Ohio Army National Guard and Civilian Marksmanship Program Host First Open House at the Camp Perry Marksmanship Center - In the summer of 2008, the Ohio Army National Guard (OHNG) and the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) opened the Camp Perry Marksmanship Center, which features a state-of-the-art electronic air rifle range and a National Guard Engagement Skills Trainer (EST). Since the new facility opened several events and training sessions have taken place, but the range has not been open for the local community to take a hands-on tour. This was finally remedied on 15 November with the first Camp Perry Marksmanship Center Open House.

CMP’s Inaugural Monthly Air Rifle and Air Pistol Matches a Success - A competitive group of individual and club junior and adult shooters from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Canada help CMP successfully kick off its first Air Rifle and Air Pistol Marksmanship Competition at the new Competition Center North on 24-25 October.  The event drew a number of talented junior precision and sporter air rifle participants and adult air pistol shooters to the first of a series of indoor season competitions. The session was conducted at the 80 firing point joint use facility which was opened in June by the CMP and Ohio National Guard.

Western Creedmoor Cup Matches a Success - In conjunction with the Civilian Marksmanship Program's Western Games held 11-14 October where a record number of shooters participated, the Creedmoor Cup Matches followed at the Ben Avery (Black Canyon) Shooting Facility on 15-19 October.   The Creedmoor Cup Matches, co-sponsored by CMP and Creedmoor Sports, Inc. of Oceanside, California, gave shooters an opportunity to participate in a rifle clinic plus four days of match and service rifle competition.

CMP Welcomes New Program Staff Leader - Robert E. “Rob” Harbison, 42, has joined the Civilian Marksmanship Program, serving in the newly-created role of Director of Program Operations after a 20-year career in the US Army.  Harbison retired from the Army, effective 30 September, as a Lieutenant Colonel, most-recently serving at Fort Benning, Georgia and has begun his assignment at CMP headquarters at Camp Perry.

2008 WESTERN CMP GAMES - More Events--More Entries--More Wind! - The 5th Western CMP Games Matches and the second Western CMP Games to take place at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility north of Phoenix, Arizona concluded this past week. There were three new events on the program as well as new award categories. Shooter entries were more than double 2007 numbers. Winds were bad enough that the Bronze Achievement Medal cut scores had to be adjusted downward, but never as bad as in 2007 when high winds caused the cancellation of one day of shooting. In spite of strong winds, there were lots of excellent shooting highlighted by Californian Mike Miller’s win in a newly introduced GSM Three-Gun Aggregate. Most important of all, the Games trademark value of giving every shooter a great experience was at the forefront during the four days of shooting.

New Three-Position Air Rifle Rules Released, 2008-2010 Rulebooks Available - The 2008-2010 7th Edition of the National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules, with changes approved by the National Three-Position Air Rifle Council, are now available in printed version or as a downloadable *.pdf file. The new rules may be accessed immediately through the CMP website at http://www.odcmp.com/3P/Rules.pdf. Printed copies of the new rulebook may be ordered from the CMP at a cost of $2.00 each.

CMP Hosts National Youth Leadership Conference - CAMP PERRY, OHIO - As a coach looking for ways to motivate and train junior shooters, wouldn't it be ideal to spend a couple of days listening to tips, real life experiences and advice from some of the shooting world's best shooting instructors, coaches and match organizers?  Well, in case you missed it, that's what many of your colleagues experienced during the 2008 National Youth Shooting Sports Leadership Conference at CMP's Bataan Armory conference center on 26-28 September. The conference concluded a week of training courses for junior shooting coaches and club leaders.