Army Under Secretary Dr. Joseph Westphal to Open the 2011 National Matches as First Shot Ceremony Guest Speaker

CAMP PERRY, OHIO - Under Secretary of the U.S. Army, Dr. Joseph W. Westphal, will open this year’s National Matches festivities as the guest speaker at the First Shot Ceremony here on 11 July at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Friends of Camp Perry Memorial Plaza, located at the opposite end of the entrance to Camp Perry on Lawrence Road.
 
The Honorable Dr. Westphal will also fire the ceremonial first shot with a M1 Garand Rifle upon the conclusion of his remarks. The ceremony kicks off the prestigious National Matches, considered the World Series of the Shooting Sports, an event which draws thousands of pistol and rifle competitors, civilian and military alike, with a history dating back to 1907 at Camp Perry.

Also this year, the opening ceremonies will include a special “Second Shot” fired by Wounded Warrior, U.S. Army SFC Sene Polu, who was injured along with his platoon Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) and an Iraqi interpreter assigned to his unit when his patrol encountered an improvised explosive device (IED) while conducting combat operations in the Diyala Province, Iraq. SFC Polu, whose injuries were to his arms, hip and leg, is from the island of Samoa.

The opening ceremony also includes an aerial troop insertion demonstrated by the Ohio Army National Guard 19th Special Forces, followed by presentation of colors, musical accompaniment by the 122nd Army band and opening and closing remarks by Gary Anderson, Director of Civilian Marksmanship Emeritus, who will preside over the festivities.

Dr. Westphal is the 30th Under Secretary of the Army since the service’s inception in 1775. He has also served as Chancellor of the University of Maine System and Professor of Political Science. He served as Provost, Senior V.P. for Research and Professor of Environmental Studies at The New School in New York City. He stepped down from the position to serve as a member of President Obama’s Transition Team for Defense matters in 2008.

The prestigious First Shot Ceremony is a colorful kickoff to the national event which will feature the airborne delivery of a ceremonial American Flag by the 19th Special Forces who will dismount from a Blackhawk helicopter and deliver the flag, which will fly for the duration of the Matches which conclude 17 August. The national event hosts more than 6,000 competitors including the top pistol and rifle marksmen in the nation.

After the Honorable Under Secretary Westphal concludes his remarks, he will officially open the National Matches by firing the ceremonial first shot on the 600-yard Rodriguez Range located adjacent to the Memorial Plaza. SFC Polu will fire a second shot on an adjacent target on Rodriguez Range.

SFC Polu is married to Rosie and has two children – Charlie and Chastity. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery, which is part of the 4th Brigade (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), 2nd Infantry Division headquartered at Fort Lewis, Washington. The 4th SBCT deployed to Iraq in April 2007 and operated in the Diyala Province, Iraq.

On April 2, 2008, SFC Polu’s right arm from the elbow down was blown open and his right index finger was amputated. SFC Polu’s plan for the future is spending time with his family and helping the children with their school work. He is also very involved in his church.

The 2011 National Matches will once again feature traditional National Rifle Association Championships and Civilian Marksmanship Program National Trophy Rifle and Pistol Matches and CMP Games Events plus important training activities and special events like the Pistol and Rifle Small Arms Firing Schools.

Highlights of the National Trophy Matches and CMP Games include the Small Arms Firing Schools for pistol and rifle. Both programs, open for public participation, are conducted by the elite U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit from Fort Benning, Georgia. Instructors are both competitive members and coaches of the Army shooting teams, so participants get hands-on training by active duty marksmanship professionals.

The highly-popular schools teach civilians how to safely handle and operate the M9 9mm service pistol and the service rifle in the classroom and later fire them on the range. Participants fire in actual live matches at the conclusion of each school. The pistol school begins with registration on 10 July and is conducted on 11 July. The rifle school begins with registration on 29 July and will be conducted on 30 and 31 July.

This year CMP is proud to introduce the Vintage Sniper Rifle Team Match on 3 August, a new games match which was successfully tested at the Eastern and Western CMP Games in 2010 and was officially introduced at the 2011 Eastern CMP Games at Camp Butner, North Carolina in May. The match tests the skill of two-person teams firing on timed-fire targets at 300 and 600 yards using military sniper rifles and scopes from the period of 1953 and earlier.

Shooters in the Vintage Sniper Rifle Team Match may use as-issued sniper rifles or newly-manufactured replicas and appropriate optics. As one team member fires, the other spots, scores and calls out wind, elevation and mirage adjustments. After 10 shots, the team switches positions and fires another volley of 10 shots. The process is then repeated at 600 yards and the aggregate combined total score determines the winner.

The Vintage Sniper Rifle Team Match is expected to be one of the CMP’s most exciting matches in its Camp Perry debut and entries in this year’s match will be limited to two relays due to time constraints in the National Matches schedule. A new trophy was commissioned for the new match by Hornady and will be presented for the first time at this year’s awards ceremony.

Fans of historic military rifle competition will also enjoy the CMP’s M1Carbine, John C. Garand M1 Rifle, Springfield Rifle and Vintage Military Rifle matches which bring out the best in military sports shooting. Many participants dress in period military clothing and fire competitive matches. These matches run 4 August through 6 August when the CMP phase of the Matches concludes with an evening awards and closing ceremony. NRA highpower matches continue through 18 August.

CMP Air Gun Events will feature eight different competitions in air pistol, air rifle and National Match Air Rifle. All air gun events are conducted at the CMP’s state-of-the-art indoor Marksmanship Center, equipped with a computer controlled scoring system used in one of the finest indoor marksmanship venues in the world.

The continually expanding Rimfire Sporter Match is back with a tactical rifle classification and a Youth-Adult team match designed to encourage greater family participation. Rimfire Sporter allows participants to bring their off the rack .22 rifle to the range and compete in a three-position match. It’s a great way to introduce recreational shooters to an organized competition with an emphasis on youth and family participation. The Rimfire Sporter Match begins with registration and a free clinic on 23 July and is conducted the following day. More than 400 entries were registered in the 2010 match.

CMP is also excited to once again present the President’s Rifle Match on 1 August which concludes in the afternoon with a spectator-friendly shoot-off among the event’s 20 top shooters to determine the ultimate winner. The coveted President’s Rifle Trophy is presented to the best of the best rifle shooter from a field of more than 1,200 competitors, both civilian and military.

The shoot-off finale is a 10-shot match with scoring in full view of spectators who can track each shooter’s progress shot for shot on large scoreboards posted next to each competitor.

The First Shot Ceremony is open to the public and can easily be found by entering Camp Perry on Niagara Road directly from US Route 2, just west of Port Clinton. The Memorial Plaza is at the end of Niagara Road where it meets Lawrence Road. Nearby parking is easily accessible.

For more information about the National Trophy Matches and CMP Games Events, log onto http://www.odcmp.com/NM.htm. 

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