RAYMOND REES NATIONAL GUARD TRAINING CENTER, Ore. – The crack of precision rifles echoed across the high desert as Oregon's best sniper teams gathered for an unprecedented competition designed to elevate the state's long-range marksmanship capabilities to national standards.
The inaugural Oregon State Sniper Qualifier, held Sept. 4-6 at Raymond Rees National Guard Training Center and Boardman Training Area, marked a historic first for the Oregon National Guard – a comprehensive, multi-stage event specifically designed to prepare local sniper teams for national-level competition.
"What we're trying to accomplish out here is really for the Oregon sniper teams around the state," said Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Graham, section sergeant and course manager for the 11B Military Occupational Specialty Qualification and Infantry Training Course at the 249th Regional Training Institute, or RTI. "We're trying to create a competition and a program of training that prepares them for competition at higher levels."
The competition represents a significant departure from traditional Army range training. Rather than focusing solely on marksmanship accuracy, the event challenges participants with complex problem-solving scenarios that mirror real-world sniper operations.
"This is more traditional sniper style training and stages and format that you could expect to see at the next level," Graham said. "It's more than just shooting expert. It's thinking outside the box. It's problem-solving. It's working with limited information, making timely and correct decisions."
The stakes are high – the winning team earns the coveted slot to represent Oregon at the prestigious Winston P. Wilson Sniper competition, a stepping stone to potential participation in the International Sniper Competition.
The competition's origins can be traced back to Oregon's competitive history at national events. According to Sgt. 1st Class Robert Gillam, branch chief for the Infantry Training Battalion at the 249th RTI, Oregon teams have consistently performed well, including a fourth-place finish at Winston P. Wilson that barely missed qualifying for the International Sniper Competition.
"We had a shot at winning the International Sniper Comp, because the guys who won, we had beaten before in competitions," Gillam said.
However, inconsistent team selection processes in subsequent years motivated RTI leadership to establish a fair, standardized competition to identify Oregon's best representatives.
"We kind of wanted to start our own," Gillam said. "The main effort was to make a fair chance for all the snipers in Oregon to have a shot to see who would represent Oregon the best."
The competition's design challenges participants to push beyond their comfort zones. One featured stage at Boardman Training Area required teams to complete a grueling sequence within an unforgiving 18-minute time limit.
Competitors began with a 300-meter movement carrying full equipment, arriving at an unknown firing position where they had to quickly identify targets, engage a target string, advance to elevated positions for additional target engagement and return to their starting point – all while managing time, breathing and decision-making under pressure.
"If they don't hit the time limit, they don't retain any points from the exercise," Graham said. "So it's a zero for them. If they make it back in the time limit, regardless of how many targets they've engaged, then they acquire some amount of points."
The three-day competition featured nine total stages, including precision rifle stages, movement scenarios and culminating events designed to test every aspect of a sniper team's capabilities.
The competition's creation story is one of determination and resourcefulness. Gillam said the event was planned and executed in just three months, from June to September, after finally receiving approval following the successful Adjutant General's match earlier in the year.
"I had from June to now to plan the whole thing," Gillam said. "So next year I'll be able actually to have a whole year."
The compressed timeline forced creative solutions. Range limitations initially restricted portions of the event to the Boardman machine gun range, rather than the expansive multi-range competition originally envisioned. The team made it work through collaboration with the Oregon Training Center and careful adherence to approved Standard Training Zone parameters.
One innovation that caught the shooting community's attention was the use of Impact Scoring, a mobile application typically used for civilian precision shooting competitions. The technology enabled organizers to manage competitor information, send documents and automatically calculate scores without the need for paperwork.
"Soon as that got posted, everybody, all the sniper communities, three gun community, pistol community, was like, 'Hey, what are you guys doing? We want in,'" Gillam said.
The technological integration helped the relatively small Oregon event gain recognition across multiple shooting disciplines.
The competition benefits from the 249th RTI's unique collection of qualified instructors. Many cadre members are Bravo 4 sniper-qualified and have competed at national levels in both military and civilian competitions. This expertise ensures that participants receive training that directly translates to higher-level competition requirements.
"Our instructors, the cadre out here at the RTI, many of them are Bravo 4 sniper qualified and many of them have competed at the national stage," Graham said. "This is a moment and a program that we're building to give back to the units, to give back to the younger generation."
The competition's success has generated significant interest beyond Oregon's borders. Gillam said Special Forces units from the 1st and 10th Groups, Washington State teams and multiple law enforcement agencies have expressed interest in participating in future events.
"Every surrounding law enforcement agency wants to be part of it," he said. "We're going to open up to kind of regional and then have multiple classes next year."
Plans for the 2026 competition are already underway, with organizers working to secure additional training areas at Boardman and expand the event's scope. The goal is to establish a lasting annual program that not only identifies Oregon's top sniper teams but also raises the overall standard of precision marksmanship training throughout the region.
Beyond the competitive aspect, the program serves a broader strategic purpose in developing what Graham describes as "asymmetric tools for commanders to use."
"Snipers are an asymmetric tool for commanders to use, and they should think that way," Graham said. "This is exposing them to that here. Now it's good training."
The competition represents more than marksmanship training – it's about developing decision-makers and problem-solvers who can operate effectively with limited information under time pressure, skills increasingly valuable in modern military operations.
As Oregon's sniper teams prepare for next year's expanded competition, they're not just competing for bragging rights or advancement opportunities. They're participating in the development of a program designed to ensure Oregon maintains its competitive edge in precision marksmanship while contributing to the broader evolution of sniper training and tactics.