FORT BENNING, Ga., (Sept. 30, 2015) -- The 198th Brigade recognized Staff Sgt. David Morris, 2nd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, as the top marksman from their Invitational Marksmanship Competition held Sept. 22-24 at the Malone Range Complex.

In continuing to build smart, fast, lethal and precise Soldiers, Maj. Clint Cunningham, battalion commander, 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Regiment, said the competition represented lethality. He said every round counts toward a score just as every round would count when a Soldier is downrange. The competition identified the smartest Soldiers in their last-minute choices, their ability to be fast through the stress shoot and precise in their accuracy in hitting a target.

"While primarily lethal, the smart and fast Soldier is the one who is going to do well here," Cunningham said.

A total of 97 marksmen competed in the competition to determine the installation's best marksman.

"We come out here and have these kinds of competitions to drive excellence," said 198th Brig. Commander Col. Richard Timmons. "This competition is a step in that direction to create that level of excellence and that level of proficiency that we expect of our leaders and more importantly our Soldiers that we're responsible for training."

Other winners from the competition included Staff Sgt. Keith Armstrong, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, in second place for top marksman and best close-quarter marksmanship shot and Staff Sgt. Kevin Bates, 2nd Bn., 19th Inf. Regt., for third overall top marksman. Competitors Staff Sgt. Nathan Green, 2nd Bn., 47th Inf. Regt., and Staff Sgt. David Lawrence, 1st Bn., 50th Inf. Regt., tied for the most perfect scores using the iron site and close combat optics, having shot 72 out of the 80 possible targets during the competition.

Morris said, through the competition, he didn't know he was the one to beat until a competitor told him he was.

"There is a lot to marksmanship that is beyond just pulling a trigger," Morris said.

Morris credited his smart Soldier training to adjust his shot in his sights, which gave him an edge over his competitors. He also credited his training proficiency as a marksman.

Capt. Homer Martinez said the marksmen ranged from rank of private to lieutenant colonel. To level the playing field, Soldiers were supplied M4 rifles for the duration of the competition.

"It's fantastic to see that level of professional interest in doing probably what is our most important task which is demonstrating our lethal ability," said Capt. Tim Blair, battalion operations officer for the Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course, and a competitor in the event.

The competition involved friendly competitiveness and camaraderie between the marksmen, Blair said.

The competition consisted of eight events where Soldiers earned points for tasks that demonstrated the fundamentals of marksmanship. The events were based off the one station unit training point of instruction, Benjamin said.

On Sept. 22, competitors were in-processed and given briefs.

For Day 1 of the competition, Sept. 23, Soldiers completed the first four events using their back-up iron sites including zeroing, an M4 qualification, firing at a moving target and a barrier shoot.

On Sept. 23 - Day 2 - using the same M4, the Soldiers tasks were a stress shoot using back-up iron sites and then using the M68 close combat optic, conduct a close quarters marksmanship event, zeroing and qualification.

On Day 2, following all events, the top three marksmen with the highest scores, best stress shoot, best close quarter marksmanship, and the most perfect scores using the iron site and close combat optics were recognized at an award ceremony.

For the stress shoot, at the sound of an air horn, Soldiers hurdled a barrier carrying water tanks and maneuvered to a point where they abandoned their water tanks, dropped the ground and high-crawled.

Soldiers then pulled a skedco to a point, turned around and did the lane in reverse until they reached their platform to begin taking aim at targets downrange.

With increased heart rates, competitors shot from prone supported, prone unsupported and kneeling unsupported positions at pop-up targets on Malone 16.

"It is a really great training; it really puts you in a place where you have to try to control yourself so you can hit the targets," said 2nd Lt. Jacob Chisholm, IBOLC student.

Chisholm said he hoped he would do better on the stress shoot, but appreciated the learning aspect of the competition.

"It is all about trying to get better," Chisholm said.

Following the stress shoot, competitors conducted close-quarter marksmanship.

Timmons said while this may have been the first year the event was held, he said he hopes to see the event grow in years to come.

"This is something that needs to continue to move forward," Morris said. "We need to continue to aggressively pursue mastery of marksmanship and be able to take it beyond."