Drill Sergeants, Rangers Lead the Way in MCoE

While Soldiers and officers from every corner of post here competed, drill sergeants, Rangers and cadets took home the hardware at the 2012 Maneuver Center of Excellence Combat Rifle and Pistol Championship.Soldiers from the MCoE Band, Armor School, Martin Army Hospital, Conus Replacement Center and all across Fort Benning competed in the matches, one of the only Army posts to host their very own marksmanship championship prior to the U.S. Army Small Arms Championship.

The pistol matches kicked things off Feb. 15-16 at Parks Range, one of the ranges of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s Service Pistol section, host of the championship. After receiving a small arms firing tutorial from USAMU Soldiers, competitors toed the firing line with M9 pistols and got things going.

In the first match, Staff Sgt. Matthew Martini, 75th Ranger Regiment, took first place after scoring a 180-12x. Two fellow Rangers, Staff Sgt. Kyle McMaster and 1st Sgt. Robert Phipps, were right behind Martini with scores of 178-13x and 177-12x, respectively.

The coveted Excellence in Competition match followed and was won by Sgt. 1st Class Jason St. John, 75th Rangers. St. John fired a 185-11x to blitz the field. North Georgia College and State University cadet James Webb shot a 179-4x for second and McMaster and Phipps scored identical 177-11x’ to tie for third.

The final individual match went to Webb, who shot a 182-12x. McMaster shot a 173-12x for second and Staff Sgt. Matthew Jackson fired a 167-11x to round out the top three. Two team matches were also competed and Rangers won both. The team of St. John, McMaster, Martini and Phipps swept the field to claim both matches.

With all scored calculated, it was time to announce the overall pistol champions. The team championship was a no-brainer as the Ranger team won the title. The individual champion was a little closer. McMaster claimed the MCoE Pistol Championship, finishing just ahead of Webb and Martini to give the 75th Ranger Regt. a clean sweep in pistol.

Competitors moved on to the USAMU’s Easley Range Feb. 23-24, home of the current National and Interservice Champion Service Rifle team, to compete in the rifle championship. The Commanding General’s rifle match started things off. Staff Sgt. Marty Holland, a drill sergeant with 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regt., scored the high total after knocking down 157-2x targets. He was followed by Cadet Karl Knowton, NGCSU, and Webb.

Unlike in pistol, one match was shot to crown the overall team champions and the cadets came ready to pounce on the competition. NGCSU cadets Webb, Knowton, Weston Lee and Alan Denis shot a 501-6x, winning by more than 62 targets over the second place team of drill sergeants from 2-19 Inf. It is the second consecutive year a team from NGCSU won the team championship.

Under threatening skies, the EIC rifle match was held to conclude this year’s championship. Staff Sgt. Adam Sokolowski, an ammunition specialist at the USAMU, had the high score. Six shooters earned the bronze EIC badge, a high honor and eligible for wear on the Army uniform. Those earning the badge were: Sokolowski; Holland; Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Bare, NGCSU; Staff Sgt. Christopher Dyer, A Company, 2-54 Inf.; Staff Sgt. Lawrence Cox, 2-19 Inf.; and Staff Sgt. Russell Worden, 2-19 Inf. Regt.

The last thing to do was crown the MCoE Combat Rifle Champion and the honor went to Holland. Fellow drill sergeant Worden came in second and Bare finished in third place.

The U.S. Army Small Arms Championships will be held March 2-10 on Fort Benning. Matches will consist of pistol, rifle and combined arms. More than 330 competitors have entered the field, including Soldiers from Europe, Hawaii and Alaska.