Courtesy Photo | A U.S. Army Chemical Corps officer led the 3rd Infantry Division Marksmanship Team to...... read more read more
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FORT BENNING, Ga. – A U.S. Army Chemical Corps officer led the 3rd Infantry Division Marksmanship Team to first place among the four XVIII Airborne Corps division teams during the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Small Arms Championship on Fort Benning, Georgia.
1st Lt. Brian M. O’Leary, the executive officer for the 25th Chemical Company (Technical Escort), coached the 3rd Infantry Division team during the marksmanship competition.
O’Leary also placed 12th out of 100 in the combat rifle match.
“To prepare for the championship, we selected the team by executing a series of qualification matches at the division and corps levels,” said O’Leary.
“After selecting the team, we attended a three-week training camp with XVIII Airborne Corps and all its subordinate divisions (82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 10th Mountain Division and 3rd Infantry Division),” said O’Leary. “This gave us a chance to dial in our equipment and learn the match courses of fire.”
O’Leary said he learned to shoot when he was growing up in Zionsville, Indiana, but didn’t start shooting regularly until he joined the Purdue University Army ROTC Shooting Club. He was later recruited by the Purdue Precision Pistol Team.
“During my four years on the team, I served as coach and captain of the team and qualified to shoot at the 2018 and 2019 Intercollegiate Pistol Championships,” said O’Leary, who earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering technology and philosophy from Purdue University.
In addition to his focus on marksmanship, O’Leary has also excelled in physical fitness challenges. He hosted two Norwegian Foot Marches on Fort Stewart.
During the Norwegian Foot March, the marchers must complete an 18.6-mile march in less than six hours, with times varying based on gender and age groups, while carrying 24.4 pounds of dry weight in a rucksack or backpack.
To earn the Norwegian Foot March qualification badge, the marchers also must work a full day following the early hours march.
“This is the second Norwegian Foot March I’ve hosted on Fort Stewart,” said O’Leary. “Last year, we hosted 98 participants; this year it was closer to 150. It’s a great opportunity to get Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Soldiers in the same room as maneuver Soldiers, to build connections and develop training relationships.”
In December 2023, O’Leary also took first place in the ruck division of the 10-kilometer Enmarket Savannah Bridge Run in Savannah, Georgia.
He finished 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher during the race that went through historic downtown Savannah and across a steep bridge. He competed against 67 other athletes in the ruck division of the race.
Before becoming an Army officer, O’Leary had already learned the importance of grit, tenacity and determination from firsthand experience.
A few years before commissioning, O’Leary broke his neck in an accident during an interstate cycling trip. He said the long road to recovery was a tremendous setback.
“Once I got clear of the restrictions the injuries brought, I attacked fitness with a new resolve; understanding how fragile life is has given me a new dedication to be as strong and as capable as I can,” said O’Leary. “Not long after the end of my recovery, I rucked my first 30 miler.”
O’Leary said success in both marksmanship and physical fitness takes hard work.
“Balancing physical fitness with the training was tough – I’m training for a school right now, and getting out to PT after a cold day of shooting wasn’t always fun,” said O’Leary. “Still, being strong and having good mind-muscle connection are both critical in shooting. To be successful, it's important to work just as hard off the range as you do on it.”
The Fort Stewart, Georgia-based 25th CBRNE Company (Technical Escort) “Sentinels” are part of the 83rd Chemical Battalion, 48th Chemical Brigade and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. Department of Defense’s premier multifunctional and deployable CBRNE formation.
From 19 bases in 16 states, Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command conduct lifesaving and mission-enabling operations while taking on the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of combat units and domestic authorities.
U.S. Army Chemical Corps units like the 25th Chemical Company enable combat maneuver forces to close with and destroy the enemy.
The 25th Chemical Company tackles a variety of challenging missions, including initial sampling, limited decontamination, packaging, escorting, detection, munitions assessment, explosive threat mitigation and contaminated sensitive site exploitation.
“My sole reason for existence as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Soldier is to integrate into the maneuver force and utilize my technical skills to enable their mission objectives. If I am not able to move, apply effective fire, and transmit information, I become a liability instead of a force multiplier. Without those three basic skills, I can’t even get to the X to start the technical part of my job,” said O’Leary.
“No maneuver team wants to take a guy who can’t hold their own onto the target,” he added. “If I can’t keep up both physically and tactically with the team, then the trust I need to do my job can’t exist. As a leader in the CBRN force, realizing this truth is critical.”
O’Leary said that being an exceptional marksman takes a mix of talent, dedication and good instruction.
“I didn’t come in with a natural knack for shooting, so my success is largely the result of intensive training and talented coaching from the folks I’ve shot with along the way,” he said.
The key to success in marksmanship is to participate in competitions, said O’Leary.
“It does not matter what your skill level is: the absolute most effective way to get better is to attend a match,” he said. “Matches will expose you to knowledgeable shooters and give you invaluable experience - far beyond what you'll accomplish by burning rounds on the weekends.”
O’Leary also encouraged Soldiers to always focus on the next shot.
“The biggest key to success that I’ve learned is one that I picked up from a guest coach from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit: ‘Your next shot can always be a 10,’” said O’Leary. “Regardless of what you’re doing, never let a mistake in the past cause you to doubt your ability on the task at hand.”
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2025 15:19 |
| Story ID: | 496116 |
| Location: | FORT BENNING, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | ZIONSVILLE, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 224 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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