.“The USAMU will be a major part of the show on Magnums,” Jennings said. “The images of the guys firing and a wonderful shot of the bullet flying down range will open the show. Then the entire story we shot with the unit -- from the firing range to the construction of the guns -- is currently slated for Act 5 of the show -- the final act. In all, I’d say the unit will be about 8 to 10 minutes of the 45-minute show -- an hour-long broadcast has about 15 minutes of commercials.”
The crew spent the morning at the USAMU ranges filming members of the Service Rifle Team shooting the Magnum. After lunch, Jennings and the crew interviewed some of the USAMU ammunition technicians while they were producing Magnum bullets and talked with USAMU gunsmiths who build the Magnums for the Army shooters.
“I think everything went great,” said USAMU Service Rifle Coach Donnie
Heuman. “The crew members were highly professional and dedicated to their work. They were very excited about being around the guns and actually being able to film a bullet going down range; they thought that was pretty cool. They made us feel very comfortable and it was a real pleasure working with them. We’re hoping to work with them again in the future.”
“The people at the Marksmanship Unit are a great group of people,” Jennings said. “You can tell these individuals are top-of-the-line, both in their professionalism and how they treated our film crew. The images were superb and the people made our day at the office a lot of fun. Our visit was just a great experience all the way around and brought a lot more than I expected. In general, my experience with them was outstanding. I had no idea what to expect and found the guys approachable and easy to work with. You can tell how much they care about what they do, and how willing they are to teach others the nuances of their work.
“By far, the most interesting thing for me was being able to film the bullet in flight,” Jennings continued. “I’ve checked the tapes and the footage is just amazing; you can clearly see the rounds splitting the air as they travel toward the target. But I don’t want to diminish the other things that we filmed. I found it fascinating, for example, to be standing under the targets while the shooters were punching holes in them from 600 yards. That is not an everyday experience for a civilian.”
Jennings and his crew plan to visit Fort Benning again next month for a story he is producing on snipers for the History Channel.
(Formed in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to raise the standards of marksmanship throughout the U.S. Army, the Army Marksmanship Unit has been a part of the U. S. Army Recruiting Command since October 1999. The Marksmanship Unit trains its soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development. The world-class soldier-athletes of the USAMU also promote the Army and assist recruiters in attracting young Americans to enlist in the Army. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436,
paula.pagan@usarec.army.mil or
http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/amu/.)
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