3/15 Inf Soldiers take 3rd in Sniper competition

By Staff Sgt. Tanya Polk, 4th IBCT Public AffairsSeptember 21, 2009

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FORT STEWART, Ga Staff Sergeant Ryan Castle and Spc. Chris Stewart shot their way to a third place overall finish at the 2009 Gastonia Sniper Competition in Gastonia, N.C., Sept. 2-5. The duo not only represented the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, but were the only active Army team at the police department-sponsored event.

The infantrymen challenged 30 law enforcement teams from across the country to an 11-event, sharp shooting competition.

"It was a close competition," said Staff Sgt. Castle. "We were just 12 points shy of winning first place overall."

The Baltimore, Md., native said he and his counterpart did place first in the "Low-Light" event, an obstacle that required firing at a target from 100 to 200 meters away.

"We each get one bullet and have to hit a target smaller than a dime," he said.

Some obstacles involved hostage targets. Specialist Stewart said the most complicated event involved engaging a hostage target from 700 meters away.

"That wasn't so easy," the Colorado Springs, Colo., native said. "But, we never hit the hostages. If you did, you'd be disqualified."

This was Spc. Stewart's first sniper competition. He said the attending the 5-week Sniper School at Fort Benning, Ga., and Army training like physical fitness aided to his team's success.

"We'll take an (Army Physical Fitness Test) and then run five miles after it," he said, adding that endurance is essential to any sniper mission. "We run no less than 20 miles per week."

Although a competition, the Soldiers saw the event as another way to train.

"The experience helped us the most by teaching us to go outside the box, into someone else's environment, and adapt to the way they do things," Staff Sgt. Castle said. "Police officers use a different type of marksmanship. It made us get better at our job by adapting to theirs."

The two-time combat veteran said he plans on incorporating the police tactics he learned at the sniper competition to his future Army missions.

"The police essentially have the same mission, but they use different tactics," he said. "They taught us things we didn't know. It was all about getting out of our comfort zone. We went there to get better at our job."

Staff Sergeant Castle and Spc. Stewart are currently preparing for the 2009 International Sniper Competition to be held at Fort Benning, Oct. 15-22.

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