Airman compete for top shot

  • Published
  • By Airman Daniel Brosam
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  An Excellence in Competition Marksman Event was held at the base firing range Sept. 28-29 at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.

The event was open to all military personnel on base, as well as members from the Montana Air National Guard, and is designed to highlight the best shooting talent in the local military. The top 10 percent of shooters will earn a Marksman Medal they are authorized to wear on their uniforms, in addition to bragging rights.

The competition allowed shooters a chance to relieve stress and have fun, as well as to help sharpen the Airman's aim with the M-9 pistol. Airmen of all ranks came to compete, from airman basic to colonel, each of which showed competitiveness and a want to win.

The shooting competition began with a briefing on weapon safety and an explanation of how the firing range is operated. Goggles and hearing protection were given to the shooters to protect them during the competition.

Standing at the podium was Tech. Sgt. Rayce Schneider, 341st Security Support Squadron NCO in charge of combat arms, who gave safety tips and instructions on how the competition would be conducted.

Schneider said he was pleased with the various amount of people and skill that came out to compete.

"We had a lot of diversity as far as squadrons go," said Schneider. "A lot of people from across the base were laughing, joking and smiling. Just sitting up here you see a lot of camaraderie."

Each Airman was given three magazines, 10 bullets in each magazine, to fire from 25 meters away. The Airmen soon saw the competition would not be any old shooting game.

The event had three rounds consisting of a timed one handed, two handed, and two count shoot. The time allotted for each round ranged from four seconds to two minutes.

At the end of each round, Schneider gave the go ahead to check one other competitor's target to count up points. Points ranged from zero to 10, with nothing below 7 points counting. The maximum number of points was 300 if a 10 was hit each time.

At the end of the competition, points were tallied up with a grand total. If the total was anywhere between 200 and 300, the chances of obtaining the medal was greater.

Senior Airman Brandyn Neuhaus, 341st SSPTS training instructor, said it was nice to have the opportunity to get the medal, even though he probably didn't.

"It was fun and it was something different, "said Neuhaus. "One of the other guys had a medal already and he said he hasn't done this since 1999."

Neuhaus said he would definitely do it again next year, but next time, he would practice a little bit more.