Illinois National Guard Marksmanship team takes fifth consecutive Regional title

Related Media

Photo 1

• Photo 2

SPRINGFIELD, IL (08/14/2015)(readMedia)-- The Illinois Army National Guard Marksmanship Team took first place in the Marksmanship Advisory Council Region IV combat championship June 25 to 28 at Camp Perry, Ohio.

This is the fifth year in a row the Illinois National Guard has taken first place in the MAC region IV competition.

Approximately 35 competitors from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard units competed in team and individual matches. The competition involved marksmanship with an M-16 rifle with and without optics at distances from 25 to 400 yards. The M9 pistol was used on targets from 3 to 30 yards.

Sgt. 1st Class John Stockton of Springfield, Illinois, with Illinois National Guard's Joint Forces Headquarters placed second and Sgt. 1st Class David Perdew of Rushville, Illinois, with Illinois National Guard's JFHQ placed third in combat pistol championship. Stockton also achieved the status if distinguished shot.

Staff Sgt. Jeffery Bugger of Springfield, Illinois with JFHQ, said the competition tested marksmanship skills using firearms in a variety of physical and combat related situations. Bugger said there is some running involved in addition to shooting from the kneeling, prone and sitting positions.

Bugger said the team trained for three days at the Illinois National Guard's Marseilles Training Area in Marseilles, Illinois going over marksmanship skills and holding practice matches.

"We ran through different matches, different shooting positions and get the new guys familiar with the different type of positions and shooting techniques," said Bugger.

Bugger said the training helped prepare the team for the competition as they went against teams of experienced marksmen from the region.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian Landon of Taylorville, Illinois, said training requires much more than what an average marksmen is taught. He said one difference is zeroing at multiple distances from 25 to 500 yards to know exactly where the rounds travel at the different distances.

Landon said the shooters train with both electronic sights and iron sights practicing fundamentals and advanced marksmanship skills.

'We draw our personnel from the Illinois National Guard's Adjutant General's Rifle and Pistol Match," said Landon "We take the best shooters, get them on the team and help them improve."

Landon said there has been a high level of success in the Illinois National Guard's competitive shooting team, which and resulted in five regional championship titles.

Perdew said the Illinois Soldiers competing at the regionals were a combination of veteran competitive shooters and Soldiers who performed well at last year's Illinois National Guard's Adjutant General's Rifle and Pistol Match at the Marseilles training Area.

"The team performed very well despite challenging weather conditions, there was one day of sun followed by a severe storm with sustained 40 miles per hour wind and some flooding," said Perdew. "Overall new and old shooters did very well and, despite those circumstance, we still took home a first place finish."

In the last five years the Illinois National Guard has continued to place top in the regionals.

"Generally we do very well,' said Perdew. "There's a lot of skilled and passionate shooters who put a lot of their time both on and off the books toward improving the shooting team and we've won some regional championships and several of our team members have received distinguished shooter status."

Including Stockton four of the team's shooters have earned a distinguished shooters badge. The bade itself can take years to earn and is only awarded to the most skilled shooters with only a few thousand Soldiers and even fewer Guardsmen earning it since the award was established in 1884.

Perdew said distinguished shooter status is a much sought after and difficult to earn achievement for competitive shooters. Shooters earn points during matches with a maximum of 10 points per match. The badge is earned after earning 30 points.

The Illinois National Guard marksmanship team will go on to represent Regional IV in the national competitions.

PHOTO 1 CAPTION: Competitors sprint 100 yards between firing points before engaging targets during the combat rifle engagements competitors sprint at the Marksmanship Advisory Council Region IV combat championship June 25 to 28 at Camp Perry Ohio.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION: Members of the Illinois National Guard Marksmanship 'A' team, from left: Sgt. 1st Class John Stockton of Springfield, Illinois, Staff Sgt. Brandon Hornung of Utica, Illinois, Staff Sgt. Jacob Blount of Charleston, Illinois, and Sgt. 1st Class David Perdew of Rushville, Illinois. Not pictured are Chief Warrant Officer 2 Chris Werth of Springfield, Illinois, Sgt. 1st Class John Tierney of Lincoln, Illinois, and Staff Sgt. Jeff Bugger of Springfield, Illinois. The Illinois Army National Guard's small Arms Readiness Training Section took first place in the Marksmanship Advisory Council Region IV combat championship June 25 to 28 at Camp Perry Ohio.

For high resolution photos, please contact the Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office at

ng.il.ilarng.list.staff-pao@mail.mil

Become our Facebook Fan!

www.facebook.com/illinoisnationalguard

Follow us on Twitter!

https://twitter.com/IllinoisNG