thedrifter
02-08-09, 07:10 AM
ENDLETONCUP RIFLEANDPISTOLCHALLENGE
WFTBn.’s top squad proves its marksmanship skills at event
In all, 59 Marines come out to participateIf there’s one thing a Marine takes pride in, it’s his marksmanship. That’s because Marines are trained, starting in boot camp, to blast their targets with pin-point accuracy.
Some just become a little bit better at it than others. At least the Marines from Weapons and Field Training Battalion’s top intramural team proved to be over the last couple weeks of the Pendleton Cup Rifle and Pistol Challenge, which was held at the Horno Rifle Range.
The two-week competition closed out with an awards ceremony Friday and WFTBn.’s first-place finishing squad — which consisted of Oscar Nunez, Elvis Reyes, Benjamin Andrews and Rudy Ramirez — was there to collect its first-place prize after edging out the respective second- and third-place finishing units from Amphibious Assault Battalion and Marine Air Logistics Squadron 39.
“(Marksmanship) is what we would call our religion as Marines,” said Nunez, the team captain for WFTBn. “It’s what keeps us alive and makes us successful in battle and in the Combat Arms Program.”
While WFTBn. swept the team awards, there were three different individual marksmanship winners. First-place honors went to 1st Marine Division’s Paul Gage (rifle), Marine Air Logistic Squadron 39’s Jeff Horner (pistol), and 11th Marines’ Cameron Mackenzie (combined aggregate).
Mackenzie placed ninth in the rifle event and second in pistol, for a tournament-best 1,000 points out of 1,200 possible. After the event, Mackenzie said he couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised by his success, considering it was the first time he’d ever pulled a pistol’s trigger.
“We had really good instruction out here in the tournament,” he said. “Before this competition started I had never (even) fired a pistol.”
Another division for competition was the Gunners Award, which was the most challenging category for the competitors and ultimately went to 1st Marine Division’s “Team A,” which was coached by Trevor Hengehold.
“It’s a much more accurate representation of what Marines might see in combat,” Hengehold said of his squad’s impressive performance in the challenge.
The Gunners’ division tested teams of four, dressed in battle gear, to carry a full, five gallon can of water, as well as weapons, ammunition and a teammate on a stretcher — to varying distances, where there marksmanship was gauged against a running clock.
“It’s stressful because you have very short time limits and everyone is running, trying to get set-up to fire and hit targets before time expires,” said Hengehold.
The event was held in preparation for the Division matches, which are scheduled March 2-20 at Wilcox Range. At that event, shooters from all over Marine Corps Installations West will attend, making the Pendleton Cup event beneficial for practice, according to event organizer Raymond Browne. In all, 59 Marines from nine different units were on hand, firing more than 16,000 rounds down range in an effort to win the event’s competitions.
“The competition was tremendous,” Browne said. “... We hold the intramural tournament to help promote marksmanship and a lot of the units use the venue to train their guys in preparation for the Division match. ... It gives them an opportunity to field their team and see who they want to take.”
in event that serves as
prep for upcoming
Division Games
Ellie
WFTBn.’s top squad proves its marksmanship skills at event
In all, 59 Marines come out to participateIf there’s one thing a Marine takes pride in, it’s his marksmanship. That’s because Marines are trained, starting in boot camp, to blast their targets with pin-point accuracy.
Some just become a little bit better at it than others. At least the Marines from Weapons and Field Training Battalion’s top intramural team proved to be over the last couple weeks of the Pendleton Cup Rifle and Pistol Challenge, which was held at the Horno Rifle Range.
The two-week competition closed out with an awards ceremony Friday and WFTBn.’s first-place finishing squad — which consisted of Oscar Nunez, Elvis Reyes, Benjamin Andrews and Rudy Ramirez — was there to collect its first-place prize after edging out the respective second- and third-place finishing units from Amphibious Assault Battalion and Marine Air Logistics Squadron 39.
“(Marksmanship) is what we would call our religion as Marines,” said Nunez, the team captain for WFTBn. “It’s what keeps us alive and makes us successful in battle and in the Combat Arms Program.”
While WFTBn. swept the team awards, there were three different individual marksmanship winners. First-place honors went to 1st Marine Division’s Paul Gage (rifle), Marine Air Logistic Squadron 39’s Jeff Horner (pistol), and 11th Marines’ Cameron Mackenzie (combined aggregate).
Mackenzie placed ninth in the rifle event and second in pistol, for a tournament-best 1,000 points out of 1,200 possible. After the event, Mackenzie said he couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised by his success, considering it was the first time he’d ever pulled a pistol’s trigger.
“We had really good instruction out here in the tournament,” he said. “Before this competition started I had never (even) fired a pistol.”
Another division for competition was the Gunners Award, which was the most challenging category for the competitors and ultimately went to 1st Marine Division’s “Team A,” which was coached by Trevor Hengehold.
“It’s a much more accurate representation of what Marines might see in combat,” Hengehold said of his squad’s impressive performance in the challenge.
The Gunners’ division tested teams of four, dressed in battle gear, to carry a full, five gallon can of water, as well as weapons, ammunition and a teammate on a stretcher — to varying distances, where there marksmanship was gauged against a running clock.
“It’s stressful because you have very short time limits and everyone is running, trying to get set-up to fire and hit targets before time expires,” said Hengehold.
The event was held in preparation for the Division matches, which are scheduled March 2-20 at Wilcox Range. At that event, shooters from all over Marine Corps Installations West will attend, making the Pendleton Cup event beneficial for practice, according to event organizer Raymond Browne. In all, 59 Marines from nine different units were on hand, firing more than 16,000 rounds down range in an effort to win the event’s competitions.
“The competition was tremendous,” Browne said. “... We hold the intramural tournament to help promote marksmanship and a lot of the units use the venue to train their guys in preparation for the Division match. ... It gives them an opportunity to field their team and see who they want to take.”
in event that serves as
prep for upcoming
Division Games
Ellie