doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com US Soldier is also an Olympic Trapshooter

A nice story in the Washington Post this weekend about Josh Richmond, a US Soldier who will present our country as part of the US Olympic shooting team.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/oly...AOvU_story.html

Glenn Eller of Texas and the U.S. Army will also be shooting on the Olympic Trap team. Dad would bring 9 year old Glenn to sporting clays tournaments and let him go through the course....we knew we were looking at something special even at that age.

Over the years there have been many military personnel on Olympic and other U.S, shooting teams. The Army Marksmanship unit is usually their home unit and they can get in a lot of practice during their non-duty time. They also have to be fit and ready soldiers, available for call up at any time.

The Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning is the premier "scholarship" for the shooting athlete! Yes, it takes commitment but all hard things do. Unlike a scholastic scholarship if your scores fall off you won't get kicked out of school. No sir, the Army will take care of you and give you a transfer to a support or line unit.

I spent a summer on the Marine Corps Rifle Team and also did a lot of volunteer work for a youth shooting program the Marine Corps' MTU and Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico. From what I saw we Marines had to fight the bureaucracy to land a transfer to MTU. There were never any guarantees especially for those enlisted in technical MOS's or any officer. Our brothers in arms in the Army who were "hard dogs", i.e. the dogs of war, had a lot better chance of getting to and staying at the Army's MTU. I even advised my youth shooters to join the Army if they wanted to shoot professionally. I of course told them the truth about my Corps in that teh only reason to join would be to become a Marine.

For a competitive youth shooter the Army is a great career option!

Mark