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| The Junior Distinguished Badge is awarded for excellence in three-position air rifle competition. |
When Brandon Green graduated from Bogalusa, Louisiana High School in the spring of 2003, he had become one of the most successful three-position air rifle shooters in the country. He fired on numerous Bogalusa High School Army JROTC rifle teams that won victories in national and regional competitions. He was a member of the Bogalusa team that established the current sporter class national team record and he still holds the sporter class individual national record with the 562 x 600 score that he fired in the 2002 National Guard Bureau Junior Air Rifle Tournament.
One of Brandon Green’s most significant accomplishments was earning Junior Distinguished Badge Number One. The Junior Distinguished Badge program is modeled after the prestigious Distinguished Rifleman and Distinguished Pistol Shot Badges that the Army began to award in the 1880s and that are now awarded by the Armed Services and CMP to military and civilian shooters who fire outstanding scores in a series of designated “Excellence-in-Competition” (EIC) matches.
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| Brandon Green established the sporter class three-position air rifle national record of 562 in June 2002. He is now a U. S. Army PFC assigned to the Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning. |
In both the regular and junior Distinguished programs, competitors must earn 30 points in EIC matches. The Junior Distinguished Badge is awarded to shooters who excel in three-position air rifle sporter or precision class competitions. Junior EIC matches include National and State Junior Olympic Championships as well as national competitions sponsored by the American Legion, National Guard Bureau, Daisy, the Army, Navy and Marine Corps JROTC Commands and CMP. Detailed regulations concerning the Junior Distinguished Badge are found in the National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules. Complete program regulations are also posted on the CMP web site.
The National Three-Position Air Rifle Council inaugurated the Junior Distinguished Badge program during the 2000-2001 school year. In the race to see which outstanding junior shooter would become the first to earn the badge, Green won. He received his badge in April 2001 in a special ceremony at Bogalusa High School. Since that date, only 62 school-age juniors have earned this badge of distinction, including
15 who have earned the badge so far in 2004.
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| PFC Brandon Green (l.) presented new Junior Distinguished Badges to Army JROTC Cadets Phillip Threlkeld and Alaina Wallace during the National JROTC Championship Awards Banquet on March 27. |
Two junior shooters, Alaina Wallace of Winnsboro High School (Louisiana), and Phillip Threlkeld of Grissom High School (Alabama), both finished earning the required 30 EIC points shortly before the National JROTC Championship. By coincidence, PFC Brandon Green had just completed Army basic and advanced individual training and reported for duty at the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit during the championship. Green enlisted in the Army after graduation from high school and was accepted to be a new member of the Army Rifle Team based on his outstanding competition record in high school. Since Green was the first Junior Distinguished shooter, he was invited to present the new Junior Distinguished Badges to Wallace and Threlkeld during the JROTC Championship award ceremony.
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| Bronze and Silver EIC Badges are also available for junior shooters who earn points in three-position air rifle EIC matches. |
Approximately 650 junior shooters have now earned EIC points, but do not have 30 points yet. Most continue to compete while striving to join Green, Threlkeld and Wallace as Junior Distinguished Shooters. Junior shooters can confirm how many points they have by checking the list juniors with EIC points posted on the CMP web site. Juniors are eligible for a Bronze EIC Badge as soon as they earn their first points in this program. Juniors who earn at least 15 points are eligible for the Silver EIC Badge. Junior Distinguished and EIC Badges are authorized for wear on
Army and Navy JROTC uniforms.
In addition to Threlkeld and Wallace, a total of 13 other juniors have earned the Badge so far this year. New Junior Distinguished Shooters in 2004 are:
| Badge #
| Last Name
| First Name
| High School/Club
| Year
|
| 49
| Philen
| Dana
| Woodward Academy, GA
| 2004
|
| 50
| Burrows
| Adam
| Pelion HS, SC
| 2004
|
| 51
| Threlked
| Phillip
| Grissom HS, AL
| 2004
|
| 52
| Wallace
| Alaina
| Winnsboro HS, LA
| 2004
|
| 53
| Denney
| Nathan
| Ozark HS, MO
| 2004
|
| 54
| Loesch
| Chad
| Zion-Benton HS, IL
| 2004
|
| 55
| Langford
| Jennifer
| Patuxent HS, MD
| 2004
|
| 56
| Reinking
| Megan
| Concordia Lutheran HS, IN
| 2004
|
| 57
| Eason
| Donavan
| Wilcox County HS, GA
| 2004
|
| 58
| Reynolds
| Artiom
| LaCueva HS, NM
| 2004
|
| 59
| Henley
| Charles
| Bogalusa HS, LA
| 2004
|
| 60
| Cleveland
| Jerome
| Patuxent HS, MD
| 2004
|
| 61
| Spears
| Sean
| Daleville HS, AL
| 2004
|
| 62
| Stankey
| Keely
| Post 435 CMP, MN
| 2004
|
| 63
| Harrington
| Katherine
| Gateway 4-H Shooting Sports, FL
| 2004
|
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