Pennsylvania native, emerged as the Overall Individual Champion. Staff Sgt. Greg Markowski, originally a native of Poland, secured 2nd place, and Sgt. 1st Class James Henderson, a native of Pasadena, California, brought home 3rd position. Team USAMU also claimed victory during the Four-Man Team Match.
2017 NRA Pistol Nationals
The Service Pistol team continued its summer of domination during a stellar performance to the 2017 National Rifle Association National Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio from July 10 through July 15.
Shooting against the best competition nationwide, Sgt. 1st Class Adam Sokolowski secured a 2nd place position in the Individual Pistol Championship Match, followed by Staff Sgt. Greg Markowski securing a 3rd place.
USAMU Service Pistol Teams also brought home two national titles from this event by winning 1st place win in the Overall Team Championship with a team consisting of Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Franks, Sokolowski, Markowski, Cleveland and Henderson.
USAMU also claimed a 1st place win in the Overall Two-Man Team Match with a team of Sgt. 1st Class Michael Gasser of Houston, Texas, and Staff Sgt. Ryan Franks of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Service Rifle
2017 CMP Cup Series
The USAMU’s Service Rifle Team began its summer season by competing in the inaugural Civilian Marksmanship Program Cup in Camp Perry, Ohio from June 24 through July 6.
The USAMU team coached by Sgt. 1st Class Walter Craig of Cleveland, Tennessee, won the Four-Man Team competition by over 20 points. The team consisted of Sgt. 1st Class William Pace of West Valley, Utah; Staff Sgt. David Bahten of Sanora, California; 2016 Olympian Spc. Daniel Lowe of Olympia, Washington, and Spc. Verne Conant of Billerica, Massachusetts. The USAMU team coached by Sgt. 1st Class Shane Barnhart secured the bronze in this match.
Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Green of Covington, Louisiana, won the overall individual championship during this inaugural 2017 CMP Cup event, while USAMU shooters secured eight of the top ten positions for overall individual championship at this National Level competition.
2017 NRA Rifle Nationals
USAMU’s Service Rifle Team extended its dominating form during the 2017 National Rifle Association Nationals at Camp Atterbury, Indiana from July 7 through July 13.
Two USAMU Teams were entered into the match and they brought home a 1st place win for Team USAMU Craig, coached by Sgt. 1st Class Walter Craig of Cleveland, Tennessee, and a 2nd place position for Team USAMU Hess, coached by Sgt. 1st Class Evan Hess of Mount Pleasant, Texas. Team Craig fired an impressive 1978-97x, only a couple points off the current Service Rifle Four-Man Team record, while Team Hess was a close second firing a 1973-78x.
USAMU’s Service Rifle Team once again dominated on the podium during the individual portion of competition at the NRA Nationals at Camp Atterbury. Sgt. 1st Class Shane Barnhart of Ashley, Ohio, captured 1st place position overall, and he was followed by 2016 Olympian Spc. Daniel Lowe of Olympia, Washington, and Staff Sgt. Amanda Elsenboss of Woodbury, Connecticut, who came in 2nd and 3rd place respectively and finishing within two points of each other. USAMU dominated this year’s NRA Service Rifle Championship and for the first time in recent history, USAMU owns the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in this event during same calendar year.
2017 CMP High Power Rifle Championships
The Service Rifle Team summer tour of excellence continued during the 2017 Civilian Marksmanship Program High-Power Rifle Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio from July 14 through July 21. The USAMU secured all individual and team titles during this competition with the exception of the President’s 100 Match, in which, USAMU Soldier Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Green of Covington, Louisiana, finished second.
The two big highlights of this week were the National Infantry Team Match and National Rifle Team Match and USAMU Soldiers took 1st place in each.
USAMU Team Barnhart seized the high honor of National Infantry Team Champions with a score of 1439. The prior record of 1466, which still stands, was set by former USAMU Soldiers (Team Remily) in 1996. Team Barnhart members included: Sgt. 1st Class Shane Barnhart (coach), Sgt. 1st Class Evan Hess (captain), Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Green, Sgt. 1st Class William Pace, Staff Sgt. Cody Shields, Sgt. Joseph Peterson, Spc. Lane Ichord, and Pvt. Forrest Greenwood.
USAMU Team Craig grabbed the National Rifle Team Champion title with the score of 2944-113x. The prestigious match was first fired in 1903 and consists of a six-member team, with one required to be a "new shooter." The winning USAMU Team Craig included Staff Sgt. Walter Craig III (coach), Sgt. 1st Class Pace (captain), Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Green, Sgt. 1st Class Barnhart, Staff Sgt. Amanda Elsenboss, Staff Sgt. David Bahten, Sgt. Ben Cleland, and Spc. Daniel Lowe.
The National Trophy Individual Match was won by Green, whose extraordinary display of marksmanship skill produce a winning score of 499-30x, a new national record that will most likely will stand for a very long time, ensuring the USAMU remains current as record holder for individual rifle marksmanship during the NTI. Bahten, the second place finisher in the same match, also bettered the national record, but just came up short to his fellow USAMU marksmen, Green.
Bahten did set a new record of his own though with a score of 499-21x in the 25th Infantry Division Trophy Match, which had a previous record of 497-21x that was also set by a USAMU Soldier in 2000.
Elsenboss broke the Women’s Rifle Trophy record in the National Trophy Individual Match with an impressive score of 496-19x. This beat out the prior record of 495-22x set by a Marine in 2007.
Green took an impressive amount of honors during the week by seizing a total of nine championship titles, two of which were team wins, and breaking four national records.
Action Shooting
USAMU’s Action Shooting Team dominated the competition at the Western PA Sectional Championships in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania from July 13 through July 17. Staff Sgt. John Browning of Jackson, Georgia, secured a 1st place win in the Limited category, while Spc. Jacob Hetherington of Prescott, Arizona, earned a 1st place win in the Production category.
The Action Shooting Team also competed in the Trijicon Three-Man, 3-Gun Challenge in Topton, Pennsylvania from July 14 through July 17.
One three-person USAMU team participated in the challenge match, consisting of Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Horner of Suffolk, Virgina; Staff Sgt. Joel Turner of Anderson, S.C.; and an attached member, Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Martini of the Illinois National Guard Shooting Team, winning a 2nd place position in Tactical Operations category.
For more information about the USAMU and our teams check us out on social media sites, Facebook: @USAMU1956, Instagram: @usamu1956, Twitter: @USAMUSoldiers and YouTube. As well as our home website at http://www.usaac.army.mil/amu/.
The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) wins national and international shooting competitions, supports Army marketing engagements, and advances small arms lethality to demonstrate Army marksmanship capability, connect America to its Army and enhance marksmanship effectiveness in combat. USAMU is part of the U.S. Army Marketing Engagement Brigade and Army Marketing and Research Group.