~North Dakota National Guard team wins the MAC 6 Regionals
by Sgt. 1st Class James McGuire, National Guard Marksmanship Training Center
CAMP GUERNSEY JOINT TRAINING CENTER, Wyo. – North Dakota’s Alpha team topped
the standings in the overall team events at the National Guard’s Marksmanship Advisory Council (MAC) Region VI Combat Marksmanship Training Sustainment Exercise, hosted by the Wyoming National Guard at Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center Aug. 17-19.
The NoDak team, comprised of Senior Master Sgt. Wade Swenson, Senior Airman Gavin “Lil” Rook, Sgt. Tyler Goldade and Sgt. Brendan Dean scored 916 points to top South Dakota’s Alpha team of Staff Sgt. Nicholas Dooley, Maj. Justin Aylward, Sgt. 1st Class Clint Sandness and Sgt. Eric Grage who scored 892 points during the weekend for a second-place finish.
Wyoming finished third in the team standings. The Alpha team of Staff Sgt. Brody Staman, Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Edwards, Master Sgt. Glenn Worley and 1st Sgt. Timothy Smith earned 841 points.
The three-day competition pitted National Guard soldiers and airmen from Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska and Idaho in shoulder-to-shoulder competition with service-issued rifles and pistols in a range of matches that involved a variety of physical challenges and varied distances.
Wyoming’s A team took first in the Covering Fire competition, topping second-place South Dakota A, and third-place North Dakota A.
Worley placed first in the 100-500 Zero Special match followed by Wyoming teammate Smith and South Dakota’s Staff Sgt. Jory Rogers.
North Dakota’s Goldade took home the Combat Rifle Individual Aggregate Champion title with 714 points. He was followed by Worley in second and Idaho’s Staff Sgt. Adam Witte. Goldade also won the Close Quarter Battle, followed by Worley in second and Wyoming’s Spc. Bradley Holloway in third.
The Reflexive Fire crown went to Goldade, followed by Senior Airman Rook and Witte. “Lil” Rook topped the individual Combat Pistol standings over Alaska’s Master Sgt. Neal Waltman and Senior Master Sgt. Brian Rook, also of North Dakota.
Like airman Rook, another new shooter had a great Wyoming weekend-Alaska’s Pfc. Dalton Dorn won the Novice Individual Grand Aggregate championship, Individual Novice Combat Pistol, Novice Reflexive Fire, Novice 100-500 Zero Special and took third in the Excellence in Competition behind airman Rook and Idaho’s Master Sgt. Robert Earley, who placed second. Dorn was also named the top pistol shooter in the Novice EIC followed by Spc. Brandin Wendland of North Dakota and Master Sgt. James Seigneur of Alaska.
Senior Airman Rook earned the Individual Open Grand Aggregate Championship followed by Goldade and Witte. Both Senior Airman Rook and Pfc. Dorn were on top-three teams in the Gen. George Patton Combat Pistol Exercise. Alaska’s Alpha team of Dorn, Master Sgt. James Seigneur, Master Sgt. Neal Waltman and Staff Sgt. Brian Felts took first place with 623 points, followed by North Dakota’s A team with 617 and South Dakota’s Alpha team with a score of 567.
Wyoming has hosted the Region VI competition all but one year since 1997 and did not get any takers when an invitation to host in 2019 was offered by Master Sgt. Morgan Jenkins, Wyoming state marksmanship coordinator and match director. So, it looks like Camp Guernsey will be the place to see some of the Guard’s best hard-charging shooters again next year.
For more photos visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wyoguard/albums/72157700339960215
National Guard Marksmanship Training Center 