Army Marksmanship Unit Shows Educators Different Side Of Army
(January 13, 2011) | 
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SAN ANTONIO (ANS - Jan. 10, 2011) -- The Army Marksmanship Unit hit
a bullseye with educators and business leaders from around the
United States Jan. 6-7, at the San Antonio Gun Club.
The
world-class competitive-shooting Soldiers provided shotgun
instruction, performed a trick-shooting demonstration, and hosted a
shooting competition for dozens of the 87 distinguished guests of
U.S. Army Accessions Command here for the Army's All-American Bowl
game, Jan. 8.
"As I heard some of the people say during
introductions this morning, a lot of people don't realize the Army
even has a shooting team," said Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Holguin, a
double trap shooter who was the 2009 World Championships silver
medalist and 2008 Olympian. "To be able to get to know |
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Sgt. Vincent Hancock of the Army Marksmanship Unit assists Hunter Crandall, of Cisco Systems U.S. Federal Organization, in skeet shooting at the San Antonio Gun Club, Jan. 6,
2011. Crandall was one of 87 distinguished guests U.S. Army Accessions Command hosted for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game, Jan. 8,
2011. |
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us on a personal basis - a lot of the public's exposure to the
military is on television - is a good way to meet them face-to-face
and get to know them on a more personal level." |
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Olympic gold medalists Sgt. Glenn Eller and Sgt. Vincent
Hancock gave the guests hands-on instruction, along with
world champion Staff Sgt. Josh Richmond and Sgt. Sherri
Gallagher, the Army Soldier of the year.
"You see
their eyes light up and their faces light up when the two
Olympic gold medalists are introduced," Holguin said.
"They're like, 'Oh, wow,' because that's something that they
can relate to.
"Everyone knows what the Olympics
are, and not everyone has a chance to meet an Olympic gold
medalist. It's special for a lot of them. Some of the ladies
were going around getting autographs from all of us. That
was pretty neat."
Jacquinita Rose, a dean of academic
affairs at Pearce College in Los Angeles, was one of those
autograph seekers.
"In the media, when they talk
about the Army shooting this and shooting that, they don't
show you the other side of it," said Rose, who has two sons
in the Navy. "The media only gives you that one biased
perspective. Unfortunately, what people tend to think of are
assault weapons, those big barrels that shoot like 50
things, and snipers, but this is fantastic to be able to see
another side of the Army that is not exposed to the masses.
I really enjoyed myself."
Rose was one of the 87
Accessions Command guests to network and learn more about
the Army during the week of the All-American Bowl, the
Army's annual East vs. West all-star football game for high
school seniors.
"My primary purpose for this week is
to come and discover wonderful new and exciting
opportunities with the Army," Rose said. "My family was
military and my sons are in the military, so I'm familiar
with the Army and some of their educational opportunities,
but this was a great week to learn more."
Mark
Mayberry, president of ExamExperts USA of Canton, Mich.,
says his company, like the Army, "inspires students to
greatness."
"I'm here to learn about the educational
options that the Army offers to students who may want to
look at military service as an option and what educational
opportunities they can take advantage of if they choose to
go into the military," he said. "If students want to pursue
military service, we want to help them achieve those
objectives."
Mayberry also networked with educators
to gain knowledge to share with his students, 80 percent of
whom are in high school.
"My father was a war
veteran and my brother served in the Army Reserve so I've
always looked at the military as an option," he said. "I
believe that the Army is growing in what it offers to
citizens, so I'm here to find out more about that."
A
former semi-pro baseball player, Mayberry had never shot a
shotgun before.
"Being an athlete, it requires
hand-eye coordination, so I understand what it takes," he
said. "To have an opportunity to meet them and see just how
excellent they are at their craft - being Olympic and World
champions - I am really impressed by their humility. They
are the guys you want on your side."
Mayberry
appreciated the military for making the Army All-American
Bowl more than just a football game.
"It helps us
see the role that the Army plays not only in the defense of
the country but also in everyday activities of life," he
said. "It's really good to see it up close and personal."
Patrick Finn of Cisco Systems U.S. Federal Organization
in Herndon, Va., knows rifles but engaged different targets
with the AMU in San Antonio.
"I've been on a couple
pheasant hunts but nothing big," he said. "This was
excellent. It gives you a lot of pride to see young men and
women who are national champions who are part of our
military and part of our Army.
"I'm totally blown
away. I was very surprised, but if you think about it, it
does make a lot of sense that our young men and women are
participating in the Army as marksmen on the Olympic and
World Championship level."
The military has taught
him a great deal in his business dealings with them.
"My customer is the Army," Finn said. "Not only do we work
with them on communications from a technology perspective,
we actually partner with them on the recruiting front. We've
been involved with the Partnership for Youth Success
program, where we are a corporate sponsor, and in that way
we can actually educate the recruiting youth about potential
opportunities in the technology field with Cisco Systems."
Hunter Crandall, a former Soldier who works with Finn
for Cisco, won the shotgun shooting contest among the
guests.
"As Lt. Gen. (Ben) Freakley (commander of
Accessions Command) said in his opening remarks, I think we
took it for granted for many years and decades that there
were so many people in our society who had the experience in
Korea and World War II and even Vietnam, but we've gotten to
the point now where kids aren't exposed to those adult role
models in their community who have that background,"
Crandall said. "So I think it's more important than ever to
get people energized about going back into their community
and educating and informing the young kids, that Army
service is a great option for them."
Finn said the
entire week of events was one big eye-opener.
"Just
pride in what our men and women do," he explained. "I'll
definitely be an advocate for what the Army is all about.
They are involved in peacekeeping efforts and diplomacy and
marksmanship and sportsmanship, and representing the United
States at a world level and that's important for our country
to understand.
"If you meet somebody from the Army
and you don't walk away impressed, something is wrong with
you." | |
Article and photo by Tim Hipps
Copyright 2011
Reprinted from
Army News Service
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