US Shooting Team wins CISM Medals
By Paula J. Randall Pagán
U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit
Accessions Support Brigade
FORT BENNING, Ga. - Six shooters from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, representing the United States, brought home two Gold Medals and two Bronze Medals from the 40th Conseil International du Sport Militaire in Thun, Switzerland, Oct. 9 to 16. Team USA competed against hundreds of shooters from 43 countries around the world in the World's Military Shooting Championships.
USAMU international rifle shooter Sgt. 1st Class Jason A. Parker won the Gold Medal and World Military Championship and set a CISM Military World Record in the Men's 300-Meter Three Position Standard Rifle competition; Austria and Finland took the Silver and Bronze Medals.
Staff Sgt. Keith A. Sanderson took the Gold Medal and World Military Championship in the Men's Military Rapid Fire Pistol match; China got the Silver and Bronze.
The U.S. Team of Parker, Lt. Col. Robert E. Harbison and Sgt. Shane M. Barnhart received the Bronze Medal in the Standard Fire Rifle Team Match behind Austria and Norway. The U.S. Team of Sanderson, Sgt. 1 st Class Daryl L. Szarenski and Staff Sgt. John C. Ennis got the Bronze Medal in the Rapid Fire Pistol Team Match after China and Russia.
"Parker's and Sanderson's Gold Medals are great performances on glide slope for the Olympics," said USAMU Commander and CISM Chief of Mission Lt. Col. David J. Liwanag.
Nine military personnel from the Army, Army Reserve and Navy Reserve represented the United States at CISM. The CISM World Military Shooting Championship featured seven shooters from the Army Marksmanship Unit, one from the Army Reserve and one from the Navy Reserve.
The U.S. Team shooters were: Men's Pistol Team - Szarenski, Ennis and Sanderson of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit; Women's Pistol Team - Staff Sgt. Janet Sokolowski of the Army Marksmanship Unit, Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Callahan of the Army Reserve and Petty Officer 2 nd Class Sandra Uptagrafft of the Navy Reserve; Men's Rifle Team - Harbison, Parker and Barnhart of the Army Marksmanship Unit; Women's Rifle Team - None.
The CISM Shooting Championships consisted of men's and women's rifle and pistol competitions. The rifle shooters competed with standard rifles at 300-meters in the prone, kneeling and standing positions in both rapid and slow fire matches. The pistol team competed in the Center Fire and Military Rapid Fire Championships.
Only the men's teams' scores counted in the overall "Best Nation" awards; the women's teams competed for their own individual and team awards. This year, Russia won the Overall Best Nation Award with the USA a close second and Norway taking third.
The U.S. Men's Rifle Team competed against 30 other teams; 99 shooters competed individually. The U.S. Men's Pistol Team competed against 33 other teams; 108 pistol shooters competed individually. Forty-nine women and 14 female teams competed in the rifle events and 61 women competed in the pistol events.
US Shooting Team Competing in CISM
U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit
Accessions Support Brigade
FORT BENNING, Ga. - Nine military personnel from the Army, Army Reserve and Navy Reserve will represent the United States at the 40 th Conseil International du Sport Militaire Oct. 9-20 in Thun, Switzerland. The CISM World Military Shooting Championship - also known as the Military World Games - features seven shooters from the Army Marksmanship Unit, one from the Army Reserve and one from the Navy Reserve.
The U.S. Team shooters are:
Men's Rifle Team - Lt. Col. Robert E. Harbison, Sgt. 1 st Class Jason A. Parker and Sgt. Shane M. Barnhart of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit.
Women's Rifle Team - None.
Men's Pistol Team - Sgt. 1 st Class Daryl L. Szarenski, Staff Sgt. John C. Ennis and Staff Sgt. Keith A. Sanderson of the Army Marksmanship Unit.
Women's Pistol Team - Staff Sgt. Janet Sokolowski of the Army Marksmanship Unit, Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Callahan of the Army Reserve and Petty Officer 2 nd Class Sandra Uptagrafft of the Navy Reserve.
The CISM Shooting Championships consists of men's and women's rifle and pistol competitions. The rifle shooters compete with standard rifles at 300-meters in the prone, kneeling and standing positions in both rapid and slow fire matches. The pistol team will compete in the Center Fire and Military Rapid Fire Championships.
Approximately 50 countries send about 650 shooters to compete for the World Military Shooting Championship Trophy. The USA's strongest competitors include Russia, France, Switzerland and Scandinavia.
(Formed in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to raise the standards of marksmanship throughout the U.S. Army , the Army Marksmanship Unit is assigned to the Accessions Support Brigade of Fort Knox, Ky., which is under U.S. Army Accessions Command, of Fort Monroe, Va. Accessions Command is charged with overseeing recruiting and training of the Army's enlisted Soldiers and officers. The Marksmanship Unit trains its Soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development. The world-class Soldier-athletes of the USAMU also promote the Army and assist recruiters in attracting young Americans to enlist in the Army. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, paula.pagan@usarec.army.mil or http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/amu/ .)