|
CAMP PERRY, Ohio (July 31, 2016)—Spc. Anthony Heinauer's father,
an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, and his grandfather, a Vietnam
veteran, both set examples for him as Soldiers serving their nation.
Yet, while he aspired to follow in their footsteps, he wanted to
do it on his own terms, especially after he attended a U.S. Army
Marksmanship Unit junior workshop when he was a teenager.
|
CAMP PERRY, Ohio (July 14, 2016) -- Spc. Anthony Heinauer, U.S.
Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), aims downrange during the 2016
National Trophy Pistol Team Matches . His father, Sgt. Major Keith
Heinauer, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, introduced him to the Matches
about six years ago, and Anthony has competed the last three years. (Photo by
Brenda Rolin, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit)
|
“It was actually a dream I had when I was 13 and went to
the Army Marksmanship Unit junior clinic,” he said July 14
while competing in the 2016 National Trophy Pistol Matches.
“They taught me a lot, and I told my father that was the
kind of dream job I wanted.”
From then on, Anthony
spent as much time on the range as he did at school.
His regimen paid off. By age 17, USAMU was looking at
Anthony as a possible new member of the unit.
His
father, Sgt. Major Keith Heinauer, Fort Bragg, North
Carolina, started Anthony on his path to the USAMU by
introducing him to action shooting when he was 12.
“It was more action shooting—practical shooting style—and he
took to that pretty good,” he said.
Practical
shooting evolved from national and international private
individuals, military members and law enforcement officers
who experimented with different types of self-defense
techniques for handguns, according to the U.S. Practical
Shooting Association website.
Heinauer said while he
knew Anthony was interested in a career in shooting sports,
he had talked about Anthony going to college for a couple of
years—even looking at West Point— and then making a decision
after that.
“But, I had taken him to the AMU junior
clinic, he had met some of the action shooting team and
that's what drove him,” he said.
Then, Heinauer took
Anthony to the National Trophy Pistol Matches, a bull's-eye
competition where precision shooting is king.
“It was
just a whole different animal for him, because he grew up
shooting action,” he said.
After that, the 24-year
Army veteran knew his son was passionate about joining the
elite USAMU Service Pistol Team, but knowing his son was new
to bull's-eye, he wanted to guide and advise him.
“He struggled a bit with bull's-eye shooting, but he did
learn the fundamentals of the sport,” Heinauer said.
And Anthony's dream did came true when he joined the
Army in 2014.
“I am very grateful to be in the Army
and the AMU,” he said. “Sometimes I wake up, and I can't
believe it happened. The Army supplies me with
everything—ammo, equipment, great ranges, the best training—
and the time I need to perfect my craft.”
And Anthony
has improved his marksmanship skills immensely in the past
two years, his dad said.
Although his father has
been the distinguished bull's-eye marksman in the family
starting in 2004, recently his son has caught up to him.
“Right now, my dad is my biggest rival and we are within
points of each other,” Anthony said about the 2016 National
Trophy Pistol Matches. “Every year we come out here and it's
a back and forth battle between him and me.”
But
there are no hard feelings between them, only the best of
intentions from a proud parent.
“I'm hoping he is
able to accomplish what he wants to do, whether it's to stay
on this team for the next 10 years or whether it's to go do
something else,” his father said. “I am sure he has the
ability and the will to accomplish anything that he wants to
do.”
Learn more about USAMU junior clinics
Editor's Note: The U.S. Army Marksmanship
Unit's mission is winning national and international shooting
competitions and advancing small-arms lethality to demonstrate Army
marksmanship capability and enhance marksmanship effectiveness in
combat. USAMU is part of the U.S. Army Accessions Brigade and Army
Marketing and Research Group.
By Brenda Rolin, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
Comment on this article |
