WEBVTT 00:00.009 --> 00:02.529 This week , we started , um we started 00:02.539 --> 00:04.428 off pretty strong with the uh the 00:04.428 --> 00:06.595 riflery portion of this doing a lot of 00:06.599 --> 00:08.766 the known distance ranges . We ran hop 00:08.770 --> 00:11.600 light which is uh 800 m run using the 00:11.609 --> 00:13.720 known distance ranges . And uh having 00:13.720 --> 00:16.600 guys move from , from 400 all the way 00:16.610 --> 00:19.350 up to 200 m . We wanted to see how they 00:19.360 --> 00:21.471 would react under stress after a good 00:21.471 --> 00:23.819 strong shoot and a especially after 00:23.829 --> 00:25.940 that run and we watched as guys , you 00:25.940 --> 00:28.162 could see the fatigue get into them and 00:28.162 --> 00:30.218 as the day progressed , uh that's it 00:30.218 --> 00:31.940 was noticeable in all of their 00:31.940 --> 00:33.885 marksmanship stuff , but they were 00:33.885 --> 00:36.051 still able to keep good groups and get 00:36.051 --> 00:35.900 good point totals off of that . The 00:35.909 --> 00:37.853 next day , we moved into some more 00:37.853 --> 00:40.020 marksmanship stuff including the rifle 00:40.020 --> 00:41.853 Ry E IC , which is excellence in 00:41.853 --> 00:43.853 competition , uh course of fire and 00:43.853 --> 00:46.076 watching guys do that after having such 00:46.076 --> 00:48.242 a grueling day the day before and come 00:48.242 --> 00:48.080 out and perform and score the scores . 00:48.090 --> 00:49.923 They did and just stay motivated 00:49.923 --> 00:51.812 throughout and try to be the best 00:51.812 --> 00:53.923 competitor they could was really cool 00:53.923 --> 00:56.146 to watch . Today has been a little more 00:56.146 --> 00:58.201 streamlined because it's been pistol 00:58.201 --> 00:58.200 marksmanship primarily . So it's a 00:58.209 --> 01:00.099 closer range and the guys aren't 01:00.110 --> 01:02.880 necessarily putting as much uh physical 01:02.889 --> 01:04.970 effort into it before , but we still 01:04.980 --> 01:07.091 had to run into the first event . And 01:07.091 --> 01:09.730 then , um , that first event is a team 01:09.739 --> 01:11.572 event and you could watch as the 01:11.572 --> 01:13.683 competitors have to try to strategize 01:13.683 --> 01:15.795 what they're going to do and how they 01:15.795 --> 01:17.961 accomplish scoring the most points for 01:17.961 --> 01:20.128 their team . And then we wrapped today 01:20.128 --> 01:22.239 up with a pistol E IC and as a couple 01:22.239 --> 01:24.239 of other cadre shot it too . We all 01:24.239 --> 01:26.295 notice how , um how grueling it just 01:26.295 --> 01:28.350 can be just because of how hot it is 01:28.350 --> 01:30.572 here at beautiful Fort Stewart . And uh 01:30.572 --> 01:32.572 it , it's pretty cool , pretty cool 01:32.572 --> 01:32.309 course of fire over the entire course 01:32.319 --> 01:35.860 of the week . This is the beginning of 01:36.190 --> 01:38.769 the marksman's journey in Georgia to go 01:38.779 --> 01:41.370 to the next level for competition . Uh 01:41.459 --> 01:43.620 When you come to Andrew Sullens , you 01:43.629 --> 01:46.129 come as a competitor who's ready to 01:46.139 --> 01:48.849 take on a serious challenge , you know 01:48.860 --> 01:50.916 how to manipulate your weapon system 01:50.916 --> 01:52.971 better than the other people in your 01:52.971 --> 01:54.971 company . You should be the premier 01:54.971 --> 01:57.249 example of a marksman for your company . 01:57.249 --> 01:56.739 And when you get here , you show that 01:56.750 --> 01:58.917 on paper and you take that with you to 01:58.917 --> 02:00.750 the next level , especially like 02:00.750 --> 02:02.861 Winston P Wilson , where you're going 02:02.861 --> 02:04.972 to try and win and move on to another 02:04.972 --> 02:07.139 national level and compete against all 02:07.139 --> 02:09.028 kinds of people from all over the 02:09.028 --> 02:11.139 entire country . So at the individual 02:11.139 --> 02:10.910 level , it's important because it gives 02:10.919 --> 02:13.240 our soldiers an opportunity to express , 02:13.419 --> 02:15.679 uh , through competition how competent 02:15.690 --> 02:17.850 they are as Georgia guardsmen . Um , 02:17.860 --> 02:19.582 it's important for our Georgia 02:19.582 --> 02:21.638 carpenter to be 10 level experts and 02:21.638 --> 02:23.693 everything . And right here is where 02:23.693 --> 02:25.749 the rubber meets the road . And when 02:25.749 --> 02:27.749 you have that down pat , you can go 02:27.749 --> 02:27.220 back to your unit and be the subject 02:27.229 --> 02:29.396 matter expert If you come here and you 02:29.396 --> 02:32.149 win , uh , win the Sullens competition 02:32.419 --> 02:34.308 and you go back to your unit as a 02:34.308 --> 02:36.419 winner . Uh , the guys are gonna look 02:36.419 --> 02:38.419 to you as that primary marksmanship 02:38.419 --> 02:40.363 instructor . The more that we fill 02:40.363 --> 02:42.475 those positions throughout our entire 02:42.475 --> 02:44.475 organization , the more we make our 02:44.475 --> 02:46.641 guys better , stronger shooters , more 02:46.641 --> 02:48.641 capable war fighters , the stronger 02:48.641 --> 02:50.752 organization gets as a tool to use by 02:50.752 --> 02:52.863 big army and puts us in a position to 02:52.863 --> 02:54.919 be just one of the premier guards in 02:54.919 --> 02:56.975 the entire country . I think what it 02:56.975 --> 02:56.970 shows is that we have a willingness to 02:56.979 --> 02:59.035 stick to things that are good , uh , 02:59.035 --> 03:00.979 that benefit our organization in a 03:00.979 --> 03:02.868 positive way when we put together 03:02.869 --> 03:04.980 competitions like this and we get our 03:04.980 --> 03:06.869 soldiers out here to actually put 03:06.869 --> 03:09.091 rounds down range . We are showing that 03:09.091 --> 03:11.036 we want to compete at the national 03:11.036 --> 03:13.147 level and we are a premier guard in , 03:13.147 --> 03:15.147 in the country . The Andrew Summons 03:15.147 --> 03:17.258 market competition is a chance for us 03:17.258 --> 03:19.202 to promote lethality and readiness 03:19.202 --> 03:21.313 amongst the May homes . It gives us a 03:21.313 --> 03:23.313 chance to bring soldiers out and do 03:23.313 --> 03:25.536 things they normally wouldn't get to do 03:25.536 --> 03:27.369 in a unit as far as marksmanship 03:27.369 --> 03:29.591 training . It promotes a healthy bit of 03:29.591 --> 03:31.591 camaraderie amongst soldiers and it 03:31.591 --> 03:33.758 gives them a chance to meet soldiers , 03:33.758 --> 03:35.813 learn about different things and get 03:35.813 --> 03:37.758 that camaraderie they wouldn't get 03:37.758 --> 03:37.419 because normally would , they wouldn't 03:37.429 --> 03:39.651 see these soldiers outside of their May 03:39.651 --> 03:41.762 homes as a whole . Like I said , it , 03:41.762 --> 03:43.929 it gives the state a chance to see the 03:43.929 --> 03:45.985 things that we teach in small arms . 03:45.985 --> 03:48.096 And when we teach machine guns course 03:48.096 --> 03:50.151 and sniper courses , they get to see 03:50.151 --> 03:52.262 the products of those efforts as they 03:52.262 --> 03:53.929 culminate into these events . 03:53.929 --> 03:55.818 Individually , the soldiers , the 03:55.818 --> 03:57.818 soldiers learn , they learn to push 03:57.818 --> 03:59.707 their limits and do things . They 03:59.707 --> 03:59.220 normally thought they wouldn't be able 03:59.229 --> 04:01.285 to do or they couldn't do , but they 04:01.285 --> 04:03.507 come out here and they do them and then 04:03.507 --> 04:03.000 they learn that they have the ability 04:03.009 --> 04:05.009 to do them and they can go back and 04:05.009 --> 04:06.898 teach these things to their other 04:06.898 --> 04:09.120 soldiers . It gives me a chance to meet 04:09.120 --> 04:10.898 other soldiers , see what other 04:10.898 --> 04:10.699 soldiers are thinking , how they feel 04:10.710 --> 04:13.669 about marksmanship , the things they've 04:13.679 --> 04:16.709 wanted to improve on and just a general 04:16.720 --> 04:18.664 overall chance to spread knowledge 04:18.664 --> 04:20.498 amongst the ranks . The regional 04:20.498 --> 04:22.331 competition is a little bit more 04:22.331 --> 04:24.553 intensive . They will shoot , they will 04:24.553 --> 04:26.609 definitely shoot at least 34 matches 04:26.609 --> 04:28.831 per day and regionals are normally held 04:28.831 --> 04:30.831 within , uh within one of the seven 04:30.831 --> 04:32.942 states in the region . It just varies 04:32.942 --> 04:35.164 year by year . I mean , it's a big deal 04:35.164 --> 04:37.331 because , I mean , I started out where 04:37.331 --> 04:39.331 most of these soldiers were as an E 04:39.331 --> 04:41.442 four going through small arms and now 04:41.442 --> 04:43.498 I've been able to progress and prove 04:43.498 --> 04:43.380 myself and become one of the people 04:43.390 --> 04:45.557 that get to host it . So it's , it's a 04:45.557 --> 04:47.790 humbling experience . So I'm listening 04:47.799 --> 04:49.910 to Georgia Garden 2007 . I was active 04:49.910 --> 04:52.640 duty Navy before that . And um I met a 04:52.649 --> 04:54.705 first sergeant , friend of mine that 04:54.705 --> 04:56.705 was with 1121 and told me about the 04:56.705 --> 04:58.899 Afghanistan deployment . And um , he 04:58.910 --> 05:01.077 told me I could re enlist in the guard 05:01.077 --> 05:03.299 as an infantry soldier and I'd be , I'd 05:03.299 --> 05:05.354 basically be able to do it in enough 05:05.354 --> 05:07.577 time to make that deployment . And so I 05:07.577 --> 05:09.688 did and , you know , went to infantry 05:09.688 --> 05:11.799 school down here in Fort Stewart . Um 05:12.470 --> 05:14.359 Well , probably one of the best , 05:14.359 --> 05:16.581 probably one of my favorite times of my 05:16.581 --> 05:18.748 life was going through infantry school 05:18.748 --> 05:18.309 and then getting to be a part of an 05:18.320 --> 05:20.542 infantry unit . Charlie Troop . The 1st 05:20.542 --> 05:22.630 108 is where is , um who I , who Im 05:22.750 --> 05:24.861 with and who I was in that in country 05:24.861 --> 05:27.299 with . So , and ultimately , that was 05:27.309 --> 05:29.399 um in May of 2009 , we're in 05:29.410 --> 05:32.160 Afghanistan and we uh ran over uh an 05:32.170 --> 05:34.779 IED that was embedded in a culvert and 05:34.790 --> 05:36.679 I ended up breaching the hole and 05:36.679 --> 05:38.734 throwing me out of the gun to it and 05:38.734 --> 05:41.012 that's where I got broke up pretty bad . 05:41.012 --> 05:42.901 Um , the 10th generation is a lot 05:42.901 --> 05:44.957 different , a lot different from the 05:44.957 --> 05:46.679 first iteration . So the first 05:46.679 --> 05:48.846 iteration I believe it was in 2014 . A 05:48.846 --> 05:50.790 lot of those guys were , um , were 05:50.790 --> 05:52.850 soldiers that I served with and they 05:52.859 --> 05:54.859 were all guys that been on , that , 05:54.859 --> 05:56.470 been out on the front line , 05:56.470 --> 05:58.581 Afghanistan , Iraq , you know , up to 05:58.581 --> 06:01.390 that point . So now here we are in the 06:01.399 --> 06:04.029 10th race . So we'll back it up to that . 06:04.239 --> 06:06.517 So those guys have all been down range . 06:06.517 --> 06:08.461 They've all been , you know , mobs 06:08.461 --> 06:10.461 after mobs and then trainings after 06:10.461 --> 06:12.517 training . So this was an idea . The 06:12.517 --> 06:14.739 marksmanship competition was an idea to 06:14.739 --> 06:16.906 get those guys together , get and then 06:16.906 --> 06:18.683 get them in a friendly shooting 06:18.683 --> 06:20.906 competition , hone our skills and train 06:20.906 --> 06:22.950 and , you know , in an , in an 06:22.959 --> 06:25.269 atmosphere that we're all kind of 06:25.279 --> 06:27.335 conduced with and also very friendly 06:27.335 --> 06:29.223 and very , and also having good , 06:29.223 --> 06:31.390 friendly competition . And now here we 06:31.390 --> 06:33.723 are 10 years later and it's a different , 06:33.723 --> 06:35.890 it's a different group of soldiers . A 06:35.890 --> 06:35.670 lot . Um , a lot of soldiers . I've , 06:35.730 --> 06:38.059 I've noticed that were not , you know , 06:38.070 --> 06:41.119 we're not around when 911 happened . Um , 06:41.450 --> 06:43.450 they've , they've not been moving , 06:43.450 --> 06:45.617 they're not , you know , they not have 06:45.617 --> 06:45.179 the opportunity to move , to move . 06:45.190 --> 06:47.134 They not had the opportunity to go 06:47.134 --> 06:49.357 overseas and go in theater . And , um , 06:49.480 --> 06:52.109 so now it's about , it's about keeping 06:52.119 --> 06:54.286 those soldiers engaged , keeping those 06:54.286 --> 06:56.341 soldiers on the front line , keeping 06:56.341 --> 06:58.397 them , giving them something to work 06:58.397 --> 07:00.452 for something to look forward to and 07:00.452 --> 07:02.619 something to just hone their soldierly 07:02.619 --> 07:04.675 skills , you know , shooting is , is 07:04.675 --> 07:06.786 very , is a foundation as an infantry 07:06.786 --> 07:08.897 soldier and as a , and as the Georgia 07:08.897 --> 07:10.841 guardsman in general , and this is 07:10.841 --> 07:10.779 something that we're continuing that 07:10.790 --> 07:12.901 and that , that way we're carrying on 07:12.901 --> 07:14.957 to the next generation of soldiers . 07:14.980 --> 07:16.924 Well , again , we've got to pay it 07:16.924 --> 07:19.279 forward and we've got to keep going 07:19.290 --> 07:21.640 back to our units and talk about it . 07:21.649 --> 07:23.816 Tell them about our experiences , tell 07:23.816 --> 07:26.038 them about what we did on the range and 07:26.038 --> 07:25.519 then what we learned from it . It's 07:25.529 --> 07:27.480 about continuing this tradition , 07:27.489 --> 07:29.869 continuing to stay sharp , iron , 07:29.880 --> 07:32.158 sharpens iron and it's , and those are , 07:32.158 --> 07:34.380 those are truths that those are , those 07:34.380 --> 07:36.158 are certain truths that are non 07:36.158 --> 07:38.750 negotiable . And so every time I come , 07:38.760 --> 07:40.816 I come here every year and I talk to 07:40.816 --> 07:42.871 the soldiers and I always leave them 07:42.871 --> 07:45.038 with one task , go back to your unit , 07:45.038 --> 07:47.204 talk to your leadership , talk to your 07:47.204 --> 07:49.371 soldiers . You know , find that , find 07:49.371 --> 07:48.790 that young enlisted , that young 07:48.799 --> 07:50.799 enlisted person and bring them up , 07:50.809 --> 07:52.920 bring them up in the way , bring them 07:52.920 --> 07:54.920 back , bring them out here and show 07:54.920 --> 07:56.809 them what these very foundational 07:56.809 --> 07:58.920 soldier skills and , and keep that on 07:58.920 --> 08:01.087 the forefront . Keep that on the front 08:01.087 --> 08:00.459 of their mind . Give them a reason to 08:00.470 --> 08:02.248 want to stay in . This is about 08:02.248 --> 08:04.829 retention at this point . This week we 08:05.559 --> 08:07.829 conducted the Andrew Sullens annual 08:07.839 --> 08:10.061 Marshal ship competition that is run by 08:10.061 --> 08:12.228 the Georgia Army National Guard . It's 08:12.228 --> 08:14.500 very similar to Winston P Wilson , the 08:14.510 --> 08:17.500 national level competition or all army 08:17.510 --> 08:19.732 small arms championship at Fort Moore , 08:19.732 --> 08:21.954 Georgia , which is the federal national 08:21.954 --> 08:24.149 level competition . Um , shooting 08:24.160 --> 08:26.410 ranges from known distance , slow fire 08:26.609 --> 08:29.790 out to 400 yards to reflex a fire with 08:29.799 --> 08:33.760 an M four or close range pistol . 08:33.770 --> 08:35.881 So 35 yards and end pistol , slow and 08:35.881 --> 08:37.599 fast . We shoot excellence of 08:37.609 --> 08:39.776 competition matches that earn you E IC 08:39.776 --> 08:42.940 badges if you're in the top 10% the top 08:42.950 --> 08:45.117 20% of shooters receive the governor's 08:45.117 --> 08:47.710 20 tab . And that's essentially what we 08:47.719 --> 08:49.830 conducted this week . I have competed 08:49.830 --> 08:51.830 at the Army Small Arms Championship 08:51.830 --> 08:53.941 twice and I completed at the national 08:53.941 --> 08:56.739 matches in 2012 . We have a pretty 08:56.750 --> 08:59.630 diverse crew as far as experience goes 08:59.640 --> 09:01.751 at SFB . So I was able to choose some 09:01.751 --> 09:04.250 very good shooters , uh easily , easy 09:04.260 --> 09:06.482 to find . So I was able to put together 09:06.482 --> 09:08.704 a very , very cohesive team and I think 09:08.704 --> 09:10.704 we perform well together . I mean , 09:10.704 --> 09:12.927 team functioning as a team is important 09:12.927 --> 09:15.093 in any organization in the military or 09:15.093 --> 09:17.204 outside the military , the ability of 09:17.204 --> 09:20.030 us to communicate effectively without 09:22.750 --> 09:24.909 hindrance for lack of a better word . 09:25.130 --> 09:28.349 Uh assisted us in explaining certain 09:28.359 --> 09:30.359 courses of fire to soldiers who had 09:30.359 --> 09:32.470 never competed at this level before . 09:32.470 --> 09:35.659 So we're all very tight knit at my 09:35.669 --> 09:39.119 organization . Um And we're able to 09:39.130 --> 09:41.859 talk one on one . There is no pressure 09:41.869 --> 09:45.039 or concerned that 09:45.640 --> 09:47.862 there's gonna be disappointment because 09:47.862 --> 09:50.029 we all understand that we , we need to 09:50.029 --> 09:52.307 fail sometimes to succeed . So overall , 09:52.307 --> 09:54.362 as a team , we're able to understand 09:54.362 --> 09:56.584 that we are all here to make each other 09:56.584 --> 09:58.696 better and any given time I , I might 09:58.696 --> 10:00.807 go down and somebody else can step up 10:00.807 --> 10:02.807 and we're all trying to do that . I 10:02.807 --> 10:05.029 think that since this is the S fab , as 10:05.029 --> 10:06.973 far as I know in George's first uh 10:06.973 --> 10:09.140 competition that we shot like this , I 10:09.140 --> 10:11.196 think that we need to bring back the 10:11.196 --> 10:12.751 competitive nature of these 10:12.751 --> 10:14.973 competitions and start shooting more of 10:14.973 --> 10:14.780 them , especially with the access to 10:14.919 --> 10:17.500 for more facilities . I'm gonna bring 10:17.510 --> 10:19.732 back more competition shooting at least 10:19.732 --> 10:21.899 for my company and then hopefully push 10:21.899 --> 10:24.010 it across the battalion . Um And then 10:24.010 --> 10:26.232 just overall , we learned a lot about , 10:26.500 --> 10:28.722 we don't train enough on KD ranges , we 10:28.722 --> 10:30.833 train for qualification and yeah , we 10:30.833 --> 10:33.056 do live fires and we do a lot of pistol 10:33.056 --> 10:35.222 work , but we don't train for distance 10:35.222 --> 10:35.109 for rifle . So that's something I wanna 10:35.119 --> 10:37.286 push forward into my training plan for 10:37.286 --> 10:39.008 next year as well . If you are 10:39.008 --> 10:41.063 physically fit and good at your M OS 10:41.063 --> 10:43.341 and you want to do more of your career , 10:43.341 --> 10:45.563 uh come down to sf and give us a call , 10:45.563 --> 10:47.563 see what's up , we took part in the 10:47.563 --> 10:49.841 Andrew Sullens Partnership competition . 10:49.841 --> 10:52.250 Uh basically a roll up of all the 10:52.260 --> 10:55.299 normal skills for M four and M 17 , 10:55.309 --> 10:58.390 just rifle and pistol out to 400 m and 10:58.400 --> 11:01.010 uh up close up to about 25 m for both 11:01.020 --> 11:03.076 the disciplines . Uh and pistol . It 11:03.076 --> 11:05.298 was pretty good . Uh So I took first an 11:05.298 --> 11:07.780 individual pistol . Um , don't know 11:07.789 --> 11:09.900 where I was on the rifle , but for my 11:09.900 --> 11:11.956 team , we took second overall for my 11:11.956 --> 11:14.122 team , which is a great accomplishment 11:14.122 --> 11:16.178 for , uh 78th Aviation Troop Command 11:16.178 --> 11:18.178 and just flyers in general , it was 11:18.178 --> 11:20.289 probably a combination of a couple of 11:20.289 --> 11:22.400 things . So one do , I do competitive 11:22.400 --> 11:24.567 shooting on the outside for civilian . 11:24.567 --> 11:26.789 I do a lot of mass directing and , uh , 11:26.789 --> 11:28.622 things a lot of different , much 11:28.622 --> 11:30.733 different disciplines and on the army 11:30.733 --> 11:32.900 side , I really take place and showing 11:32.900 --> 11:35.122 young soldiers and , and old soldiers . 11:35.122 --> 11:37.345 So just soldiers in general , uh , what 11:37.345 --> 11:39.400 I've learned so far , um , as far as 11:39.400 --> 11:39.145 rifle and pistol goes specifically 11:39.155 --> 11:41.377 pistol , because a lot of people have a 11:41.377 --> 11:43.099 lot of problems with the new M 11:43.099 --> 11:45.211 seventeens . So just showing them the 11:45.211 --> 11:47.433 nuances and things that I've learned to 11:47.433 --> 11:47.315 help them better themselves . Doing 11:47.325 --> 11:50.164 that for my unit specifically , uh , 11:50.294 --> 11:52.554 we're aviators and that's the air 11:52.565 --> 11:54.484 crewmen , pilots , backseaters , 11:54.494 --> 11:56.719 maintainers , fuelers . Um , sometimes 11:56.729 --> 11:58.840 emphasis isn't really on marksmanship 11:58.840 --> 12:01.099 in itself . So it's one of the things 12:01.109 --> 12:03.109 that I would like to relate to them 12:03.109 --> 12:05.220 that anything's possible , you know , 12:05.220 --> 12:07.387 you get paid to go shoot things , um , 12:07.387 --> 12:09.442 to better yourself on the inside and 12:09.442 --> 12:11.442 the outside . And also , you know , 12:11.442 --> 12:11.219 that's one of those skills that we need 12:11.229 --> 12:13.285 to have as soldiers . Generally , we 12:13.285 --> 12:15.507 need to learn how to shoot , be able to 12:15.507 --> 12:17.562 shoot . And , uh , when you practice 12:17.562 --> 12:19.673 outside of the one time qualification 12:19.673 --> 12:21.896 each year , then anything is possible , 12:21.896 --> 12:24.118 you can go do great things and pretty , 12:24.118 --> 12:26.285 pretty much figure out where you stand 12:26.285 --> 12:28.229 with that to be better . This is a 12:28.229 --> 12:30.285 great competition , the , uh , the , 12:30.285 --> 12:32.340 the meaning behind it and the skills 12:32.340 --> 12:34.118 learned from it and I think are 12:34.118 --> 12:36.229 excellent . I think it transfers over 12:36.229 --> 12:38.451 to civilian side and whatever jobs that 12:38.451 --> 12:38.049 you wanna do when it comes to that , 12:38.059 --> 12:40.170 just the general leadership skills as 12:40.170 --> 12:42.003 well . Teamwork , really big one 12:42.003 --> 12:44.115 because it's a team event too . And I 12:44.115 --> 12:46.170 was just figuring out how it is that 12:46.170 --> 12:48.337 you want to implement those things . I 12:48.337 --> 12:47.090 think it's great .