Army Sweeps Interservice Pistol Championships

By Paula J. RandallJune 19, 2007

Army Sweeps Interservice Pistol Championships
Sgt. 1st Class James M. Henderson (left) and Staff Sgt. Robert S. Park II, both of the USAMU, shoot their M-9 pistols during the Service Pistol Match of the Interservice Pistol Championship. Sgt. 1st Class Henderson won the championship as well as th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BENNING, Ga. (Army News Service, June 19, 2007) - The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and U.S. Army Reserve team won the top three honors at the 48th annual Interservice Pistol Championships June 8 to 15.

More than 50 shooters from the Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve, Navy and Air Force competed for the championship at Fort Benning, Ga.

"One-handed precision pistol shooting is an amazingly difficult skill," said Lt. Col. David J. Liwanag, former USAMU commander and guest speaker at the June 15 awards banquet. "If it were easy, everybody would do it.

"We're striving for more than interservice bragging rights," he said, stressing that tough marksmanship training is essential for all servicemembers, especially during a war time.

Staff Sgt. James M. Henderson won the overall championship with a score of 3,542 points out of a possible 3,600, breaking the interservice record of 3,536 that he set in 2004. He also won the Service Pistol Championship, and finished second in the .45-Caliber Championship and third in the Center Fire Championship.

The USAMU team he coached won the championship, the Center Fire, Service Pistol and .45-Caliber team competitions and took second place in the .22-Caliber team match. Other shooters on the team were team captain Sgt. 1st Class Eric G. Daniels, Staff Sgts. Robert S. Park II, Adam E. Sokolowski and Gregory S. Wilson, and Sgt. Michael S. Gasser.

Staff Sgt. Park placed third overall, won the Combat Pistol individual competition and took second place in the .22-Caliber, Service Pistol and Center Fire individual championships.

Another USAMU team, coached by Staff Sgt. Daniel Holm, took second place overall and finished third in both the .22-Caliber and Service Pistol competitions. Shooters were Staff Sgts. Lyman P. Grover and Brian W. Rost, Sgt. Timothy M. Barber and team captain Sgt. Sean P. Watson.

The U.S. Army Reserve Team, coached by Lt. Col. Alan Toler, took third place overall and third in the .45-Caliber and Combat Pistol team competitions. Shooters were Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ray Gabiola, Sgt. 1st Class James Radford, Staff Sgt. Brent Lantagne and team captain Staff Sgt. Robert Mango.

Staff Sgts. Sokolowski, Park and Wilson, and Sgt. Watson won the Combat Pistol Team Match. Sgt. Watson finished second in the Combat Pistol Championship and Staff Sgt. Mango finished third. Staff Sgt. Wilson was third in the .22- and .45-Caliber championships. Staff Sgt. Sokolowski took third in the Service Pistol Championship.

Formed in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and assigned to the Accessions Support Brigade of the U.S. Army Accessions Command, the Army Marksmanship Unit trains its Soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development.

For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, paula.pagan@usaac.army.mil or http://www.usaac.army.mil/amu/.

Paula J. Randall is a public affairs officer with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, Accessions Support Brigade.