FORT BENNING, Ga., (Oct. 28, 2015) -- A sniper team representing Ireland's army laid claim to the title of Best Sniper team Oct. 23 during the 2015 International Sniper Competition.
The Irish snipers didn't wish to be photographed or interviewed.
"Consistency is the key to success," said Col. William Thigpen, commander of 316th Cavalry Brigade. "Based on the 16 events, (Ireland's team) demonstrated the most consistency across the board. They were the best team in 2015."
Second place in the competition went to Sgt. Robert Murray and Staff Sgt. Rob Schill from the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment; and third place went to Sgt. Emmanuel Velayo and Sgt. Steven Curry from the U.S. Marine Corps School of Infantry-West.
Thigpen said the competition is about building relationships and camaraderie as well as learning from each team.
The competition lasted for 96 hours where teams used the skills they learned at their accredited sniper schools to outshoot, outcommunicate and outperform their fellow snipers.
"Snipers can be the most lethal capabilities that a commander deploys on the modern battlefield," Thigpen said.
Curry of the second place team, U.S. Marine Corps School of Infantry-West, said that the most challenging part of the competition was the necessity to conduct a wide array of different tasks within a tight timeline.
"When you have that timeline, that stress and physical fatigue, it puts some screws to you and forces you to focus on the fundamentals," Curry said.
Throughout the competition, Curry said it was the smallest mistakes that separated the winners from the snipers who needed improvement.
"If you do the small things right, you're going to be on top," Curry said.
His partner, Velayo, said the biggest takeaway from the competition was the lessons learned.
"We all have different techniques and procedures for how we attack things, and seeing a wide variety of different minds definitely helped us out," Velayo said. "I know that we can utilize that if and when we go downrange."
Maj. Gen Scott Miller, Maneuver Center of Excellence commanding general, presented the awards along with Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Metheny, command sergeant major of the MCoE.
Miller told the competitors they should walk away from the competition with a renewed respect for others who do the same thing they do on a routine basis, whether it be law enforcement officers or snipers from other countries and services.
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