Courtesy Photo | From left to right: SPC Cory Padilla, SFC Will Waldron, SGT Devon Showell and SPC Noah...... read more read more
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Several Guard members from 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment took part in the 53rd annual Winston P. Wilson (WPW) Rifle and Pistol Championship and the 33rd Armed Forces Skill at Arms Meeting (AFSAM) Small Arms Championships, April 28 to May 3, 2024, at Robinson Maneuver Training Center, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
The WPW and AFSAM championships involve competitors demonstrating their proficiency in rifle, pistol, machine gun and combined arms disciplines.
“When it comes to individual soldier tasks, marksmanship is at the top. It is the foundation for all that we do as warfighters (shoot, move, communicate). Being an expert in the field of marksmanship enhances lethality, discipline, and resilience. The goal of the marksmanship program is to create an environment, through practice and competition, that enhances soldier skills as well as leadership through the ability to train soldiers at the unit level,” said SFC William Waldron, readiness non-commissioned officer, Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment and team captain for the team.
The objective of the training event is to promote the growth and development of state level marksmanship training, as well as evaluate individual and collective tasks pertaining to that training.
Waldron, joined by Sgt. Devon Showell, SPC Cory Padilla and SPC Noah Franquez, made up a highly skilled team from Washington. Showell and Franquez are both law enforcement officers who receive training outside the Guard. And Padilla, a Seattle firefighter with 13 years in the Guard, brought a wealth of both military and civilian experience.
“Most teams that do well have shooters that compete in the All-Army competition or are on the National Guard Marksmanship team that compete throughout the year in many military and civilian competitions,” said Waldron.
While the Washington Army National Guard team didn’t see the results they were hoping for at this year’s competition, the team learned some incredible lessons for the future.
"To be competitive in the WPW the state’s team would need to have dedicated training/range time with the actual weapons they will fire at the competition. The soldiers on this year’s team do a lot of shooting on personal time, but it is hard to replicate the courses of fire,” said Waldron. “Next year the goal would be to conduct train-up as well as compete in the MAC regional competition prior to the WPW. Ideally we would be able to conduct a match to bring soldiers in and get an idea of what the competition would be like, as well as develop a process for selecting a team to attend the WPW.”
| Date Taken: | 05.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.07.2024 15:33 |
| Story ID: | 470570 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 198 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Guardsmen take lessons from Winston P. Wilson Competition, by Joseph Siemandel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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