Guardsmen excel in All Army Marksmanship Championships

FORT BENNING, Ga. - Army and Air National Guardsmen from across the country traveled to Fort Benning to participate in the 2021 U.S. Army "All Army" Small Arms Championships March 14-20.

The week-long competition brought together teams from the U.S. Army, the National Guard, the U.S. Army Reserves and the Reserve Officer Training Corps to demonstrate their technical and tactical proficiency through a series of individual and team events.

Air National Guardsmen are also allowed to participate due to the National Guard's joint nature in their states.

Out of the 43 teams competing in the All Army event, 14 were teams who represented the National Guard in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin.

National Guard teams and individuals brought home 23 of the possible 31 top awards, including 1st place in nine of 11 categories.

Lt. Col. David Stapp, deputy commander for the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center, credits the Guardsmen's well-rounded nature.

"They'll bring other aspects of their lives into a discipline like this," Stapp said. "They may be proficient at some other civilian job skill that will translate over. Plus, the dedication it requires to be a Citizen-Soldier translates into better marksmanship fundamentals."

The competition is also viewed as a training opportunity for the Guardsmen whose duties do not include a lot of time at the range, building proficiency and taking those skills back to their units.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Micheal Wilkinson, a medic with the 188th Wing in the Arkansas National Guard, said he spent a lot of time dry-firing his weapon in his backyard to practice the fundamentals before heading to the championships. He plans to take what he's learned and share it with the Airmen in his unit.

"Anyone can shoot if you do the proper training," Wilkinson said. "The majority of my job in the medical field is administrative, so I do a lot of paperwork. When I get home, I hope to get more people in my unit excited and grow our team."

That spreading of information is one reason the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center sponsors Guard teams at national competitions like this one.

"Increases in marksmanship proficiencies directly relate to an increase in lethality," Stapp said. "The skills that they learn here become second nature. They bring that back to their units, and it improves that unit's overall readiness, that wealth of information gets distributed and that directly translates into combat survivability."

Another reason Guardsmen look forward to this and other marksmanship competitions is the opportunity to see how they stack up among their peers.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sean Hart said being able to compete with the best is part of the draw to significant national events.

"If you're a good shooter and you're hanging out in a small pond of fish, you don't ever get to see what better shooters look like," Hart said. "Coming out here, you're in a big pond with big fish. It shows you what you need to work on to be a better shooter."

Competitors had the opportunity to show their skills during 11 matches comprised of pistol, rifle, and multi-gun events over the seven-day competition.

Overall All Army Team Champions

1. Colorado National Guard-4,860-78X
Staff Sgt. Micah Fulmer, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Catlin, Sgt. Austin Norcross, Sgt. Shane Davis, and coach, Sgt. 1st Class Devin Sager
2. Arkansas Alpha - 4,854-114X
Staff Sgt. John Staats, Capt. Garrett Miller, Master Sgt. Matthew Smith, Tech. Sgt. Scotty Daniel, and coach, Tech. Sgt. Ryan Weng
3. USARAK / I Corps, U.S. Army Reserves - 4,639-72X
Sgt. Brandyn Banville, Staff Sgt. Logan Frost, Staff Sgt. Joseph Donoghue, Sgt. Ethan Hopkins

Overall All Army Individual Champions

1. Capt. Garrett Miller, Arkansas National Guard - 2,078-72X
2. Sgt. Maxim Nickerson, Vermont National Guard - 2,029-39X
3. Staff Sgt. Sean Morris, U.S. Army Reserves - 2,026-38X

Open Class All Army Overall Champions

1. Sgt. Shane Davis, Colorado National Guard - 2,015-52X
2. Staff Sgt. John Jordan, South Carolina National Guard - 1,971-36X
3. Sgt. 1st Class Jordan Pratt, U.S. Army - 1,918-312X

Novice Class All Army Overall Champions

1. Sgt. Marshall Hodge, Alabama National Guard - 1,927-46X
2. Maj. Grant Urick, U.S. Army - 1,910-38X
3. Staff Sgt. John Staats, Arkansas National Guard - 1,894-36X

Col. Ralph Puckett Award for Top Novice Excellence in Competition Aggregate winner

Maj. Grant Urick, U.S. Army - 1,000-19X

Rifle Team Champions

1. Arkansas Bravo - 2,145-16X
Tech. Sgt. Ryan Weng, Staff Sgt. Patrick Abeyta, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Capps, Maj. Seth Connell, and coach Tech. Sgt. Scotty Daniel
2. Arkansas Alpha - 2,118-27X Staff Sgt. John Staats, Capt. Garrett Miller, Master Sgt. Matthew Smith, Tech. Sgt. Scotty Daniel, and coach, Tech. Sgt. Ryan Weng
3. Colorado National Guard - 2,046-20X Staff Sgt. Micah Fulmer, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Catlin, Sgt. Austin Norcross, Sgt. Shane Davis, and coach, Sgt. 1st Class Devin Sager

Rifle Individual Champions

1. Capt. Garrett Miller, Arkansas National Guard - 988-24X
2. Staff Sgt. Brandon Swanson, Wisconsin National Guard - 975-23X
3. Sgt. Maxim Nickerson, Vermont National Guard - 938-9X

Pistol Team Champions

1. Arkansas Alpha - 1,514-87X Staff Sgt. John Staats, Capt. Garrett Miller, Master Sgt. Matthew Smith, Tech. Sgt. Scotty Daniel, and coach, Tech. Sgt. Ryan Weng
2. Colorado National Guard - 1,484-58X Staff Sgt. Micah Fulmer, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Catlin, Sgt. Austin Norcross, Sgt. Shane Davis, and coach, Sgt. 1st Class Devin Sager
3. Kentucky Alpha - 1,459-61X Master Sgt. Edwin Garcia, Sgt. 1st Class Edward Cole, Master Sgt. Michael Dement, 1st Lt. Timothy Wang

Pistol Individual Champions

1. Capt. Garrett Miller, Arkansas National Guard - 796-47X
2. Sgt. Shane Davis, Colorado National Guard - 794-34X
3. Staff Sgt. Sean Morris, U.S. Army Reserves - 787-29X

Multi-gun Team Champions

1. Colorado National Guard - 1,330 Staff Sgt. Micah Fulmer, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Catlin, Sgt. Austin Norcross, Sgt. Shane Davis, and Coach, Sgt. 1st Class Devin Sager
2. Arkansas Alpha - 1,222 Staff Sgt. John Staats, Capt. Garrett Miller, Master Sgt. Matthew Smith, Tech. Sgt. Scotty Daniel, and coach, Tech. Sgt. Ryan Weng
3. USARAK / I Corps - 1,189 Sgt. Brandyn Banville, Staff Sgt. Logan Frost, Staff Sgt. Joseph Donoghue, Sgt. Ethan Hopkins

Multi-gun individual Champions

1. Sgt. Brandyn Banville, U.S. Army - 354
2. Sgt. Maxim Nickerson, Vermont National Guard - 351
3. Sgt. Marshall Hodge, Alabama National Guard - 349

**Note: The National Guard did not participate in the drill sergeant or cadet classifications.

The National Guard Marksmanship Training Center (NGMTC) in North Little Rock, Arkansas, is the National Guard Bureau's center for managing marksmanship training courses and competitive marksmanship programs with the intent to advance small arms lethality, demonstrate National Guard marksmanship capability, and enhance marksmanship effectiveness in combat. NGMTC is headquarters for the "All Guard" competitive shooting teams: service rifle, service pistol, multi-gun, and international combat teams. The NGMTC is also home of the annual Winston P. Wilson National Championships, where Guardsmen may earn the NGB Chief's 50 Marksmanship Badge.