South Dakota
SD team takes 3rd place at Army National Small Arms Competition
CAMP ROBINSON, AR. (KOTA) – Four South Dakota Army National Guard Soldiers and one South Dakota Air National Guard Airman participated in the 52nd Winston P. Wilson (WPW) National Small Arms Championship, hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center, on Camp Robinson, AR, April 30 through May 5.
South Dakota team members included the following: 1st Sgt. Clint Sandness, Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Heier, Staff Sgt. Thomas Carpenter, Tech Sgt. Trevor Dietrich and Sgt 1st Class Grant Serna. This team earned third place in the all-state championship.
“This was probably the toughest shooting environment I’ve competed in yet,” said Heier, “20 MPH winds and gusts, combined with the hot weather and new matches that we’ve never done before made the conditions difficult.”
The National Guard Marksmanship Training Center hosts the WPW annually to promote marksmanship training and test weaponry systems. Building trust is crucial when coaching professional shooters.
“We’ve all grown together to become the top marksman in S.D. and being able to compete on the Alpha team allowed us to show how the program really works in developing marksmen and how everyone fills their roles within the team,” said Heier.
The team achieved first place at the MAC VI Regional Marksmanship Competition, earning them the opportunity to participate in the All Army Matches with active, reserve, and guard components, competing against each other in a single arena. The SDNG represented S.D. after a decade and secured a respectable 10th position out of 56 teams in the All-Army Match competition held at Ft. Benning, G.A.
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