QUANTICO, Virginia – Twenty-three U.S. Marines were recognized for their exceptional performance during the Fiscal Year 2026 Marine Corps Marksmanship Championship matches at the Calvin A. Lloyd Training Complex, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, April 24, 2026. Among the medalists were Staff Sgt. Christian Cachola, a communication strategy and operations chief assigned to Headquarters and Support Battalion, Staff Sgt. Kenika Beck, a transmissions systems chief assigned to the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, and Capt. Calvin Tang, an intelligence officer assigned to 3rd Intelligence Battalion. They, and eight other Marines, shot together as the Far East Team, representing Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan, and the III Marine Expeditionary Force, winning the Inter-division Rifle Team Trophy.
“The group that came out to represent Okinawa were Marines with various MOSs, prior shooting experiences, and ranks,” said Tang, a Virginia native. “This diverse crew was able to challenge and remain aggressively competitive against other proficient shooters from different regions, both individually and as a team, despite limited live-fire training opportunities due to geopolitical restrictions.”
The Marine Corps Marksmanship Championship matches are the culminating event that takes the winners from the five Marine Corps Marksmanship Competitions. These five competitions are held annually in the National Capital Region, Far East, Pacific, West, and East geographic locations across the Corps. Competitors go head-to-head in individual and team events on the ranges of MCB Quantico. Over the course of 10 days, Marines competed in 23 intricate stages that contained various challenges while testing competitors’ proficiency in the pistol, rifle, and multi-gun disciplines.
“Matches aren’t won on a single stage, they are built stage by stage,” says Beck, a Hawaii native. “Consistency is the key.”
Once the individual portion is complete, the regions put their best Marines on the line to compete in the Inter-division Rifle, Pistol, and Fleet Marine Force Infantry Trophy Team Matches. This was the first time that Far East had won the Inter-division Rifle Team match since 2018.
Far East elected Beck as the team Captain, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jared Hohmeier, an electronics maintenance officer assigned to 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, as the team coach, Tang, Cachola, Cpl. Jeremy Apodaca, and Sgt. Adam Baker as the firing team members. Apodaca and Baker are combat engineers assigned to 12th Littoral Combat Team and 9th Engineer Support Battalion, respectively.
“The team match was different; it played off the strengths of each individual, but success was driven by the coach and captain,” explained Hohmeier, a Missouri native. “Incorporating target positive identification is something very applicable and I hope we continue to see the team matches evolve.”
Along with the 15 medals earned this year, 5 Marines became Distinguished Marksmen, and 2 became Distinguished Pistol Shots; an accolade that less than 2,000 Marines have earned in the history of the Marine Corps. Additionally, Cachola earned the Bronze Lauchheimer for having the 3rd highest aggregate score during the event. This is one of the 5 trophies exclusively available during this match.
“It’s a surreal feeling to be able to come back to Quantico, take the rifle team trophy for Okinawa, and place 3rd overall,” stated Cachola, a California native. “The real win goes to the ones who learned something and are going to take those concepts back to their units to make them more lethal. That’s the real goal.”