An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | March 19, 2025

National Guard is Marksmanship Champ for 10th Straight Year

By Capt. Janice Rintz, National Guard Marksmanship Training Center

FORT BENNING, Ga. – The Alabama National Guard’s Alabama Alpha team outscored 45 other teams to claim the 2025 U.S. Army Small Arms Championships held March 9-15 at Fort Benning.

After firing more than 500 rounds across 11 matches, Alabama Alpha scored an aggregate 4401-60x. Scores from the rifle, pistol and multi-gun matches determined the overall champions. It was the 10th consecutive year a National Guard team has won the championship.

Alabama Alpha team members Sgt. Maj. Stephen Murchison (coach), Master Sgt. Joseph Spradlin, Sgt. Gavin Blackwood and Spc. Cameron Drake competed against more than 200 marksmen from across the Army, including Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard units and ROTC cadets.

“Winning All Army showcases the Guard’s ability to compete and excel alongside Active Duty and Reserve forces at the highest level,” said Murchison.

The Alabama National Guard also claimed the title of Rifle Team Champion.

Not far behind the Alabama Alpha, the Michigan Blue of the Michigan National Guard placed 3rd overall in the U.S. Army Small Arms Team Championship.

The U.S. Army Small Arms Championship is a week-long, live-fire training event known as All Army. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit hosts this annual event at the Maneuver Center of Excellence in Fort Benning. The event culminated in the multi-gun match, a high-paced challenge testing competitors’ ability to engage targets with rifles and pistols under dynamic conditions.

“The All Army brings together experienced and new shooters from all COMPOs (components), providing a chance to share knowledge and refine marksmanship skills to enhance both Soldiers and their units,” Murchison said.

“The more I learn from shooters across the Army, the more I can bring back to my Soldiers, my home unit and my entire state,” said Staff Sgt. Hunter McDowell of the Michigan National Guard.

Twelve National Guard teams from Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Michigan (two teams), New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Vermont competed in service rifle, pistol and multi-gun matches.

National Guard teams and individuals brought home 16 of 33 top awards, finishing first in six of 11 categories.

The training platform used by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center has been tested and proven to remain focused on precision through lethality. NGMTC aims to produce humble competitors who can teach others the value of marksmanship. 

Established in 1968, the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center on Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas, serves all 54 states and territories.  

 

 

Related Articles
Air Force Gen. Steven Nordhaus, left, the 30th chief of the National Guard Bureau, hosts a change of responsibility ceremony for the senior enlisted advisor to the chief, NGB, Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall, Arlington, Virginia, Nov. 8, 2024. Incoming SEA John T. Raines, assumed the duties and responsibilities as the seventh senior enlisted advisor to the chief and the first Army leader to wear the distinctive rank insignia of the SEA.
Raines Assumes Role as National Guard’s Top Enlisted Leader
By Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Pena, | Nov. 8, 2024
ARLINGTON, Va. - The National Guard bid farewell to its top enlisted leader, Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony Whitehead, after 42 years of military service and welcomed SEA John T. Raines III as the new senior enlisted advisor to...

Soldiers with the Florida Army National Guard’s 1-111th General Support Aviation Regiment worked alongside members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue Team to conduct emergency response operations after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida.
National Guard Rescues Hundreds of People in Wake of Hurricane
By National Guard Bureau | Oct. 3, 2024
ARLINGTON, Va. - More than 6,300 National Guard members from a dozen states rescued hundreds of people and cleared roads across the Southeast in the wake of Hurricane Helene.As of Sunday, Guardsmen in 18 states are responding...

The Alabama National Guard's Lethality Group poses for a picture Sept. 8, 2024, at Clarke Range after hosting the All Guard Marksmanship Team tryouts. The Guardsmen who make the team will be trained at the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Photo has been cropped and color-corrected to enhance detail.)
Alabama Guard Hosts All Guard Marksmanship Team Tryouts
By Sgt. Adena McCluskey, | Sept. 18, 2024
ANNISTON, Ala. – Eighteen National Guardsmen from across the country competed in the All Guard Marksmanship Team tryouts hosted by the Alabama National Guard’s Lethality Group at Fort McClellan Training Center’s Clarke Range...