AUGUSTA — The 2013 U.S. Army Small Arms Championships are over and the Maine Army National Guard shooters competed against 255 competitors from the Army National Guard, Active Army, Army Reserve and ROTC. Some competitors included teams from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, 75th Ranger Regiment and the 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions.

Sgt. 1st Class Bruce Roscoe, of Waterville, Staff Sgt.’s Joshua Holmes, of Lisbon Falls, Kyle Bartman, of Canaan, Timothy Gallagher, of Glenburn, and Spc. Nicholas Girardin, of Whitefield, recently traveled to Ft. Benning, Ga. to participate in the event.

The U.S. Army Small Arms Championships hosts the All-Army event in order to proliferate effective marksmanship training and increase overall Army combat readiness as marksmanship remains the paramount Soldier skill.

Competitors used the M-16 or M-4 service rifles at distances between 25-500 yards and M-9 pistols between 7-35 yards in a variety of courses of fire and participated in a combined arms match, where competitors employ the rifle, pistol and shotgun in a number of exciting stages of fire.

First place finishes as the overall team rifle and overall team pistol champions and a second place team finish in the Combined Arms match gave Maine a second place overall team championship finish. Throughout the championships, the Maine Army National Guard never received less than a second place finish as a team. In addition to the team finishes, Maine Army National Guard Soldiers received two first-place, four second-place and three third-place individual finishes.

Of particular note the first-place overall novice competitor, Spc. Nicholas Girardin, of Whitefield, was awarded a commemorative M-1 Garand Battle Rifle.

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