ARLINGTON, Va. – National Guard members walked away with top honors in the U.S. Army Small Arms Championship, an advanced combat live-fire, competitive training event that took place March 12-18 at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Out of the competition's 23 categories, Guard members gave up first place standings in just two, and the top seven of the 35 teams competing in the team category were Guard teams.
Army Sgt. Max Nickerson, an avionics mechanic with the Maine Army National Guard's Company D, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment, was the overall individual champion at the event, besting 198 competitors in pistol, rifle and multi-gun matches.
He chalked up his victory to a “train-as-you-fight” mentality.
“I practiced all the courses of fire [while] wearing the uniform I wore in the event,” said Nickerson, who made his first showing in the competition last year. “I was very happy to bring home the award.”
He said he plans on furthering his marksmanship chops by transitioning into the infantry, and ultimately earning the sniper designation from the U.S. Army Sniper School.
Representing the Iowa Air National Guard's 185th Air Refueling Wing, Tech. Sgt. Micah Larson claimed the event's Col. Ralph Puckett Trophy, which recognizes the top novice shooter from both rifle and pistol matches.
Larson beat 129 competitors in the category and credited his success to discipline and simply following shooting basics.
“It was about getting back to fundamentals [and] the consistent application of marksmanship so that we can perform our tasks to the best of our ability,” he said. “It was a great honor to shoot in the match.”
Nickerson and Larson were both awarded M1 Garand rifles, the standard-issued rifle during World War II.
The Illinois Army National Guard's Small Arms Readiness and Training Section placed first in the team category, a result of continual training and practice by team members.
“The long hours put into the event and individual practice really showed the dedication that everybody had,” said Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joseph Nicholas, who served as the team's leader.
For Army Staff Sgt. Jacob Blount, part of the Illinois Army Guard team, the practice and training was all part of the drive to succeed.
“Nobody likes to lose,” he said, adding that the marksmanship skills he and his fellow team members trained on also make them better prepared should they deploy to a combat environment.
That's also part of the competition focus, said Nicholas, as well as building camaraderie among the team and picking up tips and techniques from other competitors.
“It was great to meet a lot of old and new shooters, and learn from each other,” he said.
According to a fact sheet from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, which hosted the event, the small arms competition aims to not only develop marksmanship skills and recognize superior shooting performances, but increase “lethality across the entire force.”