USA Posts Several Medal Winning Performances at 2005 CISM - The 40th World Military Shooting Championship was held in Thun, Switzerland October 9-16, 2005. This year’s match had 77 teams and 317 competitors from all over the world. The CISM (International Military Sport Council) championship was created in 1948 by Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands with the goal of achieving Friendship by Sport, a motto which is still honored today. The match also serves to promote friendly relations between armies and their member states.

Paralympic Shooting Training Camp Held at Lakeshore Foundation - U. S. Paralympic Shooting coach Dan Durben hopes to develop a strong team for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. Dan Jordan, the new coach of the Alaska Fairbanks Rifle Team, was the only U.S. shooter to qualify for the 2004 Athens Paralympics so athlete development programs are desperately needed to increase U. S. representation. An initial step toward change took place on October 21-23 when the first Paralympic Shooting Camp was held by Durben and assistant Paralympic coach Sommer Wood. The camp was attended by a strong pool of athletes who participated in three days of intense training in both pistol and rifle.

Targeting Success at the CMP, NRA, USAS National Coaches Conference - Attendance was high at the National Coaches Conference last week; 140 people registered for this year’s filled-to-capacity conference. The Conference, which alternates venues between the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s Ohio headquarters at Camp Perry, and USA Shooting headquarters at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, was held in Colorado this year on October 7-9. The event is known for its expert speakers and this year was no exception.

Viale Range Gets Fresh Look - When you look back at your fondest Camp Perry memories, your time pulling pits comes to mind first, right?. OK, maybe not first, but any highpower shooter who ever spent time at Camp Perry certainly has a love-hate relationship with the pits and those old target carriers that have been there since Viale Range was first built in 1907. This coming year though, when your relay is called to the pits on Viale Range, things are going to look a lot different. No, your vision is not failing you; major changes are indeed in the works for the Viale pits.

Picture:  c. 2005 J.C. Marienthal

Becoming Double Distinguished Shooter Number 81 By Steve Huff - If you are a service rifle or pistol shooter there is one shooting goal that seems to rise above all of the rest. That is the coveted title of “Double Distinguished.” When you first start out as a young rifle or pistol shooter, you probably didn’t even know it exists. With more experience and many matches under your belt you finally become aware of this lofty goal. It usually starts out by someone pointing out a Double Distinguished shooter. Most shooters speak of Double Distinguished shooters with awe in their voices.

World's largest military marksmanship competition postponed in wake of Katrina - CAMP JOSEPH T. ROBINSON, Ark. - Due to the nationwide mobilization of military troops and equipment in support of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, a decision was made this week to postpone indefinitely the 2005 Winston P. Wilson National Championships. The Wilson Matches are a multi-service marksmanship competition conducted each year at Camp Robinson by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Unit. This would have been the 35th Wilson Matches.

CMP Employees Provide Small Comforts for Those Devastated by Katrina - When a tragedy such as Hurricane Katrina hits we, as Americans, are always generously willing to help. Disasters of this magnitude affect everyone, and for those fortunate enough to only have to experience it on television the intense desire to help only grows stronger.

The Distinguished Rifleman Badge,  How I earned it - Submitted By Dick Whiting - My quest for the Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge began in 1973 at Camp Perry during the Nationals, and ended in 1976 at Camp Perry again during the Nationals. In 1973, when I shot my first EIC match, I was squadded on target 89 on Viale, but during the Leg match I was resquadded to target 87. My third shot was a 10, but I shot it on target 89. I ended up 7 Xs out of the cut off. I never got over that, and have never understood why they keep changing targets on shooters during the Championships. But all in all, it was not too bad for a beginning Expert.

CMP State Junior Directors Attend Nationals - With its rich history and storied ranges, Camp Perry’s allure to competitive shooters neatly melds the traditional sense of family gatherings and the instinctive call of yearly migration. Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, shooters, coaches and volunteers flock to the instinctual beacons of those welcoming lighthouses and unmistakable water tower. But nowhere is the mixture of dedication and love of sport, which calls so poignantly, more present than among the ranks of the CMP State Junior Directors.

200th RED HORSE Welcomed Home in Grand Style - Family members, local community leaders, and area residents all came out on August 18, 2005 to welcome home the Air National Guard 200th RED HORSE Squadron who deployed for Iraq in early January of this year. The entire Squadron made it home safely after months of providing engineering and construction support for the U.S. forces and their allies in Iraq.  The 200th Red Horse Squadron is based at Camp Perry, home of the Civilian Marksmanship Program and National Matches.